Once in a blue moon, just about every three years or so, I get the craving for a good salad, straying from my typical highly processed meal variety of pasta and chopped meat, butter and bread, now venturing into dangerously healthy territory. Granted that I survived this past weekend (my car did not) I have newfound hope that I somehow can adopt a healthy lifestyle; adding quality to the coming years to live.
So being a salad newbie, I ask of you ohh Cvillain Oracle, where may I discover the best Salad in town?
Great question, TwoOFour! Supplementary reading on the topic: Lilith’s Guide to Greens, June 8.
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Tagged as: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Questions, Restaurants, Reviews
Good salads: The Ivy Inn’s house salad (light, simple, with pomegranate seeds…mmmm)
West Main (bibb lettuce, apples, cheese, nuts, and champagne vinaigrette)
Great salads: None found…yet.
Two - When I read this I thought and thought and thought.
What I realized is that salads are very personal experiences. What is a salad anyway? As far as I’m concerned it’s a mix of various things from fruit, to cheese, to nuts, to meat, to greens. Let’s not forget the dressings. A salad opens up the door for so many creative possibilities. People just don’t get it here.
As for the best salad in town, I think that you can make yourself an amazing salad with everything you want, exactly how you like it. Go to the grocery store, pick out seasonal ingredients and for dressing:
shallots and garlic chopped finely
1 parts oil
2 parts vinegar
.75 parts dijon
.25 parts honey.
Whisk oil in last. It’s so easy and works with pretty much every salad combo i make.
C&O’s House salad w/Boston lettuce & pommery vinaigrette for 5 bucks..
always YuMMY! (and then get the artichoke pate)
maybe i will be crucified for mentioning a chain restaurant, but i think salad creations is great.
i don’t eat salads at many places (except on the side) because they are always way too small. salad creations is the only place that i’ve gotten a salad that has filled me up.
plus, it is great being able to put whatever you want on it for a flat price.
the ingredients always seem fresh, the people are really nice, and i’m not hungry when i leave.
When Ciboulette was still open they made an amazing beet salad, but I will say Orzo did a good job the other night with their greek salad (really fresh feta). That being said, I either make my own (yippee for Horse & Buggy Produce’s winter shares and their awesome bibb lettuce) or get the belgium endive salad at Rev Soup (it takes a while and it’s probably totally bad for you, but I’m a sucker for apples and blue cheese).
I’ll go with Thor here. You can make a great salad and dressing at home, and once you’ve started making your own dressing, it’s hard to stop.
If whisking is too hard, or for a more blended consistency, try using a blender. Mix everything except the oil in the blender. Once blended, turn on the blender (about halfway up if your blender has settings, many actually have a “dressing” setting), and slowly pour in the oil until it’s mixed. Don’t overmix.
Also, I think Thor probably meant 2 parts oil, 1 part vinegar, but if that’s still too tart/bright/vinegary, add a little more oil, or try cutting it with honey (can be added and blended in at any time, but we do it with the vinegar at the start).
i like more vinegar cut with honey.. thats the way i roll baby
Dan: not so sure. I do roughly two-parts vinegar/one-part vinegar as Thor stipulated, FWIW. But then, I’d just as soon put straight balsamic on my salad, but because it’s goddamn delicious.
Oh. Thor-pwned. But I was right!
The Blue Ridge Country store has the most amazing salad bar and it’s half the price of Salad Creations (right around the corner). I can eat there five days in a row and have a totally different meal every time. You wouldn’t believe the options they have - oh, and good homemade soup too!
Who knew?
I think the salad at Eppies - the one with walnuts (or whatever) and cranberries (if I recall correctly) is just perfect. Not perfect enough for me to get off my lazy ass and go and buy one obviously (or I’d have a better grasp of the ingredients) but perfect nonetheless.
Wendy’s Chicken BLT salad will always be my favorite.
I’ll second stevsie on the Blue Ridge Country Store’s soups. I dearly love Rev Soup, but hey, I work at the other end of the mall and can be lunch-time lazy. Really creative varieties, always changing, at the Blue Ridge. Today, I chose curried pumpkin soup, with big chunks o’ potato and other veggies. Yum!
I had a salad from Twisted Branch Tea Bizarre that was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
Both the arugula and spinach salads at Mas are tasty.
