The Salad "Wedge" Phenomenon

[DMickey28]

The most common way to serve a wedge salad is the wedge of iceberg, sliced tomato, blue cheese, bacon, and blue cheese dressing.

This. A good wedge salad at a good steakhouse is amazing. DH LOVES them. We have been having them for years at the high-end steakhouses, not the national chains. Once the "regular" restaurants started doing them they took on a different "mood" and became less special. I have seen some crappy ones that's for sure ....

 

[ogreenlee]

This. A good wedge salad at a good steakhouse is amazing. DH LOVES them. We have been having them for years at the high-end steakhouses, not the national chains. Once the "regular" restaurants started doing them they took on a different "mood" and became less special. I have seen some crappy ones that's for sure ....

that's because they're pouring kraft blue cheese over a wedge of lettuce.

yuck.


for anyone who really likes blue cheese.. you must find Clemson blue cheese!

 

[Basil of Baker St]

The most common way to serve a wedge salad is the wedge of iceberg, sliced tomato, blue cheese, bacon, and blue cheese dressing.

Yes, and it's DE-licious!! I love a wedge salad and will order it over any other salad. Eating the iceberg lettuce in crunchy chunks is an experience not to be missed. And everything is better w/ bacon!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I had a wedge salad once, a few years ago on a cruise.

I wasn't impressed. I wouldn't order one in a restaurant.

That's how I feel. I'd eat and enjoy it if it came with my meal, but I wouldn't order one and pay for it. It's too easy to make on my own to pay a restaurant to prepare one for me.

 

[Swimnoid]

My mom used to serve us these back in the 60s with either thousand island or blue cheese. I loved them. Now I am a little more adventurous with my greens but my DH LOVES it when I serve him one of these. He is iceberg all the way!

 

[AftertheSunset]

This is a pet peeve of mine. I recently went to McCormick & Schmidts for lunch and ordered a grilled chicken caeser salad. It came out with 2 full leaves of romaine lettuce and a whole grilled chicken breast on top of the lettuce. Dressing, croutons and parm cheese were all in little cups on the side. I paid $13 for this freaking salad and you want me to make it???

I have no problem speaking up, so I ask my waiter what I was supposed to do with this salad and he said, "we allow our customers to put their salads together so they can best accomodate themselves". I laughed and said, "that's a bunch of crock-your just too lazy to put it together yourself."

I did take the darn salad and make it myself though. I complained to the manager on the way out and he stated that he has heard this from others and will my suggestions it into consideration. He then gave me a coupon for a free dinner, which I will not be using!

Really? All that fuss because you had to put the salad together yourself? I can't believe a grown adult would throw such a fuss AND leave a bad tip!

I should have done that!

I did leave a crummy tip, not because of the salad because I don't think the waiter had any control of it, but because of his superior attitude towards me and my guest. I left him $1.00-so he knew I didn't forgot- and a little note that said, "next time, adjust your attitude and your tip will be adjusted accordingly".

WOW, looks like he's not the only one with an attitude! I wouldn't go back either if I were you. Odds are if you did, your tipping style probably got around with the wait staff and you would end up with more in your salad than you bargained for!

 

[Jenvenza]

I am not a fan of the salad wedge at all! It doesnt seem like a salad to me. Just because it is lettuce does not make it a salad. Chop it up and throw some other stuff in there! Then I consider it a salad!

 

[LukenDC]

I really like the wedge salads. Outback Steakhouse in particular has a good one. I do, however, feel guilty about eating a wedge salad because iceberg lettuce does not have much nutrition value and the salads' allure stems from the blue cheese crumbles, bacon bits, and creamy dressing that often adorn them. A wedge salad really is not much of a salad.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think the wedge salads look very cool, and I can't imagine throwing a fit if I received one. To me that is like throwing a fit because they didn't open up my baked potato for me. Silly.

 

[mhsjax]

I really like the wedge salads. Outback Steakhouse in particular has a good one. I do, however, feel guilty about eating a wedge salad because iceberg lettuce does not have much nutrition value and the salads' allure stems from the blue cheese crumbles, bacon bits, and creamy dressing that often adorn them. A wedge salad really is not much of a salad.

I agree with you, and I will hopefully make you feel better. Most salads even the kind with healthy lettuce become unhealthy by the time you add all of the really good stuff. There how's that for the guilt? lol

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'm with the people who don't care for the wedge salad. Seriously, could the restaurants get any lazier with their serving me? These days everything is pre-packaged and frozen... is it really too much to ask that a human being actually cut up my 1/4 head of $1 fresh lettuce before it is placed in front of me for $8?

 

[mhsjax]

I'm with the people who don't care for the wedge salad. Seriously, could the restaurants get any lazier with their serving me? These days everything is pre-packaged and frozen... is it really too much to ask that a human being actually cut up my 1/4 head of $1 fresh lettuce before it is placed in front of me for $8?

