Salads!

March 7, 2007

ctnow.com

Time to get your green on. Whether you're an actual vegetarian or aspiring to be a herbivore, dieting or abstaining for Lent, we offer you five places to fill up on flavorful salads.

Café Nordstrom
Westfarms Mall, Farmington
860-521-9090
Lime & Cilantro Chicken Salad, $8.50

Salads are no longer boring. With so many unexpected ingredients appearing in salads these days, we should all be indulging in one. And Café Nordstrom's Lime & Cilantro Chicken Salad is no exception.

It's packed with Romaine lettuce, mixed greens, jack cheese, roasted peppers, tomato, corn and pumpkin seeds, and topped with a delicious chipotle lime vinaigrette. Squeeze the wedge of lime that comes on the side of your plate onto the salad for added zest.

Café Nordstrom is a great escape from the crowds you might find at a typical Mall food court. Tucked away on the top floor of Nordstrom at Westfarms, the café offers cafeteria-style dining, more than one step above a fast food eatery. It's casual enough for moms with kids or meeting up with friends for a quick bite to eat. If you're dining in, order your meal at the cash register and then grab a table. One of café's friendly waitstaff will come over, check your receipt and then bring you your drink and meal.

Café Nordstrom actually offers several ucreative salads for reasonable prices, including an Asian Glazed Shrimp and Noodle Salad ($9.50) and a Blue Cheese and Pear Salad ($7.95).

Whether you order your meal to go or eat it in Café Nordstom, the Lime & Cilantro Chicken Salad brings you back to warm summer days with it's fresh taste. You almost want to order an ice tea or lemonade to go with it.

-- AMY ELLIS

Nikkita's
200 Crown Street, New Haven
203-787-0227
Tomato & Mozzarella Salad, $6

If you're looking to get some dinner in downtown New Haven before hitting the city's clubs and bars, consider grabbing a healthy bite to eat at Nikkita's before you do some damage to your liver.

Nikkita's "greens and things" part of the menu listed a bunch of salads. I decided to order the tomato and mozzarella salad. It was delivered to my table in a bowl that tilted sideways, which at first, made me wonder if I had drank one too many cocktails.

Thickly cut chunks of red, fresh tomato rested in the bits of green chopped celery. Purple shreds of onion slices mixed in, giving it some zesty flavor with bits of dark green parsley garnished on top. Delicious globs of white mozzarella balls were tossed in glistening in an oily dressing and you can see little specks of seasoned black pepper sprinkled on top. It wasn't really "love at first bite." I will admit I was kind of iffy when I first tried it, probably because I am so used to the traditional salads but I found myself taking bite after bite and I ended up really liking it. The mix of tomato and cheese with the other flavors of the shredded onion and dressing definitely made for a different kind of salad.

Nikkita's offers a 'chill' atmosphere. The ambience at this bar/restaurant is fairly dim except for the cool red, blue, and yellow lights over the tables. If you are looking for a quiet or romantic meal, I wouldn't recommend Nikkita's. The place is loud because of the bar. You don't want to lose your voice if you're forced to scream at your dinner date. But it's definitely a fun place to hang out and have some good food and drinks with pals.

-- ERICA DASILVA

Tapas on Ann
128-130 Ann Street
(860)-525-5988, www.tapasonline.com
Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken, $8.95

With barely a half a dozen small tables crammed around a very tight bar, the Mediterranean-themed Tapas on Ann may be a tough fit – especially if you hit the lunchtime crowd. But the establishment more than makes up for any lack of space with the size and taste of its portions.

Take, for instance, Tapas signature Greek Salad. It is assembled with crumbled feta cheese, kalamata olvies, diced tomatoes, pepperoncini and chopped parsley over a bed of mixed greens. All of it gets smothered in Tapas' "Almost Famous" salad dressing. Add grilled chicken (for an additional $2.95) and its more than a meal.

All the vegetables in the salad tasted fresh, crisp and crunchy, while the chicken was tender and plentiful. But the real 'star' of the show was the "Almost Famous" dressing. Although I couldn't quite put my finger on its list of ingredients, I did detect the hint of quite a few pleasant spices, and a very, very strong garlicky undertone that lingered on my palate far longer than the salad on my plate.

Apparently, Tapas doesn't keep a freezer on hand so everything on the menu is prepared daily from scratch using only fresh produce.

Yes, Tapas on Ann may at first seem a little claustrophobic, but if you can find a table, squeeze into it. Once the food arrives, your whole perspective will expand.

- DAVE MORAN

Half Moon Coffee and Grille Café
50 North Main Street, Wallingford,
203-265-4571
Cesare Salad with Grilled Shrimp, $8.75

I'll admit it. I've strayed from my dieting New Year's resolution. But I'm still committed to eating right and staying healthy, just without rice cakes and a piece of celery for lunch. I prefer one of fresh salads at Half Moon Coffee and Grille Café.

Half Moon has what you need in the green department. The menu includes Mediterranean salad (with Belgium endive, radicchio, arugula, lightly tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with a shaved parmigiana) to Terra Mare (with anchovies, grilled asparagus, cucumber, onions, olives, romaine lettuce and vinaigrette). I was in the mood for something basic: a cesare salad. I decided to switch things up a little bit by topping it with grilled shrimp.

The presentation was great. The salad was on a trendy flat, swiveled plate full of fresh crispy green leaves with thick pink shrimp grilled to a tint of brown perfection swimming in a sea of dressing. The shrimp was phenomenal and they give you a decent size and amount of those little curled critters. The croutons were crunchy and the parmigiano cheese sprinkled over the salad was a nice touch and added to the flavor.

Half Moon is a trendy little café. No, it's not one of those dreary, dark coffee shops with everyone looking angrily at their computer with mocha lattes and their lunch. It's decorated with bright colors and it's located right in the center of town of Wallingford with a nice view of Main Street and all the little shops. And Half Moon serves everything from wraps and sandwiches to gelato and fish, and even gourmet pizza.

-- ERICA DASILVA

Maggie McFly's
6 Woodside Avenue, Middlebury
(203) 577-2205
Thai Salad, $8.99 (lunch portion)

Maggie McFly's is my favorite restaurant when I have a salad craving. The two-floor restaurant/bar offers all you could want in a casual food joint - extensive menu, long drink list, ample seating, fun décor and a lively wait staff. And with a page of its menu completely devoted to gigantic salads, you know you're in the right place for tasty leafy combinations.

After peering over the menu, I settled on the Thai Salad. It included grilled, skewered chicken marinated in soy-sesame Asian sauce over a bed of greens, topped with parmesan cheese and balsamic vinaigrette, and a light drizzle of peanut sauce to finish the deal. Knowing that there was no way I would be able to finish the full salad, I opted for the lunch portion in hopes that I could at least make a dent in my meal.

When my salad came out, the size of it intimidated me. But after admiring the design of the chicken skewers, neatly placed on three sides of the bowl, I dug into the green organic leaves and grilled chicken. The salad was crisp and fresh, adding nicely to the lightly marinated chicken, which was tender and cooked to perfection. My only complaint - a little too much balsamic vinaigrette for my liking.

I nearly got to the end of my bowl before I couldn't force one more bite. A word of advice - if you plan on tackling a Maggie's salad, bring your appetite and plan on leaving with a doggie bag.

-- RENEE C. TRAYNOR

Subscribe to the Hartford Courant today and receive up to 50% off!

SPONSORED LINKS

UTILITIES

PHOTOS

BEST SALADS

PHOTOS

DINING SEARCH

Find restaurant by name:

Or search by: