Salad Trends

What are some current salad trends? I talked to several restaurants for a Standard-Examiner story, and it’s apparent that today’s trendy salads have left iceberg lettuce behind. Spinach, kale, romaine, “spring mix” and other dark greens are the standard now. There are more sweet-savory combos of fruits and berries. And salads are often protein-packed as a nod to popular low-carb diets such as Paleo and South Beach.

Although grilled and crispy chicken are still popular in salads, other trendy proteins are salmon, trout, nuts and quinoa. Sweet-savory combos have also gained a big following, with fruits, berries and nuts.

Of the 17 salads on menu of the local MacCool’s restaurants, the most popular is the Maple Blarney, a mix of diced apples, dried cranberries, crumbled blue cheese, and cherry tomatoes over mixed greens, with a maple dressing.

“People really like the sweetness and the combination of apple and cranberry, ” said Michael Andersen, manager of the Layton MacCool’s. “It’s really refreshing, crisp and clean — it’s what people look for in salads.”

The second-most popular is the Tossed Salmon Salad, featuring  char-grilled salmon tossed with blistered green beans, tomatoes, with a dill shallot and yogurt dressing. Number three is Trout Salad, an herb-rubbed, char-broiled filet of Utah red trout on a spring mix salad and tossed in herb vinaigrette.

These are favorites for those on the Paleo Diet, which embraces meats, seafood, and produce, and shuns dairy, grains and processed foods.

“I get a lot of people who are part of CrossFit (exercise program) and the Paleo Diet, and they love eating salads that are hearty and filling,” said Andersen.

The restaurant’s Beet Salad is the fourth favorite. “There’s a natural sweetness to beets, and they give a nice earthiness to the salad,” noted Andersen.

Quinoa, a grainlike seed, has been showing up in many salads such as the Harvest Quinoa Salad at Bandits’ Grill in Holladay. Quinoa has been hailed by some nutritionists as a “superfood” because it’s high in protein, and has lots of fiber, iron and calcium.  The Harvest Quinoa also includes the super-popular leafy green, kale, along with pecans, apples, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. Adding to the healthy vibe, it was dressed in a light citrus vinaigrette.

Red Quinoa Bowl at Harley & Buck’s in downtown is full of colorful crunch and flavor, with red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, white beans, avocado, spinach, cucumbers, cilantro, and fresh spinach. It is served only during lunch. Quinoa is also gluten-free, as Harley & Buck’s runs a certified gluten-free kitchen.

Harley & Buck’s top-selling salads  have a fruity edge. Eden’s Best features baby spinach topped with diced apple, red onion, tomato, raspberries, dried cranberries, feta, toffee toasted almonds, tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette.  The Pear and Gorgonzola salad is the other top-seller. For an extra charge, you can add chicken, salmon, ahi tuna or shrimp.

The Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad is the top-seller at Brixton’s Baked Potato in downtown Ogden.

“People really like it for the candied walnuts and the goat cheese, and the balsamic vinaigrette — it’s just fantastic,” said owner Jamie Renda. “We use a bed of mixed greens and romaine, so it’s very healthy.”

The berries-and-nuts trend is also big at Café Zupas, where the most popular salad is Nuts About Berries, a mix of fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cinnamon almonds, romaine lettuce and raspberry vinaigrette, according to owner Rob Seely.

Despite newer salad trends, old-school classics remain best-sellers at both Union Grill and The Greenery.

“Our Cobb salad is the most popular one on the menu,” said Laura D’Hulst, Union Grill’s manager. “People like it because it’s hearty; it’s more of a meal salad. It’s really pretty too, with chopped egg, avocado, blue cheese and bacon.”

Food historians may remember that this salad was created in 1937 by Bob Cobb, owner of legendary Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood.

Current Fish & Oyster in Salt Lake City has a Seafood Cobb salad that features a plump shrimp, a little clump of shredded crabmeat, and a scallop perfectly seared on both sides, and meltingly rare in the middle. The avocado-ranch dressing provides flavor without overpowering the salad

At The Greenery, the most popular salad is the Avocado Crab Louie, a menu staple since the restaurant opened 37 years ago.

“It’s one of our go-to salads that people can’t get enough of,” said Brad Anderson, the Greenery’s assistant manager. “It’s snow crab mixed with shredded lettuce, mayonnaise and seasonings. It’s actually the same crab mixture that we use for our Gabby Crabby, one of our signature menu items.”

The Greenery’s salad bar has been a fixture since the  salad bar trend of the ’70s and ’80s. The main changes gluten-free salad dressings, in response to popular request.

In contrast, the local Chuck-A-Rama buffets have expanded on their salad bar offerings, going beyond iceberg lettuce to offer spinach and mixed greens.

“As people merge more into the “think healthy’ era, salads have become more important,” said Rene Shuurman of Chuck-A-Rama. “As you go to these finer restaurants today, you don’t see much iceberg lettuce. People want the mixed greens, so we have what we call our ‘yuppie bar’ with fresh spinach, fresh spring mix and 25 to 30 fresh toppings, and it’s extremely popular. And it will be moreso as time goes on.”