I don't think it is laziness. Usually they offer other salads, Some of us actually like the wedge, including me. I love most salads, but to me this is a splurge because normally try to eat really healthy salads with lots of veggies no meat and lite dressings. I don't know why people have to be so negative, Really not everyone is doing things just to be lazy or tick you off. Order something else if you don't like it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I agree. iceberg lettuce is yucky...

IMHO there's a difference between iceberg in a wedge and iceberg that's been pulled apart leaf by leaf. If it's been pulled apart and/or shredded, I agree, it's not very appealing. But there's something about it being in that wedge that gives it a different texture, especially when combined with the other ingredients in a traditional wedge salad. I dig the wedge salad.

 

[princesspiglet]

Really? All that fuss because you had to put the salad together yourself? I can't believe a grown adult would throw such a fuss AND leave a bad tip!



WOW, looks like he's not the only one with an attitude! I wouldn't go back either if I were you. Odds are if you did, your tipping style probably got around with the wait staff and you would end up with more in your salad than you bargained for!

The point is, they did not advertise it as a wedge salad, they advertised it as a Ceaser Salad. If they would have stated it was a wedge salad I would not have ordered it I wanted a pre-made ceaser salad that was advertised on the menu, period. And obviously, I am not the only one who would be upset to be served this as the manager stated he had heard numerous complaints about that particular item.

And I spent 15 years as a server, so I know first-hand what attitude is. The server acted as if we were bothering him by sitting at his table. My guest asked him a question about a fish and he rolled his eyes at us and said "how am I supposed to know that, I only work here, I didn't BUY the fish." All of this before our food even came. So I believe I was totally justified in his low tip.

Maybe next time you get served something you didn't order, you can just suck it up for the rest of us.

 

[lovetoscrap]

You all have me very intrigued. I think I will have to make one of these!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I haven't had one of these, but I have seen them on menus and in magazines etc...

How do you eat this???? It seems like you would have to cut it up like a regular salad anyway to eat it politely???

You just use your knife and fork to cut one bite off at a time, like you would with a piece of meat. Cutting it all up at once, then eating it like a regular salad would take away from the awesome crunchiness of the iceberg wedge.

IMHO there's a difference between iceberg in a wedge and iceberg that's been pulled apart leaf by leaf. If it's been pulled apart and/or shredded, I agree, it's not very appealing. But there's something about it being in that wedge that gives it a different texture, especially when combined with the other ingredients in a traditional wedge salad. I dig the wedge salad.

Ditto! I don't even like blue cheese, but I love a wedge salad!

 

[mhsjax]

The point is, they did not advertise it as a wedge salad, they advertised it as a Ceaser Salad. If they would have stated it was a wedge salad I would not have ordered it I wanted a pre-made ceaser salad that was advertised on the menu, period. And obviously, I am not the only one who would be upset to be served this as the manager stated he had heard numerous complaints about that particular item.

And I spent 15 years as a server, so I know first-hand what attitude is. The server acted as if we were bothering him by sitting at his table. My guest asked him a question about a fish and he rolled his eyes at us and said "how am I supposed to know that, I only work here, I didn't BUY the fish." All of this before our food even came. So I believe I was totally justified in his low tip.

Maybe next time you get served something you didn't order, you can just suck it up for the rest of us.

you know, normally I would disagree with you about this type of thing. saying no big deal , so you had to put together the salad yourself, HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, having been to McCormick and Schmidt and absolutely never going back, even if they paid me. I agree with you. We call that restaurant the 2 hour fish debacle. I don't know how that place stays in business, they all have attitudes.

 

[si-am]

The point is, they did not advertise it as a wedge salad, they advertised it as a Ceaser Salad. If they would have stated it was a wedge salad I would not have ordered it I wanted a pre-made ceaser salad that was advertised on the menu, period. And obviously, I am not the only one who would be upset to be served this as the manager stated he had heard numerous complaints about that particular item.

And I spent 15 years as a server, so I know first-hand what attitude is. The server acted as if we were bothering him by sitting at his table. My guest asked him a question about a fish and he rolled his eyes at us and said "how am I supposed to know that, I only work here, I didn't BUY the fish." All of this before our food even came. So I believe I was totally justified in his low tip.

Maybe next time you get served something you didn't order, you can just suck it up for the rest of us.

You weren't served something you didn't order. You were served something that was prepared in a way you weren't expecting. There's a difference.

 

[Tikitoi]

You all have me very intrigued. I think I will have to make one of these!

Be sure to top with: red onions, bacon, blue cheese chunks, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing.

 

[AntePrincess]

I think I might prefer a wedge salad to the usual variety. At any rate, our local circa 70s college pub made them then and never stopped. There's something very pleasing about the contrast between a nice crisp wedge on a frosted glass salad plate, a dark beer in similarly frosted mug, and a good steak. I can only imagine the attitude someone would get if they accused the chef of laziness there! It's definitely a stand on tradition sort of a place. You'd probably get tossed out with a confetti of itty bitty salad greens following you down the sidewalk! Yet the pub is always packed, while the snootier restaurants are closing shop.