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BAR-HOPPING
A sampling of Lawrence salad bars
by Erin Wisdom
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/JARED GAB
When I was little, my favorite vegetable was lettuce. Never mind that I only liked it on bologna sandwiches and that I never had an inclination to try it in a more natural state, separate from mayonnaise and questionable meat. Even as I grew up and abandoned my affinity for Oscar Mayer, lettuce never became more to me than a garnish, which may explain why I've never taken a liking to salad.
Salad stop one: Dillons
It's become obvious to me, though, that in shunning salad, I may be missing out. Salads are a great way to add variety to meals, says Karen Ciancio, creator of www.cookingnook.com. And in addition to being incredibly customizable, they're usually fairly simple to make — which may appeal to those, like me, whose culinary prowess is less than impressive.
So I decided to hit the bars. The salad bars, that is. Not only to try to add a new facet to my diet, but also to sample and grade a few of Lawrence's salad-offering establishments.
I immediately realized that lettuce might be the least important part of a salad. In fact, had I slipped into my old salad-shunning ways, I might have decided to forgo leafy greens entirely and fill up on pineapple, Cheez-its and pepperoni — all of which the bar offered in abundance. But I didn't. I didn't take advantage of another of the many fruits and try to convince myself that I could use it to fill my dietary need for vegetables either.
Instead, I piled lettuce into one of the clear plastic boxes the bar provided. It was mid-afternoon, and the lettuce supply was running a little low, despite the fact that everything else was well-stocked. This shortage added to the awkwardness of my tong-handling ability as I scraped the corners of the container in hopes of retrieving more than a single lettuce leaf at a time. I told myself that maybe the challenge was part of the fun of the experience, though — like a vegetarian's version of an arcade game.
To my lettuce I added chicken, cherry tomatoes, cheese, croutons and ranch dressing. I would later realize that although
the tomatoes made the salad pretty, they're more difficult to spear with a fork than they're worth. Still, I ate the salad, and I didn't hate it.
Cost: $3.99/lb, and my dignity when a Dillons employee offered to help me with the lettuce.
Benefit: I was exposed to the wonder of banana chips. Fruit should probably never be crispy, but still, I bet you can't eat just one.
Grade:B+
I had to deduct points due to the fact that at the time of my visit, there were no soups available, even though the name "Soup and Salad Bar" promises them.
Salad stop two: Hy-Vee Immediately Hy-Vee's salad
bar scored points by offering me a baked potato (the only vegetable I ever crave) for $.99. But I resisted, not ready to give up on my quest to appreciate the
world's greener vegetables. I circled the bar and found it to be a little messier than Dillons'but in the end, I was too enamored with the pop-up paper plate dispenser to pay much attention to the carrot shreds contaminating the organic tofu.
on for good measure — sort of like a taco salad without the meat.
Having already had one salad that
In assembling my meal, I was pleasantly surprised with
SALAD BAR SITES
Dillons 1015 W. 23rd St. and 3000 W.Sixth St.
day, I was having trouble working up an appetite for another. So I compromised. I fixed a plate of nachos and threw some lettuce
The Community Mercantile 901 Iowa St.
Hy-Vee
3504 Clinton Parkway,
and 4000 W. Sixth St.
how easy-access this bar seemed compared to the first one. I attributed this largely to the sneeze guard being higher. Whereas the one at the first bar had cut directly into my line of vision, this one sloped down only as far as my forehead. However, the fact that the sneeze
Hy-Vee
Cost: $3.99/lb for salad, $2.99/lb
for soup; $1.99/lb for a baked potato
guard was above my nose did, of course, defeat its entire purpose for existence. I tried not to let this bother me.
Benefit: I'm now a member of the Hy-Vee Free Salad Bar Club. Buy nine salads, get the 10th free. I haven't heard yet, but I'm hoping there's a T-sirt.
Grade:A
Location is key even when it comes to salad bars, and this bar's location near Hy-Vee's Chinese and Italian counters earns it extra points. I may have come for salad, but it was nice to know I had options.
Salad stop three: The Community Mercantile
The salad bar at the Merc offers entirely organic produce, and I felt so healthy just standing next to it that I thought maybe I could give myself a break from
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