One of the beautiful thing about salads is, in each bite, you can indulge in so many flavors and textures.
However, when I was asked to be on KCUR’s Up To Date show to talk about KC’s best salads, I can’t say I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of gal and while I do love a good salad, I typically don’t go out of my way for them. When a producer told us panelists that we could widen the definitely of a salad from “a medley of greens and vegetables” to, well, anything that encompasses the word “salad,” I was much more inspired.
On KCUR’s podcast episode, I joined Natasha Bailey, executive chef of Thelma’s Kitchen, and Carlton Logan, admin of the Kansas City Eats Facebook Page, to discuss our city’s best. I highlighted a few of my favorite salad-adjacent dishes (especially the mayonnaise-based ones like potato salad), but I also included a few undeniable fresh leafy options.
Listen to the podcast episode here or read my recommendations below.
Harp Barbecue’s Potato Salad
I am a huge potato salad gal and I recently tried the twice baked potato salad at Harp BBQ, which was incredible. It’s inspired from owner Tyler Harp’s steakhouse background. It has a creamier texture than most thanks to sour cream, salt, pepper and a lot of garlic.
Werner’s Fine Sausages Potato Salad
You may be picking up my love for potato salad. Werner’s Fine Sausages potato salad is vinegar-y and old school. The recipe came from one of Werner’s longtime employees, Gretel Harper, from Germany so it’s very traditional. In true old-country ways, there is no written recipe – it’s been passed down orally and they make a couple hundred pounds a week.
Baba’s Pantry’s Fattoush Salad
Baba Pantry’s fattoush salad is the perfect meal to beat the summer heat. Instead of lettuce, it has diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, mint, and parsley all tossed in a lemon olive oil vinaigrette. Oh, and it’s topped with their homemade crunchy pita chips to add another great layer of texture.
Rye’s Wedge Salad
The wedge salad from Rye is a classic. It’s no frills, just an iceberg wedge topped with blue cheese, bacon bits, tomato, hard boiled egg and buttermilk ranch dressing. It’s crispy, has fresh crunchy vegetables and the blue cheese adds that sharp pungency that can’t be beat.
Hemma Hemma’s Pickle Bacon Ranch Salad
Four words: pickle brined fried chicken. Hemma Hemma’s pickle bacon ranch salad is a great representation of Ashley Bare’s creative homestyle cooking. It’s a loaded salad with romaine, bacon bits, cherry tomatoes, red onion and corn. It stands out with small touches that carry big weight, like smoked cheddar and pickle brined chicken that is to die for.
The Fix’s Vegan Buffalo Chicken Salad
Like I mentioned, I’m a big carnivore but I can also appreciate a solid vegan spot. The Fix’s buffalo chicken salad is gluten-free and made with buffalo soy curl “chicken.” Along with the soy curls, the salad is a bed of romaine, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, and red onion all smothered in a house made ranch dressing.
Bar Medici’s Tuna Crudo
Okay, this may be a stretch for salads but in an effort to give the list some variety, I’m rolling with it. Bar Medici’s crudo is one of the best dishes I’ve had this summer. Dry-aged, thinly sliced raw tuna is finished with condensed watermelon balls, tomato water and mint. The textures and flavor are unreal.
I critiqued Bar Medici for this month’s food review. Read it here.
