This is the Dino Kale Salad from the Plant Cafe, a nice lunch spot near my work in downtown San Francisco. I spent almost 19 dollars on it. Worth it?
I recreated the salad as precisely as I could at home to find out whether I should MAKE IT or TAKE OUT.
As the name suggests, the Plant's Dino Kale Salad has dino kale, one of the healthiest veggies out there. The dino kale sits on top of a bed of arugula, another tasty green. On top of the greens are toppings galore: cherry tomatoes, avocado, toasted almonds, red quinoa, carrots, cucumber, chicken (which is three dollars extra). The dressing is a simple mix of oil, lemon, cumin, and I think turmeric.
I have to admit, it's a very good salad. But is it worth 19 dollars?
I ventured to recreate this salad to a tee so I could compare my version with the Plant's.
I started off with the dino kale and arugula, of course. I think the Plant blanches its kale, so I did the same, meaning I threw it in boiling water for just a couple of seconds, then cooled it down right away. This gives the kale less of a construction-paper quality.
Then I prepared the toppings. For the chicken, I took a breast from a whole chicken I roasted a day or two earlier. I love me some roast chicken, and maybe one day I'll share my recipe. Anyway, I took a knife to the chicken breast and all the other toppings and plopped it on top of the greens.
Next came the dressing. I took two parts oil, one part lemon juice, some cumin, and some salt and threw it all in a little container that I could shake before mixing the dressing with my salad at work.
And that's really it. I waited until I got to work to slice the avocado so it wouldn't turn brown. But other than that, it was ready to eat at lunch time.
{Andrew's version of the Dino Kale Salad}
Alright, alright, alright, so the 19 dollar question - is it worth it to make this salad or take it out?
I used three criteria to answer this question: taste, cost, ant time. Taste is how good the salad tastes. Cost is the dollar amount I spent. And time is amount of time it takes to get the salad from Plant/make the salad myself.
Taste
The Plant's salad is excellent. All the ingredients are fresh and top notch, and they work well together.
My salad had the same ingredients, but suffered from sitting in the fridge for a few hours before I ate it. It still tasted good, but it had a hint of that leftover taste that food gets from hanging out in the fridge. Slight advantage: Plant.
Cost
I calculated that my salad cost $5.97 to make. That's pretty expensive for a homemade lunch, but everything I used was organic (except the salad dressing). And $5.97 is still 13 bucks cheaper than the Plant. That's more than enough money for me to buy a burrito later in the afternoon when I'm hungry again. Advantage: me.
Time
The Plant is a block from my work, but with the wait in line, it can be up to a 45 minute roundtrip to get my 19 dollar salad. BUT, the Plant takes orders for pickup if you order before a certain time. It's about 15 minutes roundtrip for me if I preorder.
My salad was tedious to make. I had to wash the kale and blanch it in a pot. I had to use another pot to make the quinoa, and another to toast the almonds. I had to roast the chicken too. Then I had to slice all the toppings, make the dressing, and then slice the avocado at work before I finally ate my salad. All told, it took at least 30 minutes to make. I would have had to add a couple more minutes to do the dishes but for my wife helping in the kitchen. Thanks honey! Slight advantage: Plant.
Judgment
MAKE IT. This is a much tougher call than you would think. 19 dollars is a lot for a salad. But it ain't a breeze to make the same salad at home, especially if you want to use good ingredients. I just can't get over having to spend 13 dollars extra having to buy a salad instead of making it at home. My salad may not have been quite as good as the Plant's, but it was good enough for me to declare myself the victor. Go me!
Thanks for visiting!
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