Posted by Lauren Simmons in fruit and vegetables, product comparison, salad, shops on March 13, 2008 at 7:53 am

The pre-packaged take-out salad is a fickle beast, typified by soggy iceberg lettuce with a well-loved grilled chicken breast, a few nuts or slices of red pepper, and a choice of any number of healthy and not-so-healthy dressings. At price points above most other menu items, fast food salads are not the ideal choice for the food-lover in search of a lunch that is wholesome, fresh and fast. Nonetheless, there are a few options that combine grab-and-go convenience with finer food quality. Between the mainstream and high-end supermarket salad bars, and the new "build-your-own" salad restaurants, the exacting herbivore need not compromise on value and freshness. Looking at the variety and quality of the goods, the bang for your buck and the grab-and-go factor, it's clear that there is now a lot of choice for greens on the go. But how do the competitors stack up?

The supermarket salad bar is our first target. For the breadth of the offerings, the salad seeker need look no further than their local large chain grocer for a quick veg-friendly lunch. Choices range from cream-sauce coated pasta salads with feta and olives to lighter bean-based choices, with any number of Asian noodle dishes and various chicken concoctions also available. In most major chain supermarkets the salads are made fresh, sometimes several times each day, so the product, while inevitable oily and over-dressed, is still considerably complex.

Loblaws (10 Lower Jarvis Street and others) seems to lead the pack, with innovative combos like edamame with cherry tomato or chicken with mango and tangy sesame dressing. At Loblaws, such salads retail from $1.39/100 grams and up, while at Dominion (100 Lynn Williams Street and others) they start as low as $1.10. Container sizes vary, but in most cases $5 to $7 will get a well-packed 540 ml container, enough for a lunch for one or a side dish for two. The containers are somewhat precariously sealed, but if kept upright while in transport, most leak fiascoes can be avoided. All told, major chain supermarket salads, while over-dressed and variable in quality, still offer variety at a price point below most fast food takeout salads.

High-end supermarkets and prepared food stores are another story. At establishments such as Whole Foods, Pusateri's and smaller stores like the Summerhill Market, one finds a selection of finer salads, ranging from the standard bean or beet to more creative options, often involving grains such as quinoa or bulgur combined with any number of nuts, exotic veggies or spices. Marinated veggies such as artichoke hearts, olives, roasted eggplant and mushrooms also abound. Whether it's counter service or self-serve, the danger in these higher quality salad offerings is the astronomical price.

At Whole Foods (87 Avenue Road), for example, the self-serve salad bar (which also includes hot dishes) starts at $1.99/100 grams, and is limited to veggie and tofu dishes. For counter service, any salad with chicken or other meat starts at $3.01. The danger in the self-serve, with its enticing falafel balls, wild rices, tofu stir fries and curried chickpeas, is that diners tend to fill their (recycled cardboard) containers liberally, only to balk at the register. On average, a generous lunch-sized mixed plate rings in at more than $10. Despite the obvious superiority of the product and the nice cafe atmosphere if you choose to eat in, it would be a stretch to consider make Whole Foods a daily lunch stop - unless the boss is paying!

The third option for a quick salad lunch comes in the form of the build-your-own salad establishment. One is Salad Spa (90 Eglinton Avenue East), which caters to the uptown business lunchtime crowd with welcoming green and white decor and a menu of build-your-own salads, soups, wraps and other healthy fare. Salads start with a choice of romaine, iceberg, spring mix or spinach bases, or a mix. The small salad ($5.99), at 0.5 L, is enough for a hearty meal, particularly if it's topped with a protein add-on ($1.99 extra) like tuna, crab or chicken. The large ($6.99) seems unnecessarily so.

The appeal of Salad Spa is that, with the exception of "gourmet" toppings like sun-dried tomatoes which are 50 cents extra, diners have unlimited choice from a wide selection of toppings, such as chickpeas, corn, artichokes, and olives. Salads are then dressed with one choice of dressing from an extensive list such as Greek, Balsamic Vinaigrette or Caesar, and additional servings of dressing are available for 50 cents. From the list, the Dijon Vinaigrette and Raspberry Poppyseed are particular stand-outs. The salads come in a round plastic bowl-like take-out container with a top that seals nicely, making for easy transport back to the office. In our experiment, the undressed lettuce was a bit soggy after a 20-minute walk home, and while there were lots of different toppings on the salad, the scant servings of each didn't hold up to the developed flavour of the dressings. The concept and decor work nicely, but with a price point above $5, before proteins, Salad Spa's bowl of mostly lettuce fails to compare to the value, variety and novelty of the major chain supermarket salad bars.

In the end, there is no magic solution - either you pay for an incredible salad, or eat credible to passable ones for less. The moral of the story is that, yet again, few take-out experiences can compare to the value or quality of a homemade product.