st paul folk: what are best salads in or near downtown

[MarkG]

any really good salads off a menu or salad bar?? any really authentic Caesars??

[churchka]

I like the salads at Babani's a lot. I especially the Jaajic. Not lettuce salads, but good.

[diesel]

What do you consider "near" downtown?

[AnneInMpls]

Dunno about the OP, but my answer blithely assumed that Dinkytown and Seward (both Mpls) are "near" downtown St. Paul. Though if one is walking or biking, or searching for salad on one's lunch hour, I suppose they're not really close enough.

Here's a St. Paul recommendation - the spicy Cossetta salad at Cossetta's. Romaine lettuce, bacon, gorgonzola, and croutons, tossed to order with a zippy dressing. (But it's not in the same league as the ones I mentioned above.)

Anne

[AnneInMpls]

I really like the main-dish salads at Kafe 421. Their Caesar is pretty good, but my favorites are the steak cobb salad, the grilled salmon with balsamic-dressed greens and mango salsa, and the strawberry spinach salad.

Also, I'm addicted to the Punch Salad at Punch Neapolitan pizza. And their Caesar Salad is great - very zippy and creaming and full 'o anchovies (the main point of a Caesar salad, in my opinion). And the gorgonzola-walnut salad is rich and delicious.

The changing salads at the Birchwood are almost always good. There's only been a few duds in the mix over the past few years - usually, it's something amazing. This week, they're doing a spinach salad with cranberries and duck confit - I haven't had it, but my husband reports that it's wonderful.

Anne

[ajs]

Not a Caesar, but I had a very fun braised leek salad w/blue cheese, walnuts, and Pommery mustard at Meritage (in the old A Rebours space) a couple of weeks back. My companion had some very tasty onion soup. I could see the two making a nice light meal, with a little bread and a glass of wine.

The salad was a prelude to a pretty good steak frites, by the way.

And don't forget the Vietnamese noodle salads (bun) that abound in Saint Paul. One of my favorites is the salad with crispy pork and eggroll that they serve at Pho 79 (Raymond and Energy Park), but that is a ways from downtown.

[stymie]

The best salad bar I've seen in a very long time is at Fogo De Chao (sp?) on Hennepin in Mpls. I believe you can skip the meat fiesta and just have the salad bar.

[diesel]

The best salads I've found downtown are at Macy's - the River Room (their sit down place near the shoes/womens clothing department) is nice (plus you get a fresh-from-the-oven popover with your meal), but can be a bit time-consuming. The salads at the Macy's cafeteria-style place (near the cookware department - is it called the Marketplace?) are also quite good. May I recommend the fresh mozzarella salad?

I also really enjoy the kaiso (seaweed) salads at Fuji Ya and Sakura, although they wouldn't really be enough for a whole meal. And they're not everyone's cup of tea.

Other than that, I'd guess that the St. Paul Grill and the new place where Au Rebours used to be (what's it called again?) would be reliable, but I don't dine in that price range often enough to speak knowledgeably about them.

Best of luck! I'll be watching the replies to this post intently.

[St Paul Susie]

A little farther than downtown, but a quick drive.

The only decent salad bar that I've found is the one at Whole Foods on Grand/fairview

Shish has a great greek salad. Coffee News Cafe on grand as well has a few excellent options.

[Haricotsv2]

Kincaids downtown has a blue cheese salad with almonds that is great. The St. Paul Hotel has a good Caesar in the Grill, but there is also the M St. Cafe downstairs that has a truly good soup and salad bar that changes each day. Same chefs and ingredients as the grill. Also, the little cafe in the Landmark Center has a good Greek salad, and a delicious Southwest Caesar.

[EricShawnSmith]

Bennett's Chop and Rail House(formerly Mitch's Supper Club) on West Seventh has a delicious chop salad which is actually Mitch's old recipe.