Starbucks' New Mercato Menu Arrives in Los Angeles

This month, Starbucks' new Mercato lunch menu arrives in the Los Angeles area.

The menu features grab-and-go salads, sandwiches, and sides that are made fresh daily and donated nightly to the Los Angeles Food Bank as part of Starbucks FoodShare programs, which donates surplus Starbucks food at the end of the day to local food banks with the goal of "rescue 100 percent of food available to donate" from all US Starbucks stores.

"Mercato" means "marketplace" or "market" in Italian and the new menu is meant to provide a "fresh and hearty" meal with options that meat a variety of dietary preferences, including high protein, vegetarian, and vegan.

The menu varies with location but can include:

- Almond Butter, Strawberries & Jam Sandwich - Almond butter, fresh strawberries and strawberry jam on Bavarian multigrain bread.

- Blueberry & Muesli Yogurt Bowl - Nonfat, vanilla Greek yogurt topped with blueberries, muesli, dried dates, and figs.

- Chicken & Fig Spread Sandwich - Roasted herbed white meat chicken, sweet fig spread, fresh arugula, and Dijon aioli on a hearty Bavarian multigrain bread.

- Crispy Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Parmesan, stracciatella and Beecher's Flagship cheeses toasted between two slices of Levain Sourdough bread

- Cubano Sandwich - Smoked pork loin and pulled pork, melted Swiss cheese, pickled jalapeno, and  dijonnaise on hearth-baked flatbread.

- Farmers' Market Protein Box - A box of Genoa salami, aged white Cheddar, fresh snap peas, apples, seeded crackers, and Rosemary almonds.

- Grilled Chicken & Cauliflower Tabbouleh - Grilled white chicken, cauliflower tabbouleh, olives, roasted red peppers, feta, and lemon with a red wine vinaigrette on a bed of lettuce and arugula.

- Herbed Chicken & Manchego Cheese Sandwich - Shredded chicken breast in a chimichurri sauce, topped with shaved Manchego cheese and a red pepper-almond spread on a ciabatta roll.

- Honey BBQ Sriracha Chicken Sandwich - Slow-cooked chicken drizzled with Honey BBQ Sriracha sauce joined by pickled grilled red onion on a California olive oil ciabatta roll.

- Mango & Coconut Yogurt Bowl - Nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt topped with mango, coconut, and chia seeds.

- Roasted Turkey & Dill Havarti Sandwich - Thin-sliced turkey breast, herbed Havarti cheese, and fresh arugula, and a lemon aioli served on Bavarian multigrain bread.

- Smoked Mozzarella & Roasted Pepper Sandwich - Mozzarella cheese melted over roasted red peppers with onions, capers, baby spinach, and a kale-basil-walnut pistou served on a black pepper and potato schiacciata roll.

- Strawberry & Toasted Almonds Overnight Grains - Overnight oats featuring coconut milk, oatmeal, quinoa, and chia seeds, plus shaved coconut, strawberries, and toasted almonds.

- Summer Melon & Leafy Greens - Summer melon (watermelon and cantaloupe) with arugula, kale, feta, farro, cucumber, mint, pepitas, and a spicy citrus dressing.

- Turkey & Fire-Roasted Corn - Coffee-rubbed turkey breast, fire-grilled corn, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, and roasted pepitas on a bed of baby kale, poblano pepper, quinoa, romaine, and zesty chipotle-lime dressing.

- Za'atar Chicken & Lemon Tahini - Slow-cooked herbed chicken, Za'atar spice, ancient grains, cucumber tzatziki, marinated carrots, and lemon tahini dressing on a bed of chopped romaine.

All Mercato items are priced under $10 before tax.

Starbucks Mercato menu can be found in a total of more than 900 stores in Seattle, Chicago, Sacramento and San Francisco, and will be available in nearly 1,800 stores in the US by the end of the year (out of over 8,000 US locations).

Photos via Starbucks.