Not sure if it counts, but my favorite is vegetarian salad from Chipotle. For work lunch, Blue Ridge Country Store is my go-to.
In addition to being an awesome fresh pasta shop, Mona Lisa Pasta on Preston Avenue serves a small lunch/to-go menu — including a fresh mozzarella salad that IMO is the best salad in Charlottesville. Their sandwiches are amazing, too. If you’ve never tried this place for lunch, you don’t know what you’re missing.
I’m with sparky, but my salad bar is Teeter.
I’m gonna throw my hat in with the Blue Ridge Country Store fans. That place is awesome. It’s the only place that’s made it possible for me to stick to my “salads for lunch” resolution (most of the time). I get great lunches, and I’ve lost 8 lbs so far. And reasonably priced to boot.
Congrats, Josh!
For salad dressing newbies, traditionally vinaigrettes are 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. However, I would suggest the best thing you can do is just play around with some dressings at home, to find out what you like best. It’s really a lot of fun. Here’s a couple links to help out:
CIA salad and dressing recipe:
http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/recipes/spinach_salad.asp
Article on making vinaigrettes:
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/stories/2007/07/10/vinaigrette_0712.html
Uber pWn4ge.
If I am correct, I believe the owner of the Blue Ridge store is a fairly frequent poster here, but I’ll leave him to identify himself if he wants.
If I find out anyone is making fake accounts to promote themselves with multiple identities, they will so be publically ridiculed. Trust me. Don’t do it.
The Blue Ridge folks wouldn’t do that - they are the definition of “good people.” I’m not the least bit suprised by the accolades they’ve received, especially as I see how busy they get every day. I still don’t understand how Salad Creations can compete, as they are just so much more expensive for pretty much no difference in quality. Poor guys in their silly veggie printed chef pants forced to hand out flyers when it’s slow…
Thor, I know you’re not directing that at me, now are you? I mean, can’t a guy just like some salad bar? Lys, I’m with you on Salad Creations, and when did dressing your employees in silly hats become good for business?
I just don’t want people to make up multiple accounts and lie about stuff to self promote themselves. That might hurt our little community.
Yes, I’d say that’s a given.
fyi - I have no affiliation with BRCT other than being a satisfied customer. And the Santa Fe wrap I had today was teh awesome.
BRCS even. I haven’t even started drinking yet.
Whoa, Thor. I didn’t mean to imply that at all. That person hasn’t posted to this thread, just wanted to let people know that I think they are throwing props to a commenter to the site, that’s all.
i wasnt mad or anything.. i just had the idea and thought i would voice it
Blogger beware - if you fake post, Thor will abduct you and then make you listen to Bright Eyes. At OXO.
townietoolong, I’m confused, if you are really a townie that has been here so long, wouldn’t you know that the “Twisted Branch Tea Blah Blah” is really just called the teahouse?? just sayin’….
mintyfresh, LOL!!
Thor’s #24 post sounded like my Dad saying “If I find out you (fill in the blank of a bad thing), young lady, you are grounded for a month! No telephone! No TV! No sleepovers! If you think I am kidding, just try me!”
Hee hee, j/k kidding Thor.
whatever. oxo does not play brighteyes.
The Blue Ridge country store offers great variety for really cheap. I’m always amazed that I can get such a filling salad for only $3.
This’ll sound crazy, but I’m in love with the Wild Chef salad from Wild Wings. I get it almost every time I go there. And I go there practically every Saturday for college football.
Blue Ridge Country Store is god’s gift to all salad kind! From their elysium drenched aphrodisiacal dressings to their hand selected and trimmed individual peices of exotic greens! I especially like the way they carve your initials out of Bolivian Winter Cabbage, and artfully lay them over the finished product fr garnish! My favorite is the one with the hand picked Mongolian Lim Berries, fresh arctic hoar frost, zest of virgin Peruvian lemon seedling, and poached platypus eggs - The Global Love Bowl I think they call it. Anyway. I cannot believe they can make a salad like that for only 78 cents!
Thanks , yo. Here’s your 20 bucks.
Ethan, I’m with you! Wild Wings loads that thing. My favorite salad in town is from South Street. My thoughts on salads are best represented by this video.
Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor
Posted May 22, 2006
When it’s time to watch your girlish figure, it’s time for a giant taco salad.
