Craving Salad for Lunch: Think Italian
As the weather heats up, many appetites turn green. Salads are a cool, tasty and common alternative to burgers, fries and other hot foods. All salads, however, are not created equal. Two of the best in the East Valley can be found at Italian restaurants.
If you like variety in your greens, visit La Stalla Cucina Rustica. Located across Buffalo Street from the historic Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in downtown Chandler, La Stalla stands out among the Valley's many Italian restaurants. Not only does it exude a wonderfully European ambiance, they also serve huge salads, that can easily be split between two people. The pear and gorgonzola salad with walnuts and blue cheese dressing is a surprising departure from the usual iceberg lettuce and carrots. Even their green salads offer an amazing variety: everything from romaine to radicchio, the long way. Pair any salad with the rustic bread and fresh olive oil for a wonderful meal. If there is a flaw, it's that the salads almost overflow the plates they are served on, making it a challenge to get the dressing, applied with a light touch bordering on the too light. Prices are higher than some places catering to the workaday lunch crowd but lower than those serving the resort crowd. My advice: take a girl friend and split a salad and a pizza. You'll both have plenty and probably even some left over for a mid-afternoon snack.Visit La Stalla Cucina Rustica at 68 Buffalo Street, Chandler.
Salads based on iceberg lettuce don't have to be boring, as Nicantoni's in Gilbert demonstrates. Their salad is a generous portion of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and fresh grated cheese topped with the dressing of your choice. Their Italian dressing is among the best vinaigrettes around, if you like some zing from really good vinegar. The girls from the nearby high school seem to. Nicantoni's, which recently expanded their space, is packed with high school students over their lunch period. The salad and a slice lunch special will fill you up with emptying your wallet. Fortunately, it isn't as popular with the play date set as some places, probably due to the lack of video and other games. Visit Nicantoni's New York Style Pizza at 1430 W. Warner Rd. Oh, and they really like purple!
Do you have a favorite salad spot? Let's compare notes!
