In Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra refers to her “salad days,” saying she was “green in judgment, cold in blood.” Green and cold are no longer the whole story, and naiveté has nothing to do with it. Salad is all grown up.
But those days are long gone. Creative chefs have re-imagined salad in virtually endless ways, using a vast range of ingredients and culinary daring. And in the Hudson Valley, the odds are good that a lot of ingredients will be fresh from the farm.
It used to be the case that most eateries offered only one or two salad choices. You knew what you’d be getting: iceberg lettuce, standard-issue tomatoes, cucumber slices, and maybe some carrot shreds or red onions. A “chef’s salad” basically meant all of the above festooned with strips of meat, hard-boiled egg chunks, and maybe some bacon bits tossed around.
HERE’S WHERE YOU’LL FIND CREATIONS FEATURING YOUR FAVORITE INGREDIENTS AND CUISINES.
THE ART OF ARUGULA
PUCCINI in Rhinebeck offers Insalata Arcaboleno, a blend of arugula, radicchio, fennel, and endive.
JAR'D in New Paltz offers its arugula on flatbread with shaved manchego, lightly dressed with olive oil dressing.
TERRAPIN in Rhinebeck serves a baby arugula salad with goat cheese wontons, roasted red and yellow bell peppers, and sesame vinaigrette.
THE TAPPEN in Kingston makes a salad of shaved artichoke and asiago on a bed of dressed arugula.
BEAUTEOUS BEETS
HENRY’S at the Farm in Milton is the home of the arugula beet trio: candy cane, golden, and red beets, served with goat cheese and cider vinaigrette.
COUNTRY INN in Krumville lovingly prepares a spinach salad with warm beets, shallots, and Dijon fennel vinaigrette.
HIGH FALLS CAFÉ offers a B & B salad: spinach tossed in house-made strawberry vinaigrette with walnuts, beets, and blue cheese crumbles.
THE HOP in Beacon makes a beet and goat cheese salad, blending roasted red and golden beets with cayenne spiced walnuts, kunik, frisee, raisins, apple butter, Meyer lemon, and saison vinaigrette.
KREATIVE KALE, RIGHTEOUS ROMAINE
HICKORY BBQ in Kingston makes a chopped salad with romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and goat cheese, and herb vinaigrette.
MOTHER EARTH'S STOREHOUSE in Kingston has a light and simple crisp raw kale salad.
YUM YUM in Woodstock and Kingston makes raw massaged kale salad with tamari roasted almonds and sesame dressing.
FRIDA’S BAKERY & CAFE in Milton serves a classic kale Caesar salad with Parmesan and croutons.
FRUITS AND NUTS
BACCHUS in New Paltz serves a mesclun-endive salad with apples, blue cheese, candied walnuts, and honey-mustard hazelnut vinaigrette.
CAFE MIO in Gardiner makes an apple, walnut, and gorgonzola salad with mesclun.
COMMUNE SALOON in Woodstock has a watercress and taleggio salad with apples, pecans, and honeycomb.
FRIENDS & FAMILY in Accord serves chop chop salad, a mix of freshly diced fruits and veggies, marinated in house vinaigrette and served atop spring mixed greens.
LUCKY CHOCOLATES in Saugerties makes a spring salad with chicken, pomegranate, and artichoke hearts, served with grain-free bread and cashew cheese.
PEEKAMOOSE combines arugula from RSK Farm, red onion, goat cheese from Sherman Hill Farmstead, toasted pistachios, and peaches from Heller Farm.
PUBLIK HOUSE in Ellenville has a chopped salad with craisins, walnuts, and your choice of dressing.
TAVERN 214 in Phoenicia offers a salad of baby arugula, spinach, and local goat cheese, featuring shallots, candied pecans, local pears, and Dijon champagne vinaigrette.
SPRING GREEN SWEETNESS
CANCELLIERE'S in Kerhonkson has a spring salad with fresh avocado, tomatoes, celery, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
DUO in Kingston serves a spring salad featuring spring greens, pea tendrils, strawberries (in season), Parmesan crisps, and a wild chive pesto dressing.
LEKKER in Stone Ridge offers a spring salad made with pickled asparagus and red cabbage, served on a bed of spring mix and topped with lemon zest.
GRAIN, GLORIOUS GRAIN
HIGH FALLS KITCHENETTE offers a wheatberry and couscous salad with mandarin orange and citrus vinaigrette.
ORIOLE9 in Woodstock, offers a red quinoa salad accented with toasted walnuts, cranberries, caramelized butternut squash, and balsamic dressing.
PROVISIONS in Woodstock creates a beautiful farro salad, with barely wilted chard, feta, and shallots in a lemon vinaigrette.
MEDITERRANEAN MEDLEYS
BISTRO TO GO in Kingston makes their medi salad from mixed greens, feta, tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, onion, and black olives, topped with vinaigrette..
LYDIA'S COUNTRY DELI in Stone Ridge serves a classic Greek salad: lettuce, sliced onion, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, cucumbers, and feta cheese.
MAIN COURSE in New Paltz will fix you a North African mezze plate: zaatar smoked tofu, hummus, zalouk, and tabouli.
ASIAN DELIGHTS
ASIA RESTAURANT in Stone Ridge makes a Thai-style house salad of lemongrass and crushed peanuts with lime juice dressing.
OSAKA SUSHI in Rhinebeck offers a tuna sashimi salad with house pontsu sauce.
PLENTIFUL PROTEINS
DOMINICK’S in Kingston tops off a salad of romaine lettuce, red cabbage, celery and carrots with house-made beet salad, broccoli slaw, and a turkey burger.
GROUNDED in Kingston combines spring mixed greens with brined and smoked turkey leg, asparagus tips, New York cheddar cheese, toasted organic walnuts, and whole grain Dijon vinaigrette, topped with an egg.
IVAN’S in Accord makes a classic chef’s salad, featuring fresh ham and roasted turkey with Swiss cheese.
POPPY’S in Burgers and Fries will serve you up seasonal greens with rice and beans, croutons, goat cheese, and nuts, topped off with a 1/4 pound burger and a fried egg over easy.
SPORTSMAN’S ALAMO CANTINA in in Phoenicia serves tofu pomegranate salad: roasted peanut encrusted in tofu and deep-fried, served over spring mixed greens and topped with roasted peanuts and pomegranate dressing.
THE CHEESE BARREL makes a chicken salad platter served on a bed of lettuce with coleslaw, tomatoes, onions, sliced cucumbers and zucchini, black olives, carrots, raw broccoli and cauliflower.
THE PHOENICIAN offers a blue cheese and walnut salad with grilled chicken and garlic bread.
FROGMORE in Kingston serves a peppery radish salad with country ham, watercress, English and watermelon radishes, pea sprouts. radish sprouts, and a lemon pickled-mustard seed vinaigrette.
CATSKILL ROSE in Mount Tremper makes a salad of smoked trout, shaved fennel and apple, pickled beets, radish, and horseradish.
SAVORY SEAFOOD
BRIO’S in Phoenicia dishes up a warm seafood spinach salad: calamari, shrimp, and scallops sautéed with warm balsamic dressing and a side of Mexican rice.
CHEESE LOUISE prepares young octopus hand-caught in the Italian waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Marinated in fresh squeezed lemon juice, oregano, red onion, tender celery, salt, pepper and Italian sunflower oil.
TUTHILLHOUSE in Gardiner offers grilled octopus with white bean, house-made chorizo, and fresh greens.
