Where can I find the best salads?

[bigdave48]

Per Dr,s orders I had to go vegeterian after 50yrs of fine dining. Please help

[nsxtasy]

Well, vegetarian cuisine can consist of a lot more than salads. Vegetarian dishes can include soups, pastas, and entrees that don't contain meat or fish. Almost any good restaurant has one or more vegetarian entrees; even the finest restaurants can prepare an entire tasting menu of vegetarian dishes on request. And there are restaurants that are entirely (or almost entirely) vegetarian, the nicest of which is Green Zebra.

You'll find recommendations for vegetarian cuisine in these topics:
www.chowhound.com/topics/390173
www.chowhound.com/topics/366210
www.chowhound.com/topics/408955
www.chowhound.com/topics/458592
www.chowhound.com/topics/117150

Metromix lists 67 restaurants in the area under its vegetarian category:
http://chicago.metromix.com/browse/restaurants/0,124?offset=1&page_size=50

They also list 146 restaurants under their salads category, although that list tends to be more of a mishmosh of restaurants of various styles and does not necessarily represent places that excel at salads:
http://chicago.metromix.com/browse/restaurants/0,113?offset=1&page_size=50

But to answer your question, any good restaurant should have some interesting salads on the menu, and in general, the more creative the menu, the more creative the salads. You may want to check the websites of your favorites and/or places local to you to see what they offer. My personal favorite dinner salad is the chopped salad at Maggiano's, although they would need to leave out the chicken and prosciutto to make it vegetarian, which might make it less appealing than some other salads that are vegetarian to begin with.

There aren't a lot of discussions here devoted strictly to salads but here are a couple:
www.chowhound.com/topics/115826
www.chowhound.com/topics/427438

[CJT]

You don't say where you live but if you are in the suburbs, you can eat salads and veggie soups to your heart's content at Sweet Tomatoes restaurants. It's a chain which offers a large salad bar (select from their pre-made ones or build you own) and all you can eat soups, several of which will be vegetables only. Also offered are baked potatoes (sometimes baked sweet potatoes), breads, focaccia, and fresh fruits. Locations in Glenview, Schaumburg, St. Charles, Lombard, and Aurora. Great for both lunch and dinner.