For me, there are few things more soul-reviving than sitting outside on a glorious sunny day and enjoying a good salad.
What makes a good salad, you might ask? In my opinion, it’s all about the “goodies to greens” ratio: There should be enough greens to make it count as a salad, yet enough goodies to make it interesting.
These three salads hit that ratio on the head, and happen to be a few of my favorites in town.
What: Greek salad
Where: Perenn Bakery Rancharrah; 7700 Rancharrah Parkway, Suite 110, Reno
Contact: www.perennbakery.com; 775-842-1508
Price: $20.75
French philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” If you told him you were eating the Greek salad from Perenn, he would likely tell you that you’re elite.
What makes this salad extra special is the attention to texture and ingredient quality. The bed of tender greens mixed with hearty kale is topped with razor-thin red onion, fresh feta, crispy chickpeas, meaty kalamata olives, juicy halved cherry tomatoes, and a bright, briny dressing that brings everything together. This salad makes for the perfect afternoon pause of sitting out on the patio and indulging in something so delicious, you forget how healthy it actually is. I would also recommend getting some Perenn sourdough on the side to scarpetta your way through the remaining dressed bits at the inevitable bottom of the bowl.
What: Taco Salad
Where: Miguel’s Restaurant; 1415 S. Virginia St., Reno
Contact: www.miguelsmexicanrestaurantreno.com; 775-322-2722
Price: $10.95
The taco salad from Miguel’s is my Proustian madeleine. It evokes memories of being a young teen, no longer ordering from the kids’ menu, asserting my maturity as I ordered while mirroring the women at my table. I carefully zig-zagged my dressing atop the greens and devised a strategy for how to break the taco shell efficiently, neatly fanning out the pieces to create a sort of flat taco vessel. Of all things, the taco salad from Miguel’s reminds me of home.
While this salad may not be the epitome of nutrient density, it most certainly is my epitome of comfort. The shredded iceberg lettuce, flaky fried taco shell bowl, and avocado ranch are the features that set this taco salad apart from others in town. I always order it with refried beans and add rice—because there are few things more comforting to me than carbs on carbs.
What: Orzo salad
Where: The Cheese Board; 15435 Wedge Parkway, Suite 100, Reno
Contact: cheeseboardcatering.com; 775-323-3115
Price: $10.95
A charming aspect of American food culture is the nebulous definition of a salad, which can range from a bed of greens dressed with a simple vinaigrette, to fruit, nuts and Cool Whip suspended in Jell-O. Somewhere in between the two is one of my favorites—pasta salad. I am a pasta fiend, and if eating it cold makes it a salad, that works for me.
The orzo salad from The Cheese Board strikes the right balance of nutritious and satisfying: It’s a bed of fresh spinach topped with orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, pepitas and herbs. Drizzled with a thick and perfectly sweet balsamic dressing, it’s a great way to get your greens in without feeling like you’ve just eaten a salad. Pro tip: Chopping this salad up with a knife and fork before diving in will make it much easier to get all the best goodies in one bite.
