Baby Greens
2316 S. First, 462-1697Monday-Friday, 11am-7pm; Saturday, 11am-3pm
Salads have been an essential element for nearly all dinners since I was a child. My mother is as devoted a salad eater as anyone I know, and she has passed on to me her dictum that no meal is complete without salad. Of course, we firmly believe that salad makes a perfectly wonderful centerpiece for a meal, too. We’re not exactly unique in our devotion to salads, although you’d never know it based on fast food establishments’ menus. Until very recently, salad options have been limited to bowls of anemic and/or wilted iceberg topped with meager slivers of carrots and red cabbage. At least that’s what their colors suggest; you’d be hard-pressed to identify the elements by their taste. The topping options were limited to sugary French, Thousand Island, or Ranch dressings. McDonald’s has mercifully branched out and now offers real lettuces with Newman’s dressings. They are a huge leap forward for fast-food salad meals, but they are left in the car exhaust by the salads offered at Baby Greens.
This lilliputian drive-through-only cafe knows from salad, and the meals to be had there are fresh, inventive, and satisfying. Options include Cobb, chicken/spinach, Greek, the ubiquitous Caesar, and others. The dressing options are all homemade and extensive: chile lime (a spicy, personal favorite), blue cheese vinaigrette (another fave), Greek vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon dill vinaigrette, lime vinaigrette, honey mustard, ranch (it’s the law), Caesar, and their own version of the seldom seen and silky rich green goddess. How’s that for fast food? The greens that form the foundation of the salads are the real stuff: deep green romaine or baby spinach that are impeccably fresh. From that solid start they build a really satisfying meal such as the Cobb (the priciest item at $6.35), which features grilled chicken breast, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, and blue cheese. As hearty and satisfying as this is, I sometimes prefer the veggie version ($5.65) with spicy chopped pecans, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, and blue cheese. The veggie Greek ($5.15) is equally popular with our family with its black olives (Kalamata type), red onions, tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese.
All salads are available as wraps and lettuce wraps, too. Tortilla choices are garlic/herb, spinach, wheat, tomato/basil, and jalapeño-cheese, and receiving the salads in this form makes them manageable for eating on the go and in the car. The lettuce wraps are more like romaine boats, and while they are lovely to look at and delicious to eat, they require at least two hands, if not cutlery, too. Wraps come in half ($2.75-$3.75) and whole ($3.95-$5.25) sizes; the half makes a satisfying late afternoon snack, and the whole is ideal for lunch or dinner.
Baby Greens has hit on an idea whose time is long overdue. I don’t know why it has taken so long to happen, but the important thing is it has happened. It’s enough to create unbridled culinary optimism: Imagine a world where necessary stops at fast-food places inspired anticipation and yielded snapping fresh, healthy, creative, and delicious meals. Greasy, fatty fast food beware: It’s Baby Greens über alles!
This article appears in July 30 • 2004.