Caviar & Bananas salad eaters are a loyal lot. Owner Kris Furniss says some patrons come in every day requesting the same salad — the East Coast, a combo of fresh strawberries, chicken, dried cranberries, and goat cheese, is the most popular. So it’s with some trepidation that we share the news that today C&B is debuting an entirely new specialty salad menu. (Don’t worry, they’re keeping the East Coast for fear of a salad riot.)
We got a taste last week. Here are the details.
Each new salad has been designed around a location: Toscana, The Gramercy, The Far East, Pike Place Caesar, The Buena Vista Cobb, and The Baja.
The Toscana ($9.95) — certainly our favorite out of the bunch — included a combination of the sweet and savory. Crunchy toasted walnuts, vanilla poached pears, crispy proscuitto, and shaved parmesan in a Chianti vinaigrette make for a light, but filling meal.
The Gramercy ($10.95), inspired by the restaurant of the same name, is certainly up there too with my favorites. Roasted chicken is the highlight of this salad. A balsamic vinaigrette adds a nice and light touch coating arugula, dried cherries, toasted almonds, and red and black quinoa. It would make a great side item, with the perfect sour yet sweet taste.
The Far East ($8.95) is probably the most aesthetically appealing of the bunch. Roasted peanuts make an excellent substitute for croutons here. Red bell peppers are mixed with carrots, brown rice, red cabbage, and a delicious sesame ginger vinaigrette. It’s served with a surprisingly hearty soy-roasted tofu, but that can be substituted for chicken.
One of the most zesty of the salad offerings, the Pike Place Caesar ($10.95) arrived with, fittingly, hot-smoked salmon on a bed of kale. Shaved parmesan, tomato, cucumber, pumpernickel croutons, and a dill dressing finished the dish. We could just eat the croutons, they were that good.
It’s hard to revolutionize a cobb salad, but here C&B does their best. For their Buena Vista Cobb ($9.95) the combination of bleu cheese dressing with avocado gets a sweet kick of candied bacon.
The Baja ($8.95), though a tad strong, is perfect for anyone looking to spice up their day. A chipotle lime vinaigrette gives the salad a very tangy feel with citrus-grilled shrimp, corn, cucumber, jicama, pickled red onions, and pumpkin seeds.
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