I did not grow up around salad. We hardly ever ate them, to be honest, unless you count the potato and macaroni salads, swimming in mayonnaise, that would be trotted out in the summer. I loathed mayonnaise as a kid, so I wouldn't go within 10 feet of those monstrosities. (Side note- I'd probably be 10 lbs thinner if I didn't finally develop a deep appreciation for mayo.)
My high school best friend was worse than me. I'd eat peas, carrots and lettuce, but she absolutely hated all vegetables, which she sneeringly referred to as green things. Her disregard for vegetables was so total, she couldn't actually identify them. One summer, she hosted a BBQ when her mom was away. She grudgingly bought all the vegetables people liked on their burgers. I was helping her prep before guests came over, and said I'd prepare the toppings.
"Did you get lettuce?" I asked
"It's in the fridge" she said.
I looked, but there was no lettuce. When she came downstairs, I held up a green orb and said "Do you mean this?" and she said "Yeah."
"This is cabbage, dude."
The word salad is sort of flexible, wouldn't you say? To most people, it means "healthy food", though restaurants seem to define it as "anything served on lettuce", which can mean grilled veggies, chicken fingers, or a pound of tacos.
Here are my favourite salads, in descending order of healthiness:
The conch salad at Queen Conch, on Harbour Island. You can get it as hot as you can stand, or with some orange in there to add sweetness. Fresh conch, peppers, tomatoes, onions. Get a beer across the street, sit out by the bay, and enjoy eating a great, healthy meal (well, depending on how many beers you get across the street).
Brux House, for the kale salad. Yes, one of my favourite salads on earth is from this cute place in The Hammer! I had it last spring, and I practically licked the plate. Kale, goat cheese, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and shredded crispy sweet potato on top. So, so good.
The Cavalo Nero salad at Il Buco in New York. Occasionally, I behave like a decent human being, and don't take pictures of my dinner. Actually, I photograph my food less and less, so consider these shots the last of a dying (at least for me) breed. The salad at Il Buco had a wonderful, garlic-and-lemony dressing, great croutons, and was topped with the best Italian parmesan. I think I need a return visit soon.
The Grill at Bal Harbour, in Miami, for the Shrimp Louie. I just did a post mentioning this, but it was so good, it has to be included again. Huge shrimp, crisp iceberg, avocado, and a Thousand Island style dressing with some bacon infused oil drizzled on it. As you can see, we are veering out of healthy territory...
And now, we're in France, for the least healthy, and most delicious, salad I have ever had. I went to Reims for a solo tour of some Champagne houses a few years ago, when I took my mom to Paris. After sampling quite a bit of bubbly, I found a lovely brasserie and ordered a salad (and a Champagne cocktail, obviously!). What came was a delightful concoction of three types of cheese, baguette, onions, bacon, a poached egg, and fried potatoes. Oh, and lettuce. Utterly delicious, and more calories than three Big Macs, I'll bet.
Anything that gets me to eat more vegetables I consider virtuous, so if that means adding a ton of bleu cheese and French fries to a salad, so be it. If you're ever in Reims, saddle up for this last one.
As an adult, I actually like most vegetables, but these salads are good enough to replace a prime rib. Well, almost.
My high school best friend was worse than me. I'd eat peas, carrots and lettuce, but she absolutely hated all vegetables, which she sneeringly referred to as green things. Her disregard for vegetables was so total, she couldn't actually identify them. One summer, she hosted a BBQ when her mom was away. She grudgingly bought all the vegetables people liked on their burgers. I was helping her prep before guests came over, and said I'd prepare the toppings.
"Did you get lettuce?" I asked
"It's in the fridge" she said.
I looked, but there was no lettuce. When she came downstairs, I held up a green orb and said "Do you mean this?" and she said "Yeah."
"This is cabbage, dude."
The word salad is sort of flexible, wouldn't you say? To most people, it means "healthy food", though restaurants seem to define it as "anything served on lettuce", which can mean grilled veggies, chicken fingers, or a pound of tacos.
Here are my favourite salads, in descending order of healthiness:
The conch salad at Queen Conch, on Harbour Island. You can get it as hot as you can stand, or with some orange in there to add sweetness. Fresh conch, peppers, tomatoes, onions. Get a beer across the street, sit out by the bay, and enjoy eating a great, healthy meal (well, depending on how many beers you get across the street).
Brux House, for the kale salad. Yes, one of my favourite salads on earth is from this cute place in The Hammer! I had it last spring, and I practically licked the plate. Kale, goat cheese, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and shredded crispy sweet potato on top. So, so good.
The Cavalo Nero salad at Il Buco in New York. Occasionally, I behave like a decent human being, and don't take pictures of my dinner. Actually, I photograph my food less and less, so consider these shots the last of a dying (at least for me) breed. The salad at Il Buco had a wonderful, garlic-and-lemony dressing, great croutons, and was topped with the best Italian parmesan. I think I need a return visit soon.
The Grill at Bal Harbour, in Miami, for the Shrimp Louie. I just did a post mentioning this, but it was so good, it has to be included again. Huge shrimp, crisp iceberg, avocado, and a Thousand Island style dressing with some bacon infused oil drizzled on it. As you can see, we are veering out of healthy territory...
And now, we're in France, for the least healthy, and most delicious, salad I have ever had. I went to Reims for a solo tour of some Champagne houses a few years ago, when I took my mom to Paris. After sampling quite a bit of bubbly, I found a lovely brasserie and ordered a salad (and a Champagne cocktail, obviously!). What came was a delightful concoction of three types of cheese, baguette, onions, bacon, a poached egg, and fried potatoes. Oh, and lettuce. Utterly delicious, and more calories than three Big Macs, I'll bet.
Anything that gets me to eat more vegetables I consider virtuous, so if that means adding a ton of bleu cheese and French fries to a salad, so be it. If you're ever in Reims, saddle up for this last one.
As an adult, I actually like most vegetables, but these salads are good enough to replace a prime rib. Well, almost.
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