Toss your salad? Toss MY salad!

Sorry guys, I couldn't resist. Kristen, remember that Oprah episode about teenagers' sex lives with the teaser right before the commercial break in which Oprah said, "Do you know what your teen means when he says 'toss my salad'?" Ewwwww. Does any teenager say that to their parents - to anyone at all??

Anyway, to the meat of this post...err, the veggies, I mean. I realized on my drive home from work today, as my tummy rumbled, that I have a few VERY favorite salads at restaurants around town, and for all you Portlanders (and all you New Yorkers and others who decide to visit), I thought I'd share my recommendations. These salads are SO good, I'm telling you. SO GOOD that I'm blogging about them, which is really just ridiculous, so you know they have to be good!

Green Salad with House Raspberry Vinaigrette
at The Italian Joint
3145 SE Hawthorne
(It's the dressing that makes this salad. The perfect blend with hint of sweetness in the tangy vinaigrette. This concoction is so good that I asked for some to take home with me and ate salads for dinner the rest of the week - NOT a very typical diet for candy- and carb-loving me.)

Side Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (sensing a trend here - I like vinaigrette dressings)
at Rock Bottom Brewery
206 SW Morrison
(I know, it's a chain - ick. And frankly, I haven't been there in almost a year, but now that I'm writing this I really want to go get this salad. As their website attests, this is more than a side salad, covered with cheese, egg, bacon, croutons...oh, and maybe some veggies in the form of lettuce, tomatoes and carrots.)

Greek Salad
at Vincente's
1935 SE Hawthorne
(I feel a bit sacrilegious saying this Greek Salad is better than the one at the Greek Cuisina, but I'm taking the risk. A huge bowl of salad covered in kalamata olives and feta cheese. Mmmmm... You can usually find John and I fighting over the last big chunks of feta!)

Field Greens House Salad
at Henry's 12th Street Tavern
10 NW 12th
(Another restaurant I'm ashamed to include simply because the bar is such a meat market scene and I avoid it all costs, but this salad is just too good. I really love the bite size cherry tomatoes (marinated in basil!) and the cornbread croutons, which are just soft and sweet enough. Yummy! If you're getting dinner, you're in the dining room anyway and away from all the grossness in the bar - which would otherwise hijack your appetite.)

And now I am officially starving.