My Healthy Pick at: THE GOAT'S BEARD ~ WAYNE, PA

Wayne, PA is full of fantastic restaurants and several that offer locally sourced produce, proteins, and libations... and I am all about buying local and knowing where your food comes from. Once place my husband and I frequent is the Goat's Beard in Wayne. The drinks are fairly expensive, which helps go along with my recommendation of limiting or avoiding alcohol, and the food is reasonable for an "upscale" bar type atmosphere. The service is usually very good, and it is always a hopping spot with locals. 

Previously, I struggled to find a healthy dinner option when I would dine here, with things like TGB nuggets (chicken nuggets), burgers, fish and chips, and scallops with pork belly on the menu. Many of their dishes are unique and delicious, but not necessarily "healthy". However, I have noticed over the past few months they have really amped-up their salad game, creating more meal-like salads that provide vegetables, protein, and whole grains. To date, I have gotten their garden salad that comes with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, onion, quinoa and sherry vinaigrette (ordered on the side), and I add chicken. The chicken is very good, though not a large quantity. Their Drunken Goat salad is also quite good which contains a scant amount of bulgur wheat, field greens, fennel, apple, walnuts, pickled onions, and I requested they add chicken but leave the goat cheese and cider vinaigrette on the side.

Cauliflower & Quinoa Salad 

My new favorite is their Cauliflower & Quinoa salad that comes with pickled shrimp, arugula, yogurt, red onion, tahini, grapes, tomatoes, and cilantro. This dish is very healthy since there seems to be very little added oil or fat and it is not very salty. The pickled shrimp are different, but good, and I am always an advocate of adding yogurt to salads. I was very pleased with this meal and it is a pretty decent serving size for a meal. It was fairly well balanced, though I would like to see a bit more quinoa.

So, if you're looking for a salad, Goat's beard has quite the variety and has all the components that I like to include in a meal (veggies, protein & whole grain). Their entree options are definitely unique and interesting, but don't yet get the Kelly Stamp of Approval for nutrition.

So next time you are in Wayne, check out the Goat's Beard salad menu! More restaurant recommendations to come....