The venerable Brasserie Lipp on Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris has a notice in the window: “A salad is not a meal.” HG presumes this is a warning to dieters, who limit their lunch to a few lettuce leaves and sparkling water, to take their mini appetites elsewhere. For the most part, HG agrees that a salad is a skimpy choice for lunch or dinner. Yes, there are a few restaurant exceptions: Cobb Salad at the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles (the ultimate was at the long-closed Brown Derby); “Garbage Salad” at Gene & Georgetti steak house in Chicago; the seafood salad served in the Oak Room of New York’s Algonquin Hotel when the hotel was owned by Ben Bodne. Last night in New Mexico, BSK prepared a sumptuous salad composed of endive, butter lettuce, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, white anchovies, Kumatoes, sliced sweet onions and chopped parsley. The dressing was a mustard/garlic vinaigrette. HG/BSK thought a simple pasta dish (tortellini in brodo, perhaps) would follow. But, the salad was so lavish and filling, it comprised a totally delicious dinner. More BSK magic.
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