In a produce haven like Los Angeles, salads are more than just a side to a meal. Read on for our favorites in the city.
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Inside the cathedral-turned-restaurant space, chef Neal Fraser’s New American cuisine dazzles with produce-forward dishes and seasonal ingredients. This is perhaps best showcased by the avocado salad. Dressed in buttermilk blue cheese vinaigrette, little gem wedges are topped by smoked bacon and slices of avocado. 114 E Second St 90012
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Superba knows that kale is at its most powerful in a salad, as exemplified by its Black Kale Salad. Offering a vitamin-packed meal in a singular dish, black kale is tossed with pine nuts, red onion, pickled raisins, levian croutons and pecorino. Pair with a patio seat and freshly squeezed juice for a blissful lunchtime experience. Various
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An expert chicken salad comes from none other than L.A.’s go-to chicken maestros. At California Chicken Cafe, you have somewhere to rely on for solid comfort foods like rotisserie, roasted potatoes and Caesar wraps. Its also always the right idea to order its signature salad, the California Chicken Salad. Enhanced by white-meat chicken and a balsamic dressing, it features avocado, feta cheese, carrots, bel peppers, grape tomatoes, broccoli, pita croutons, lettuce and rotini pasta. Various
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When you need a bite to eat at Urth Caffe to pair with your Spanish latte, the Caravan Kale Salad makes for the ultimate companion. Loaded up for maximum flavor and crispiness, the organic Tuscan kale-based dish mixes in Persian cucumbers, organic red quinoa, heirloom tomatoes, red onion, roasted yams, pita chips and fresh mint, all doused in pomegranate vinaigrette and topped with ricotta salata cheese for a grand flavor and texture explosion. Various
Camphor Radicchio Salad
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For a Chinese chicken salad craving, set your sights on Feast from the East. The West Los Angeles eatery has treated Angelenos to Chinese and Japanese dishes for more than 40 years. Debuted in 1981, it became so beloved by the city that within nine years of opening, owner Suzanne Toji began bottling and selling Feast from the East’s signature sesame dressing in local independent grocery markets. You can now find it in a number of specialty grocery chains, but its best experienced by ordering Feast from the East’s Chinese Chicken Salad. Set on romaine lettuce, it features shredded chicken, sliced almonds, sesame seeds, scallions and wonton strips. 1949 Westwood Blvd 90025
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Ospi shows us that kale’s best friend is parmesan through its kale salad. A perfect start to an Italian dinner (later to be filled with pizzas and pastas), the Kale enriches its greens with an almond dressing, chunks of avocado and plenty of parm. Various
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Highly Likley knows how to pack a punch with just a handful of ingredients. Case in point: the K.I.S.S. salad. A marrying of arugula and gem lettuce, this dish adds vibrance through shaved parmesan, toasted sesame croutons and a yuzu lemon vinaigrette. Various
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Before you dive into rounds of meatballs, cacio e pepe, spicy fusilli and who knows how many slides of pizza, treat yourself to a divine leafy experience with the Little Gem House Salad. Drizzled with a crave-worthy creamy Italian dressing, it throws in red onions, little gem, sun gold tomato, grande aged provoke and pepperoncini. Elevate the starter with a glass of natural wine.
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No salad is perhaps more famed in the history of Los Angeles than The McCarthy Salad. Equated with the power lunch, the signature dish of the Polo Lounge originated in the 1940s when polo player and The Beverly Hills Hotel regular Neil McCarthy requested a specific list of ingredients for a salad. A neat presentation of ingredients, the salad is made up of iceberg and romaine lettuce, diced chicken, roasted red beets, egg yolk, egg white, aged cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado and apple-wood smoked bacon. Adding a savory layer, the dressing blends together balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, canola oil, a shallot, brown sugar, roasted garlic, salt and black pepper. The recipe has gone unchanged, and with one bite, you’ll know why. 9641 W Sunset Blvd 90210
Superba Food + Bread Black Kale Salad
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Your favorite Mediterranean ingredients are the stars of the show with this salad by The Sycamore Kitchen. A perfect pile of gem lettuce and radicchio, chicken meets its match with a flavorful assortment of hazelnuts, dukka, dates, grapes and feta cheese. It comes dressed in red wine vinaigrette. 143 S La Brea 90036
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Los Angeles: we know you love Goop Kitchen’s take on the Chinese chicken salad. On a busy workday, throwing back mouthfuls of this ingredient-heavy dish makes things just a bit brighter. It’s also gluten and dairy-free, so not only is it an easy delivery order, its a healthy one too. With a side of Goop certified-clean carrot-ginger vinaigrette, the Brentwood Chinese Chicken Salad tosses organic chicken, cabbage and bok choy with green onion, avocado, sesame seed, watermelon radish, snow peas and cilantro, plus a side of toasted quinoa, roasted almonds and grain-free “wontons.” Various
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Beef tartare and French onion soup may first come to mind when considering a Michelin-starred modern French bistro, but Camphor proves you should never forget about salads. A fan-favorite dish, the radicchio salad sports crunch and flavor in its mix of baby gem, parmesan cheese and sourdough croutons, all tossed in a memorable, housemade passionfruit Caesar dressing. Malabar toasted black pepper is added tableside. 923 E Third St 90013
See also: The 10 Best Smoothie Spots In Los Angeles
Photography by: Courtesy Dorchester Collection; Camphor; Superba Food+ Bread
