Salad is praised for its nutritional value but, when ordered at a restaurant, it often amounts to an obligatory side that can leave you wondering why you ordered it at all.
But Carlton Logan says salad doesn’t have to be an afterthought. The admin of the Kansas City Eats Facebook Page thinks the dish can even be exciting, filling and satisfying.
“If you're cooking something, you have certain proportions," Logan told KCUR’s Up To Date in August. "But you can add anything to a salad — corn, beans, peas, cheese (and) different dressings.”
Kansas City Magazine food editor and restaurant critic Tyler Shane agrees. Her go-to salad right now is Hemma Hemma’s pickle brine fried chicken salad, with bacon bits, cherry tomatoes, red onion, corn and smoked cheddar.
“One of the beautiful things about salads is that you can get so many flavors in one bite, and this is a great example of that,” she says. “It's the protein, it's the textures — it's very good.”
Logan, Shane, Thelma’s Kitchen Executive Chef Natasha Bailey, and listeners recommend below their favorite places in Kansas City to grab a salad.
- Baba Pantry’s fattoush salad is perfect to beat the summer heat. It has diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, mint, parsley and is tossed in a lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. It’s topped with crunchy pita chips to add another great layer of texture.
- Werner’s Fine Sausages in Mission serves a potato salad that is vinegary and old-school. The traditional German recipe came from longtime employee Gretel Harper. In the true, old-country way, there is no written-down recipe — it’s been passed down orally. Werner’s makes a couple hundred pounds a week.
- Rye’s no frills wedge salad is a classic: an iceberg wedge topped with blue cheese, bacon bits, tomato, hard boiled egg and buttermilk ranch dressing. It’s crispy, fresh and sharply pungent in a way that can’t be beat.
- Hemma Hemma‘s pickle bacon ranch salad is a great representation of founder Ashley Bare’s creative but homey style. It’s loaded with romaine, bacon bits, cherry tomatoes, red onion and corn. Small touches carry big weight in this dish, like the smoked cheddar and pickle-brined chicken that is to die for.
- The Fix’s buffalo chicken salad might just make you forget you’re at a vegan establishment. The gluten-free protein is made with buffalo soy curl “chicken,” served on a bed of romaine, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, red onion and smothered in house-made ranch dressing.
- Bar Medici‘s tuna crudo may be a stretch for the salads category, but I’m rolling with it because the textures are unreal. Dry-aged slices of raw tuna are finished with condensed watermelon balls, tomato water and mint. Get it before summer ends.
Carlton Logan:
- Artego Pizza serves one of my favorite caprese salads, mainly because it doesn’t have salad greens — just Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil, olive oil and a balsamic reduction. And good news: Artego just reopened for lunch on Fridays and Saturdays only.
- The Mixx and Caffetteria are both owned by Jo Maria Scaglia, who brought her family history to the healthy, fast-casual concepts. My go-to order at The Mixx, the Garden of Eden, has Granny Smith apples, candied pecans, gorgonzola cheese, wild field greens, and a champagne and honey vinaigrette.
- Summit Grill’s blackened salmon salad is filling and features a great dressing. The dish comes with bacon, avocado, beans, corn salsa and some really cute sliced radishes. Substitute the salmon for blackened chicken if you prefer.
- Cupini’s spinach salad is unique, with Mandarin oranges, roasted beets, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a sweet mustard vinaigrette. The delicate balance between salty, sweet and sour in every bite is explosive.
- Buck Tui BBQ serves a fantastic side dish of green papaya slaw that deserves entree attention. With crunchy cabbage, carrot, and spicy papaya sauce, this dish is not to be missed. Their take on potato salad is noteworthy, too, with added chili crisp for heat.
- Q39 serves an apple coleslaw that brings just the right amount of sweetness to a very classic and much-beloved side dish in Kansas City. The medley of Granny Smith apples, green onions, and creamy dressing pairs perfectly with Q39’s selection of smoked meats.
Natasha Bailey:
- The Russell has been a Midtown go-to for salads since it opened in 2017. I order the roasted root salad, which has mixed greens, sweet potatoes, beets, hickory smoked almonds, goat cheese, and a molasses vinaigrette — earthy and consistently delicious.
- Bacaro Primo’s menu describes the house salad as “the obligatory, delicious Italian-American Restaurant-style salad.” The classic house salad hits the spot, and I’ll order one almost everytime I eat out.
- Cafe Gratitude’s caprese salad, called the I AM Exquisite, is a vegan take on the Italian favorite. In place of cheese, they use cashew mozzarella, which is surprisingly delightful. Drizzled with olive oil and a balsamic glaze, this salad is a perfect late-summer snack.
- Ocean Prime’s crisp iceberg wedge salad is a little different from the standard, with candied bacon, marinated tomatoes, pickled onions, blue cheese and a cabernet buttermilk dressing. Blue cheese really does have a home with the iceberg.
- Thai Place, in Overland Park, serves a super bright grilled mint beef salad that I’ve been eating since middle school. The thinly sliced beef is tossed with fresh herbs, vegetables and a generous squeeze of lime juice.
- Café Sebastienne is a stylish spot in the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art serving brunch and lunch Wednesday through Sunday. The restaurant is in the midst of big changes but, in the meantime, I enjoy the roast carrots with garlic yogurt, crispy kale, dukkah and chive oil.
Listener recommendations:
- The Westside Local — Kale Salad
- Third Street Social — Nashville Hot Chicken Salad
- Banksia Bistro — Moroccan Salad
- Fiesta Azteca — Chicken Fajita Salad
- Billie’s Grocery — Grilled Caesar
- Le Fou Frog — Salade de Chèvre Chaud Avec Figue
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