Naked Greens held a fun customer promotion Monday morning, June 30, pitting creative, salad-eating customers against each other in the war of the wavy greens. Owner Victor Melendez challenged his customers to submit new salad recipes and seven were chosen to face a panel of Wilton community judges. The veggie warriors were vying to have their concoctions chosen to be “Salad-of-the-Month” in July, August and September.
Competitors who were available to be on-site at Naked Greens on Monday got behind the counter to assemble their entries themselves, while the restaurant’s cooks prepped the salads for the couple of competitors who couldn’t be there. Tasting the tempting tossed salad treats were Wilton business owners (including me) and some of Naked Greens’ most loyal customers. Their creations were judged on the criteria of flavor intensity, uniqueness, sell-ability and nutritional value.
As judges, we found that the amateur salad chefs were incredibly creative, coming up with some wonderfully varied salads, each tasty, different and delicious in its own way.
For July, we chose the “The Healthy Tex-Mex,” by Jenn Lewis as the winner. A yummy, zesty salad, it includes: romaine lettuce and mixed greens, cilantro, red onion, red and green peppers, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and Naked Greens’ chimichurri dressing. “It’s actually a salad I’ve been working on here for a while. I started it with one of Naked Greens’ [off the menu] and each time I would modify it to make it what I wanted. It took a couple months, but that’s what I get every time I come in here.,” Lewis said, adding that her creation is healthy. “It’s proof you can eat super healthy and have yummy too.”
The August winner was “The Godfrey,” created by Vann Godfrey. Surprisingly, this was my personal favorite, given that it’s a kale salad–something I didn’t expect to like, but really did. Mixed in with the kale base are beets, black beans, chickpeas, red and green peppers, sunflower seeds, avocado, artichoke hearts, and Naked Greens’ balsamic/lime/pepper dressing.
Interestingly, there was a tie for first place, between “The Shrimp Mango Salad,” by Randi Van Pelt and “The Shirin Sassy Salad,” by Shirin Dorne. Both were so GOOD and tasty, we opted to let the public choose an ultimate grand-prize winner in September, when the two salads will be featured as the special salads of the month.
Van Pelt’s Shrimp Mango salad contains mesclun lettuce, shrimp, mango, avocado, red onion, tomatoes, with a honey/grain mustard/balsamic vinegar dressing. “I love making different salads here. I was thinking summer, and mango is one of my favorites–either paired with chicken or fish. I was trying to go off of what ingredients that have here. And I just love mango!” she laughs, adding that she’s honored to be one of the winners.
Dorne’s Shirin Sassy salad introduced sesame oil in the dressing, an ingredient that Melendez doesn’t typically stock behind the counter, but given how the judges all raved about the taste it looks like he might have to buy it in bulk. The salad ingredients include mesclun, grilled chicken, roasted corn, jicama, edamame, mango, toasted almonds, and tortilla strips tossed and garnished with a slice of avocado on top. The new dressing that she created was a combination of extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, honey, fresh lime juice, chopped cilantro, minced ginger, salt, and pepper.
“This was fun, and a good way to get something fresh on the menu, and to get my loyal customers to be part of what we do here. They get to tell me what they think is good, and it’s engaging and fun,” Melendez said.
Make sure to stop in to Naked Greens and try the featured salads each month. And look for more news in GOOD Morning Wilton for when Melendez runs the next contest for fall–start thinking of your great tasting fall salad recipes!