Thursday, December 07, 2006

Chicken Caesar Review: Saladworks

The reason my reviews have slowed a bit is that I'm running out of places to go to. Fortunately, I spotted a new place at the mall food court when I went Christmas shopping last week. Saladworks is pretty much just that: a guy at a counter ready to toss any number of salads the way you like them. Their Chicken Caesar, which costs $5.98, contains both Iceberg and Romaine lettuce, homemade baked croutons, chopped eggs and grilled chicken. You have your choice of a number of dressings, so I chose their Royal Caesar.

The dressing becomes the dominant flavor, here. And unlike most other Caesar's, there is no ranch element in this dressing. Instead, it's an incredibly light and tangy element that is refreshing compared to the heaviness of ranches. Also unlike most other Caesar's I have tried, this one takes an ingredient from the Classic Caesar that most restaurants leave out: Egg. The flavor is hardly noticeable combined with the dressing, but it's a worthy addition for it's source of protein and ability to fill you up more (a very desirous attribute when you're talking about an entree salad). The remaining three elements (lettuce, chicken, croutons) are also dominated by the dressing, but not so much as to make them dispensable. The blend of two different lettuces make a nice contrast of textures. The chicken, with no grilled flavor that I could detect, is also good. And the croutons manage to be buttery and crunchy without going overboard into Texas Toast territory.

Again, this salad is particularly recommended for it's filling ability and comparatively cheap price. So if you're looking to work off some of those Christmas sweets, this is a great place to start.

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