Boston's best salads? A round up

[Wannabfoode]

Now that summer's really heating up and local veggies are ramping up, I thought I'd ask: what are your favorite Boston salads? Lettuce, no lettuce, hierloom tomato, greek, Caesar, chopped, fine dining or take out, put 'em all out there!!

I'll start by nominating the Tiger's Tears from Myers and Chang. Addictively spicy, loads with herbs, tender beef slices and a rainbow of peppers...

Also the New England Seafood Salad from hammersley's, super light and fresh with shrimp, scallops, lobster, asparagus and peas.

[tamerlanenj]

For an easy, every day option, I do like the Chef Salad at Tossed. My wife loves it too. Consistent, fairly inexpensive, fast...I wouldn't mind seeing more branches in other citys (Portland, ME Please?!)

[TheScribe]

You may find this hard to believe, but Mr. Bartley's Burgers in Harvard Square has a great Greek salad. The dressing is to die for.

[Mijoter]

Sometimes I crave just a simple salad, and lots of it, for not too much $$. Cambridge 1 has an arugula salad-- just arugula, with a light dressing and shaved parm or grana or something in that neighborhood-- this, with a beer from their pretty decent selection, hits the spot for me. The atmosphere is often loud and it can be crowded, however, so my alternative is Upstairs on the Square, the Zebra Room or bar room, for a frisee salad with poached egg and lardons. I usually get one of their stupendous cocktails with it. This salad is so good I sometimes order a second one. ...These rooms are currently being renovated and the menu somewhat incorporated into that of the more formal, upstairs dining room, so I don't know if it's currently available. Anyone else have suggestions for finding great, but simple salads?

[peelmeagrape]

While none of these is healthy or seasonal, I like the frisee salad at Eastern Standard, the BLT-as-a-salad at Flour (though they tend to burn the bacon) and the spinach and bacon salad at the Capital Grill. I guess if you put enough bacon on something, there's a good chance I'm gonna like it...

-----
Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

[galangatron]

spicy pig ear salad at shangri-la in belmont
larb ped (duck larb) at s&i thai in allston
larb pla dook foo (crispy catfish larb) at montien in the theatre district
zaalouk (eggplant and tomato salad) at moroccan hospitality restaurant in malden
laphetthot (tea leaf salad) at yoma in allston
jinnthot (ginger salad) at yoma in allston
thayettheethot (green mango salad) at yoma in allston
antipasti bar at vinny's at night in somerville
serbian-style potato salad at the serbian festival in cambridge
goi sua (jellyfish salad) at pho 2000 in dorchester
som tum (papaya salad) at s&i thai in allston
tiger tears at floating rock in cambridge
bok l'hong (papaya salad) at thmor da in revere
pleah sach ko (beef salad with mint) at senmonorom in lowell
tum mak hoong (papaya salad) at phien's kitchen in lowell
yuk hwe (raw beef salad) at chung ki wa in medford

[teezeetoo]

all salads at Sunrise Cafe in Dorchester and at most of the Dorchester vietnamese restaurants, particularly spicy chicken.

[Nab]

had what i reckon was an anomalous yook hwe at chung ki wa - ice cold, literally, as in actually icy. once it came to temp it was quite good, but dang, it hurt my teef on first bite.

[galangatron]

the yuk hwe at koreana is like that too. had to let the beef come to room temperature before you could eat it. yuk hwe bibimbap is a nice alternative. no defrosting necessary

[bostongal]

Cilantro Lime Salad at the Nordstrom Cafe in the South Shore Plaza.
Also, the frisee salad at Troquet...and both the Cobb salad and the Abe & Louis salad at Abe & Louis.

[Gabatta]

Steak & tomato salad and lobster salad are great at Abe's as well. I like Abe's a lot for lunch and brunch, not so much for dinner.

[nsenada]

Forgot - the deep fried poached egg salad on frisee with bacon at Petit Robert Central.

[galleygirl]

Ooh, ooh, I forgot, one more...The preserved fish and bitter herb salad at Angkor Wat in Lynn...very cooling on a hot day....

[Mike5966]

I love beet salads, and the one at Petit Robert in Kenmore was particularly good.

[barleywino]

the beef carpaccio salad at Scampo

[BostonZest]

I always love the salads at Rendezvous Central Square. Steve Johnson has a way of making salads appealing to even those, like me who seldom order them when dining out. The last time we spoke to him he said we had to try the chilled shellfish salad. I adore the lobster salad when he has it on the menu and I'm slightly addicted to the one with the sliced apples, cheddar and pecans.

Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/

-----
Rendezvous
502 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139

[veggielover]

I just had a spectacular asparagus salad with poached egg, truffle vinagreitte, and a Parmesan like cheese last weekend.

[kimfair1]

My wife had that recently, and it was amazing!

[viperlush]

Just had that chilled shellfish salad @ Rendezvous and loved it. Nice mixture of lobster, calamari, octopus (?), and shrimp. My bf wiped my plate clean with bread.

[Bob Dobalina]

The Fling at Emma's is a great salad to match with their pizza.

[bear]

That Fling salad is really good.

[phatchris]

Neptune has great salads,tuna ribbons,crab and avocado and their fried artichoke come to mind.

[nsenada]

Oh yeah - I had the grilled calamari salad a few weeks ago, and it was amazing, though pricy for the size.

