When Stephen Met "When Eddie Met Salad" - A Restaurant Review

The California Roll Salad at When Eddie Met Salad

In the never-ending quest to never make my blog (a.) a consistently updated look at my ghastly inner workings and (b.) about any one thing in particular (which I suppose, works hand-in-hand with that consistency issue), I have decided to add another layer to my already scattered repertoire of varying blog hats - restaurant critic! I'm fairly critical (though not always intentionally) and I love food, so this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Today, while out with Mom and Emilee (my sister) on our bi-weekly trip to the Castleton Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, we stopped by a nice little gem of a strip mall restaurant that had caught our eye on our previous excursion - When Eddie Met Salad.

Really, in the interest of being honest, it was the name that caught our attention first. Emilee and I liked that it reminded us of one chick flick we both actually enjoy (When Harry Met Sally, natch) and Mom liked that it had 'Eddie' in it (as that's her husband's/our father's name). As the three of us have been fairly interested in eating healthy lately as well, a restaurant that specializes in various types of salads seemed right up our alley. So the two of them decided (independently of me, because - let's face it - I'll pretty much eat anything) that we would stop there for lunch today.

We walked in just after 11am, which is when the store opens. In all probability, we were the first customers of the day. The interior of the store was filled with small tables in chairs and the sparse decor led me to believe that this place was all about the food.

As near as I can figure, When Eddie Met Salad (hereafter referred to as WEMS) attempts to do what Panera did for sandwiches or Noodles & Co. did for... well, noodle dishes - update them a bit and give them a new, creative spin. If creativity was what what the titular 'Eddie' had in mind, then mission accomplished! What I found after looking at the massive order board were a number of wild choices, each more creative and original than the last!

The menu includes not only classic salads like a Caesar and Cobb salad, but also features saladized (it's a word now - I made it one) versions of international dishes like Chicken Cordon Bleu (a chicken salad with ham, tomatoes, croutons, mozzarella, and honey mustard dressing), Philly Cheesesteak (Iceberg with roast beef, mushrooms, onions, peppers, mozzarella, croutons, and Italian dressing), and - my eventual pick - a California roll (with imitation crab, diced cucumbers, fresh avacado, black sesame seeds, and a wasabi ranch dressing). Check out their full menu on their website: some of these combos have to be seen (and tasted) to be believed!

I truly enjoyed the California Roll salad. My love for sushi (and my desire around 11am for Japanese food) led me to this salad and I was not disappointed. The lettuce (Eddie's own 'house mix' which, unless I'm mistaken, included iceberg and romaine lettuces) serves as the base of this salad - natch - and takes the place of the vinegared rice in the traditional sushi version of a California roll. The lettuce and the diced cucumber provide a nice textural contrast from the 'soft' ingredients like the crab and the avacado (which was cut into right before my very eyes - huzzah! Freshness!).

The real star of this dish, though, was the wasabi ranch dressing. It packs all the punch of the wasabi you know and love from a sushi restaurant with the cooling consistency of ranch dressing. It was a delight! My one complaint is that there was a LOT of it! Eventually, it became so overwhelming that I could no longer taste the fresh ingredients for all the eye-watering wasabi. (Note to self: Next time, dressing on the SIDE!)

My mother ordered the Cranberry Spinach Salad (romaine and spinach with dried cranberries, slivered almonds, black sesame seeds, feta cheese, and a (balsamic?) vinaigrette. She also really enjoyed her salad, siting her love of the cranberry-feta combo that occurs. (Mom's a bit of a sucker for either feta or a berry-cheese combo. She's cool like that.)

Emilee took advantage of one of the cooler options that a place like WEMS had to offer - a build-your-own salad. Literally one-fourth of the menu is covered with a listing of option so great that the mind reels a bit at first glance. However, she sorted through it like a champ, opting for a house mix salad with avacado, red onions, and cucumber with a chipotle ranch dressing (which may or may not have included bacon - neither of us could tell).

Another thing that made me (or probably Mom, since she bought lunch) happy was the price. For the amount of food you get, the prices at WEMS were very reasonable - anywhere from $4.99 to $6.59 for a small salad (which, themselves, are pretty large) and from $5.99 to $7.59 for a regular salad. I, a man of healthy appetites, ordered the regular-sized California Roll Salad and was MORE than sated by the end of the meal.

WEMS also has wraps and sandwiches for those who prefer typical 'eating out' fare (each priced at $6.59), but make no mistake - the salads are king here!

The general consensus at the table was positive. Emilee enjoyed the freedom to choose her ingredients and lamented that there wasn't a location closer to where we live (on Indy's south side - Are you reading this, Eddie? Untapped markets in Greenwood!) I loved the brazen creativity of the menu and Mom, as stated earlier, loved the slavor profiles on her salad.

Mom did comment - and I was inclined to agree - that the greens didn't seem that fresh. I'm not sure if it was the way it was cut, but the greens seemed like they came out of a bag. I hope this wasn't the case and it didn't really hamper my enjoyment of the meal, but I like to see fresh veggies used whenever possible.

So... to recap:

The Good: creative menu; well-balanced food options; variety; build-your-own salad; well-priced

The Bad: atmosphere (a bit blase from what I could tell); freshness of greens?

Total Rating: Four out of five stars

Recommendation: WEMS has four locations throughout the area - 96th St, Carmel, Downtown, and 86th & Michigan - so check one out and see how good this stuff is for yourself!

Have a local restaurant - not a chain, but a good homegrown kinda place - you wanna see me review? Shoot me an e-mail at sfoxwort@gmail.com!