Rice is nice

We have a local eatery in town – which is about as close to a “soup and sandwich’ spot as you’ll find here – and their specialty for the last 25 or so years is their homemade bread made from wild rice.

In fact, Minnesota wild rice figures prominently in many of their lunch dishes, including soups and salads.

I like this place because their menu is pretty innovative with the combination of ingredients, and they will happily veganize something when requested. This yummy and filling Wild Rice salad that I had, for instance, normally comes with hard-boiled eggs. I asked if they could replace they eggs with avocado slices, and I believe that made it even more yummy! Plus, it’s served with a slice of their soft wild rice bread, which is pretty addictive.

I’ve loved wild rice (which is technically a grass) since I was a kid. I think it’s great that it’s being used so creatively at this restaurant, and it’s certainly proved popular as a result – just check out the longish lines at lunch hour!

 

It’s Greek to me

Oh, the magic of the Greek salad. Its versatility, the freshness of the varied ingredients, and the sheer volume of its size, when piled high with gorgeous black olives, green peppers, and all the other goodies.  The goodies, however, vary from place to place and from restaurant to restaurant. You might see versions with a dollop of potato salad in the middle, and other places, anchovies added.

My version of the Greek salad.

There was a pretty famous Greek restaurant here in town that went out of business a few years ago. I wasn’t a fan of their version of the salad. They not only threw potato salad on top (which seems a redundancy, and unnecessary) , but also added anchovies, beets, and a huge stalk of green onion. Not one for beets or anchovies (in any case), I found their salad almost inedible. Not to mention that there was an unappealing pool of dressing at the bottom of the bowl (yes, they served it in a bowl, which made it hard to circumnavigate.)

My ideal salad is light on the dressing (vinaigrette, please), heavy with olives and green peppers, and liberal with the tomatoes and a variety of good lettuce. I like to add those jarred little sliced hot peppers for contrast, and a nice sprinkling of good cracked black pepper. And finally, good-quality feta makes the whole thing stand out.

How do you like your Greek salad? Do the ingredients vary depending on what region you live in?