We’re serving
the dish in
a wrap of
lettuce. It’s one
of the biggest
selling items.
“
—BEAT GIGER
”
SALMON AND BERRIES
PHOTO CREDIT: Opposite, Steve Crecelius; above, Boggiatto Produce/Ed Young Photography
One of Lee Goodfriend’s favorite entrees is the Solitaire
Salmon Salad ($15.99) that’s menued at both the Racines
locations she co-owns in Denver. The Solitaire (named for the
historic mercantile space downtown that served briefly as
Racines’ first home in 1983) boasts 6 oz. of salmon “delivered
to us right off the plane from Alaska. And the entree salad
is heavy on sweet berries—usually at least three varieties,”
Goodfriend says.
The warm grilled salmon is laid in one piece atop a tossed
salad of baby spinach and arugula, feta cheese, curried pecans,
red onion and tomatoes. A drizzle of orange balsamic vinaigrette (served on the side) completes the plate. “You don’t want
it sizzling, because it makes the lettuce warm,” Goodfriend says.
IT’S A WRAP
Each week, foodservice staff at Pebble Beach Resorts,
Pebble Beach, Calif., prepare and serve hundreds of salads
at no fewer than six of the location’s food and beverage
venues—and that’s not even counting salads for catering. It’s
all a piece of cake to Beat Giger, AAC, the Swiss-born
corporate chef/director of special events who has called the
resort home for almost a quarter of a century.
“Salad has become a stronger and stronger part of our
sales, and not necessarily just for folks on diets,” Giger says.
“If you have meatloaf and mashed potatoes at lunch, then you
Thai Larb Gai is on the menu at Stillwater Bar & Grill at The Lodge, Pebble
Beach Resorts.
need a nap, but a salad with warm chicken or hangar steak or
a piece of seared fish is just perfect.”
In The Tap Room at The Lodge, Giger and his staff offer
turkey tacos, with lettuce leaves serving as taco shells. “To
me, it’s a nice hot/cold combination, and the ingredients
complement each other,” he says.
To prepare, sauteed ground turkey mixed with lemon
juice, orange juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, cilantro and
sour cream is spooned into lettuce cups (Giger uses Garden
Hearts Iceberg Babies from Boggiatto Produce, Inc., Salinas,
Calif.) and topped with julienned lettuce, black beans, salsa,
cheese and avocado.
Thai Larb Gai, menued at Stillwater Bar & Grill at The
Lodge, is a refreshing dish that’s perfect for summer menus
with its hint of mint. “We’re serving the dish in a wrap of
lettuce,” Giger says. “It’s one of the biggest selling items.”
He adds finely minced chicken breast sauteed with lime
juice, shallots, fish sauce and oyster sauce, then tosses in
mint leaves, chili peppers and green onions and sprinkles
with ground roasted rice. A lettuce bowl is filled with the
chicken mixture.
Giger finds that, overall, “during the past two years, especially for lunch, the salad section of the menu—including hot
entree salads and even a Chicken Caesar Pizza—has become
larger, while the regular entree section has become smaller.”
NE W YORK-BASED AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIS T KAREN WEISBERG HAS COVERED THE
ISSUES AND LUMINARIES OF THE FOOD-AND-BEVERAGE WORLD—BO TH COMMERCIAL
AND NONCOMMERCIAL—FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS.
