The New Salad Menu at Caviar & Bananas

Spring is here, and that can only mean one thing: swimsuit season is right around the corner. People are signing up for CrossFit classes faster than you can say "What's today's WOD?" in hopes of achieving that beach-ready body. 

Rather than drinking the CrossFit kool-aid, the kind people at Caviar & Bananas decided that you deserve a tastier way to turn your body into a sexy beach machine by reinventing their salad menu. C&B has added six new salads that will take your tastebuds on a journey across the world from Seattle to Italy. 

The Six New Salads at Caviar & Bananas:

The Gramercy
Arugula, Roasted Chicken, Aged Gouda, Red & Black Quinoa, Toasted Almonds, Dried Cherries, Thai Basil, Balsamic Vinaigrette 

The Pike Place Caesar
Kale, Hot-Smoked Salmon, Shaved Parmesan, Tomato, Cucumber, Pumpernickel Croutons, Dill Caesar Dressing

The Toscana
Mixed Greens, Crispy Prosciutto, Shaved Parmesan, Vanilla Poached Pears, Shaved Fennel, Toasted Walnuts, Chianti Vinaigrette

The Buena Vista Cobb
Spinach and Romaine, Roasted Chicken, Hardboiled Egg, Avocado, Tomato, Red Onion, Candied Bacon, Corn, Blue Cheese Dressing

The Baja
Romaine, Cotija Cheese, Avocado, Corn, Tomato, Cucumber, Jicama, Pickled Red Onions, Pumpkin Seeds, Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette

The Far East
Spinach, Soy Roasted Tofu, Edamame, Red Bell Pepper, Fresh Carrots, Red Cabbage, Roasted Peanuts

I had the opportunity to try the Baja and the Toscana, which were both phenomenal. The Baja was kind of a cross between a Caesar salad and a Southwestern salad and had a great hint of freshness to it due to the chipotle lime vinaigrette. The corn gave the salad a great texture (is it cliche to say that it popped?) and the jicama and cotija cheese added a really unique creaminess, while the pickled red onion was tangy and sweet at the same time. The whole thing came together wonderfully. If you choose to add the citrus-grilled shrimp, you won't be disappointed. 

The Toscana was probably my favorite of the two. It's really hard to beat the taste of crispy prosciutto and shaved parmesan together, but then they throw in some sweet vanilla poached pears, which were quite the tasty complement to the saltiness of the prosciutto, the licorice-ness (new word) of the fennel, and the nuttiness of the toasted walnuts. I've never had Chianti before (thanks, Silence of the Lambs), but I'm a huge fan of the Chianti vinaigrette.