I also really enjoy the Hillstone fried chicken and avocado salad - haven't been there in a while, so I hope they still have it. And of course, Karo's chicken kabob salad, with "the sauce."

-----
Hillstone
60 State St Ste P, Boston, MA 02109

[cherrytomato]

Phatchris you are right the tuna ribbons at Neptune is fantastic. Too delicious to share with another person.

[Gabatta]

The crab louis salad at Neptune is fantastic when it is on the menu. I have found the tuna ribbons to be inconsistent and sometimes on the bland side.

[lipoff]

Cambridge 1 makes an array of very nice salads.

As much as I hate to admit it, I do love the Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad at California Pizza Kitchen. It's about the only thing on their menu that I like, but I love it.

If you like the Tiger's Tears from Myers + Chang (which I also like) them you'll love the Tiger's Tears at Floating Rock in Cambridge and Thmor Da in Revere. Thai restaurants typically have a beef salad (Yum Nuer) that is not entirely dissimilar; S&I Thai is my favorite these days. There's a great tea-leaf salad at Yoma in Allston.

Erbaluce does some very nice "fancy" salads. Sebastian's does surprisingly nice "design-your-own-salads"; Whole Foods has a nice salad bar. I've had good salads also at Eastern Standard, Aquitaine, and Evoo.

-----
Floating Rock
485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116

[Small Plates]

I love that BBQ Chicken Chopped as well - the ingredients are very fresh - and the jicama/corn/black bean/tomato/basil combo tastes so clean and satisfying!

[kt1969]

I like CPK's Field Greens salad with the pears and candied walnuts a lot...I'm sure it's not a very highbrow thing to like, but I do! :)

[MrsCheese]

The BBQ Chicken chopped salad is the only thing I've ever ordered at CPK. It's great - nice and crunchy. I even buy jicama occasionally to add to my own salads at home as an ode to that salad.

On a completely different note, I love the frisee salad with sweetbreads and a poached egg at ESK.

[opinionatedchef]

you may well be aware of this , but just in case: jerusalem artichoke ("sunchokes") are crisp and crunchy like jicama- but with actual flavor; nutty carrot-like is how i describe them. thay have a really fascinating history and actually are native to MA. btw, no need to peel them. great as is, sliced or julienned in salads;a staple in ours.

[Jenny Ondioline]

Any of the salads at YoMa, the Burmese place in Union Square Allston. On a humid summer night, their roast pork or green mango salads are my favorite things to eat.

[Taralli]

Yoma's ginger and tea leaf salads are 2 of my favs: http://yomaboston.com/Site/Welcome_to_Yoma.html. The ferocious green papaya salad at Bangkok Blue is another: http://bkkblueboston.com/

-----
Bangkok Blue
651 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116

[opinionatedchef]

The single best salad we have ever had, one that we cannot not order when dining there, is at EVOO and is Eva's Greens with Rabbit confit, pecans and cherries and cheddar.

second to it are thee 2 salads at the adjacent Za:

Hass Avocado, Black Bean, Tomato, Red Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Bread 'n' Butter Pickled Jalapeno, Red Pepper, and Cilantro Salad with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette, Sour Cream, and Tortilla Crunch 8.00
and

Verrill Farm's Beets, Orange, Red Onion, Parsley, Toasted Hazelnut, and Goat Cheese Salad with Eva's Pea Greens and Citrus Vinaigrette 7.50

Also love East Coast Grill's brunch salad of avocado, lettuce, cilantro, mango, hearts of palm, and pepitas.
For take out, my favs are at Azama Grill: Mousskaa- eggplant, tomato and chickpea salad; and Avocado salad with lime and red onion.

-----
East Coast Grill and Raw Bar
1271 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

ZA
138 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474

Verrill Farm
11 Wheeler Rd, Concord, MA, MA 01742

EVOO Restaurant
350 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02143

Azama Grill
54 Harvard Ave, Boston, MA 02134

[stomachofsteel]

Ohhhh...I love that rabbit salad at EVOO. Good call.

-----
EVOO Restaurant
350 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02143

[bear]

Love that avocado and black bean salad at Za. Also, the potato salad with cucumbers, radishes, kalamatas, oregano and feta.

[cherrytomato]

Alta Strada in Wellesley has the most delicious salads. I love their Version of a Nicoise salad. It's an Italian version with Italian Tuna and it's fantastic. I also love the warm beet salad at Aquitaine.

-----
Alta Strada
92 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02482

[opinionatedchef]

i second aquitaine's beet salad. A high quality Aged Boucheron (and when do you ever see unusual cheese on a salad here, something other than chevre, cheddar, parm, feta, blue...............?

WARM BEET SALADE with Mâche, Aged Boucheron, Toasted Walnuts and Sherry Vinaigrette 8.95

[galleygirl]

Seafood Cobb Salad at, wait for it, Skipjack's...I'm not kidding! Farm Grille was closed for vacation, so we went across the street to Skipjack's, and had a Seafood Cobb with lobster on a crostini, perfectly poached shrimp, and smoked salmon, on greens with hardboiled egg and avocado....

[CookieLee]

I haven't been there for a while, but I do like the seared tuna on salad at Stephanie's.

[teezeetoo]

Fireplace Grill lunch salads: particularly the Cobb with grilled chicken. Horataki or shephard's salad from Family and Esperia. And, surprisingly, pretty good lunch salads including greek salad from Temptations in Coolidge Corner.