Thor. Im really sorry ’bout that. How bout we just split this here twenty and it’ll never happen again. Cool?
Twisted Branch has a great house salad, with glazed walnuts and pears on mixed greens. My new favorite is the beef strip salad at La Taza. And Sticks had good salads. Blue Ridge Country Store is probably the easiest lunch salad. And don’t forget about Revolutionary Soup… the goat cheese & raspberry on spinach leaves is the best thing ever.
oh, I almost forgot… Hamilton’s has a lunch salad with a little warm ball of cornmeal crusted goat cheese. that might be my favorite thing in town.
Blue Ridge Country Store and Bagby’s are mysteries to the 9-5 crowd that works somewhere other than the mall. I have never walked by either store while they were open.
There are so many businesses in town that close at 5 PM (or earlier) and don’t open on the weekends. Up until now, I assumed that I wasn’t missing anything, but obviously, I am!
Baggby’s had a store up in FLakes till recently, now replaced by Café LaJoi (sp?). Pretty good, too. The Blue Ridge joint was a complete surprise to me. My downtown-working girlfriend gave me a big “duh!” when I told her Cvillains were going on about it. Apparently: teh awesome.
Rapture has a salad with walnuts, green apples, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette that rocks. BUT like Thor I make mine at home with iceberg, good seasons dressing made with balsamic, and top it off with a hamburger patty with melted cheese of your choice. It is soooooooooo good! And Sticks also has a kickass salad.
Oh you guys are too funny….
Samantha - Spankings.
BYO - Going rate is $40.
[…] time is it when you’re reading this? Are you getting ready for your commute home? Our little convo about salads got me thinking. Yes, the Hook’s crossword salad green answer IS endive. And then I started […]
I only found out about the BRCS through this thread and I work right off the mall. I would never have known they had lunch in there had I not seen it here. Thanks for the heads up, had an awesome wrap there the other day.
The NOOK has seven homemade salad dressings and always crisp lettuce and chilled bowls. I know this, ’cause I OWN IT. Had an underwhelming greek salad at Dan’s place yesterday and some good chicken and dumplings and a great pumkin muffin. Fortunately my distain for the very expensive greek salad will not have me trashing Eppies or concluding it is headed for the grave yard. One less than stellar experience is just that, one. I will eat their more often, I’ll just skip that menu item, until I hear it has improved. As for the BRCS regardless of the attitude from a certain check out person, I ALWAYS refer toursits and freinds there for the awesome salad bar.
stuart, hey. I’ve been wondering if “Nook Stuart” was the “commenter stuart” who shows up here from time to time! You’ve got amazing biscuits over there. Can you list off your salad dressings for everyone? I, personally, want it out there, if you don’t mind.
[…] having an issue with the salad thread. When Dan said he uses two parts oil, one part vinegar, we were all a little surprised. […]
I would definitely try the Nook’s salads if you haven’t yet. Stuart knows a lot (if not everything) about restaurants, and whenever I’m over there, which is more than you’d think, everyone (wait staff, kitchen, etc.) is friendly and outgoing.
I should have mentioned that I love the chicken at Eppies (and it’s a good deal too) Though I still can’t stomach the cole slaw…once a yankee always a yankee…As for Nook salad dressings: House Italian (soon to be updated on the new 2008 menu) Extra thick Ranch, Parmesan and Pink Peppercorn. (actually made with Asiago, but I didn’t want to scare anybody) Lime-Poppy Seed, Our Blue Cheese is simple thick ranch with fresh crumbles on top, 1000 Island, Whole Grain Honey Mustard, Caesar Dressing and Feta vinaigrette when we run the Greek, which will be on the 2008 menu. Hopeful for some feedback in the next eight weeks as we run specials to try out what will be on
the new menu. I do believe we have another Stuart, my comments to date have been limited to this salad thread. (I think)
Thank you everybody for the many many suggestions. I will be making my way over to BRCS as I think it is safe to assume that was the over all winner….Maybe someone care to break it down to statistics, I am just in it for the salad.
I did get the bonus of now having dressing recipies to last me at least a year, all of which I am going to mix in the kitchen like the crazy little chemist.
I’d like to welcome Stuart, I always feel like a VIP when i dine at TN.
2o4 you are a vip everywhere you go!
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