Gaucho salad: Mark Davis

Gaucho salad: Mark Davis

Chris Dahlander, the founder and owner of Dallas-based Snappy Salads, worked for Brinker International as the marketing director for Romano’s Macaroni Grill for eight years. After a while, all the discounted food with Brinker started taking a toll on his waistline. “I was getting heavier and heavier, and I looked at myself in the mirror one day and thought, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to be that way,’” Dalander explains. So he started eating salads, but most places made it difficult, if not impossible, for customers to customize their salad orders. “That really irritated me,” he says. Other places felt too “girly” or too aged, he says. Nothing seemed to fit his needs. Finally, while stuck on a flight, both hungry and frustrated, he began to brainstorm, jotting down things he wanted in a salad joint — create-your-own, high quality, fast. After plenty of research and more brainstorming, he finally took the plunge. In 2006, he opened his first location at Preston and Forest, followed by several others, including his latest location at Greenville and Southwestern. The stores are focused on being eco-friendly, from recycled tables and countertops, to hanging lights that use less than 350 watts of electricity in the entire dining area. The location on Greenville is cozy and comfortable, yet masculine enough to lull the salad-skittish male population. That, of course, shouldn’t be surprising, given the restaurant’s tagline: “So good, even guys like our salads.” The beauty of the create-your-own salad is that each one is whatever guests want it to be — heavy, light, generous, sparing, healthy, nutritious, flavorful. But one thing is standard: The salads are always fresh. Lettuce and other produce is cut daily. “Anything that looks like it’s been chopped, we chopped it,” Dahlander says. Each location also has a culinary manager who cooks fresh batches of soups every day. Perfect for cold, wintery days.

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Snappy Salads
5941 Greenville
214.361.7627 (SNAP)
snappysalads.com

Ambiance: Casual

Price range: $3.70-$14.55

Hours: Mon-Sat: 11 a.m.-9p.m.
Sun: 11a.m.-3p.m.

 

3 more salad spots

1 Seasons 52
This NorthPark Center eatery has separate garlic-free, lactose-free and vegan menus for all sorts of diets. The lemongrass salmon salad, with mango, jicama and toasted sesame dressing, dispels the myth that salad is simply “rabbit food.”
8687 N. Central, Ste B307
214.361.5252
seasons52.com

2 Cedars Mediterranean Mezza and Grill
Don’t miss the salad bar, which is packed with hot and cold salads alike. The roasted cauliflower and the couscous salad are standouts.
8141 Walnut Hill, Ste 1200
214.373.8141
cedarsmezza.com

3 Enchilada’s
Tex-Mex doesn’t have to mean refried beans and greasy tortillas. Salad doesn’t have to mean tasteless greens. The fajita salad at Enchilada’s offers the perfect blend of fresh roughage, melty cheese and sizzling, spicy, hot-off-the-grill protein, all inside a crispy shell.
7050 Greenville
214.363.8969
enchiladasrestaurants.com