How Bowl-Slop Conquered All

You’re at your desk at 11:45 a.m., and you open the Sweetgreen or Cava app and begin to build your bowl: quinoa base, blackened chicken, a choice of vegetables that represent tired trends — shredded kale, maple-glazed brussels sprouts, jammy roasted tomatoes — all for $17, a price that feels just a little too high. But you’re hungry and stressed, pre- or post-meeting, and you think you’re picking the healthy option, so you shell out.