What is it about salads? Rich in color, texture and creativity, they’re self-contained adventures in flavor. A great salad is made with care. Thought and energy go into every step, from the choice of greens to the dressing drizzled over them. From classic to current, these six salads show the range of directions local chefs are taking with springtime’s favorite dish.
Warm Duck Salad
French Market Bistro
frenchmarketbistro.com
16654 Highland Road
French Market Bistro’s luscious warm duck salad ping-pongs between savory, tart and sweet. Chef Borivane Khemmanyvong starts by pan-searing a seasoned duck breast to medium-rare, then tossing the rosy slices with a warm raspberry vinaigrette he makes with fresh raspberries, rosemary, sugar, olive oil and red wine vinegar. The slices are then arranged on a bed of baby spinach leaves and crowned with dried cherries, toasted pumpkin seeds and crumbled blue cheese. The challenge for the diner is getting a little of the plate’s prizes in each bite.
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Fried Oyster Salad
Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar
beausoleilrestaurantandbar.com
7731 Jefferson Highway
Executive Chef Nathan Gresham has kept some version of his delicately fried Gulf oyster salad on the Beausoleil menu since the restaurant opened in 2010. These days, it features oysters battered in egg wash and flour and fried until crisp but unimpeachably plump and tender. The oysters are served with a bold medley of roasted asparagus, bacon, sunflower seeds, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes. Gresham’s signature vinaigrette combines truffles with olive oil, Champagne vinegar, egg yolk, thyme and basil, finishing the salad with an assertive, earthy punch.
Farro Salad
Cordon Rouge Bistro
facebook.com/CordonRougeBistro
334 Third St.
The brainchild of Cordon Rouge Bistro founder Wanda Crosswhite, this side salad features the nutty, toothsome Italian grain farro tossed with capers, fresh basil, olive oil and lemon zest, all served on a bed of fresh spinach. “It’s insanely popular,” says assistant manager Matt Harrison. The French bistro-style restaurant recently relocated from its former quarters inside The Courtyard, a gifts and interiors mall, to downtown Baton Rouge, where it serves boutique salads and sandwiches and Crosswhite’s homemade bread. The farro salad has become a favorite. “People are curious,” she says, “and they end up loving it.”
Avocado Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
La Carreta
carretarestaurant.com
4065 Government St., 9828 Bluebonnet Blvd.
La Carreta founder Saul Rubio wanted an elevated avocado salad on the menu of his popular regional Mexican restaurant, one that paired the buttery stone fruit with bold flavors. Every day, rotating batches of fresh avocados ripen in a bin of dried beans, so they’re at the perfect texture for this on-the-spot salad. Sliced avocado is placed on a bed of fresh romaine and paired with tomatoes, cucumbers, sautéed spinach and grilled chicken, steak or shrimp, and finally topped with sesame seeds. It’s brought together by a tangy house-made cilantro-lime vinaigrette.
Wedge Salad
Stroubes Seafood and Steaks
stroubes.com
107 Third St.
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The straightforward poster child of the chophouse, a wedge salad done right takes a certain hand. Co-head chefs Mark Reilly and Ross Ford start by icing down iceberg wedges to keep them crisp, then plating them in chilled bowls. From there, the lettuce is gussied up with chopped bacon, cherry tomatoes, fresh cracked black pepper and homemade blue cheese dressing made from buttermilk, sour cream, garlic and Dijon mustard. The final tasty gilding is a hit of bacon onion preserves, made from onions caramelized in bacon fat and reduced with cranberry juice and brown sugar.
Brisket Café Salad
Pimanyoli’s Sidewalk Café & Catering
pimanyolisbbq.com
14241 Airline Highway
At Pimanyoli’s, a barbecue haven named for husband-and-wife founders Edward “Piman” and Yolanda “Yoli” Perrilloux, the signature pecan-smoked brisket is weaved into several dishes, including the brisket café salad—a hearty compilation that talks smack to ordinary chef’s salads. Yoli Perrilloux layers green leaf lettuce with low-and-slow sliced brisket, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheddar, bacon bits and hard-boiled egg. But what makes the flavors sing is the lemon zest she tosses in the fresh lettuce. The salad is best dressed with Perilloux’s homemade Mediterranean house dressing, an herby Parmesan vinaigrette with a hint of sweetness.