Where to Get a Big Salad in Portland

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A big salad from Garden Monsters—The Hercules with chicken

Over the years, I’ve heard people ask, “So where can I get a big salad in Portland?” If they are a New York transplant, they are probably thinking of those chopped salad and panini spots that were (are?) ubiquitous in Midtown Manhattan. Or the kind of “Big Salad” referred to in Seinfeld. But really—sometimes you just want a big salad, no matter where you come from.

Here are some places where you can get the classic “Big Salad”—but instead of a bowl of “big lettuce, carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs,” a la Seinfeld, you can get a mix of diverse ingredients that will be delicious and satisfying—enough for a whole meal (sometimes two, if you play your lettuce cards right—Romaine stands up better overnight compared to mesclun greens).

Canteen

Photo credit: Yelp

Self-described at a “world famous organic juice and smoothie bar,” the food here I would say is nutrient dense, healthy, and fresh—the kind of place I like to go when I need to nourish myself. They offer two substantial salads at their SE Stark location:

Walnut Taco Salad: mixed greens, carrot, red cabbage, avocado-curry sauce, walnut taco crumble, pico de gallo, cashew nacho spread, avocado, green onions.
Quinoa Confetti: quinoa, curried cashews, currants, apple, celery, mint, cilantro, lime, balsamic vinaigrette. (Add a bed of balsamic dressed greens for $2.)

I usually get a smoothie with my salad (The Orange One is a fave). I love eating here. Definitely put it on your list of tasty healthy crunchy food spots.

2816 SE Stark Street, Portland. http://www.canteenpdx.com/

Cibo

Photo credit: Cibo

I think of Cibo as primarily a pizzeria but I have to say—their salads are enticing. Their Caesar salads (three versions) are great but Judith points out the Insalata di Polpo—octopus. Have you had octopus? It is delicious, and we both developed a taste for it at the many Greek restaurants that saturate Astoria, Queens. This salad at Cibo includes grilled octopus, lemon, Tuscan fries, arugula, and extra virgin olive oil.

On the vegan side of things is the Tuscan Farro Salad: organic farro (an ancient grain) tossed with cucumbers, peppers, red onions, arbequina olive oil, and assorted herbs and spices.

3539 SE Division Street, Portland. https://cibopdx.com/

Crisp Salads

Photo credit: Crisp

Crisp, a small, local chain of restaurants serving soup, salad, and wraps, offers 10 big salad options, including a Chopped Cobb, a couple of Caesar salads (one with kale as a base), and a Cowboy salad with Beyond beef. They will sometimes offer special salads, too, like The Sláinte Salad, which was available around St. Paddy’s Day.

They want you to feel good when you’re eating their salads and other food, and their values include “sourcing from local partners and farmers” and “minimizing our carbon footprint, and empowering our team members to create a fun environment.” Prices are between about $11 to $14.50. You can get any salad in a wrap for two bucks more.

3901 North Williams Avenue and 2045 SE Division Street in Portland; 15932 SE Happy Valley Town Center Drive, Happy Valley. https://www.crispsaladsnw.com/

Elephant’s Deli

Photo credit: Elephant’s Deli

When I first came to Portland to visit family years ago, my aunt Farzaneh took me to Elephant’s Deli (the 22nd Avenue location). She’s a big Elephant’s booster. And why not? They have so many delicious things to eat there—prepared and packaged, both. I love stopping in any of the locations and being able to get a “grab and go” prepared salad that I know is going to sate me and feel like a treat at the same time.

Specifically, they offer five salads and two side salads. I’m a big fan of their quinoa and black bean salad, which also includes cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and scallions in a smoky lime dressing.

115 NW 22nd Avenue, Portland (other locations, here). https://www.elephantsdeli.com/

Evergreens

Photo credit: Evergreens

You might know Evergreens originally as Portland’s “Garden Bar,” home to “bougie salads.” The Merc informs us that, “Washington State salad company Evergreens purchased Garden Bar in August of 2019.”

Today Evergreens offers salads, wraps, and grain bowls. On their menu are eight salads with fun names like Soy Meets World, Cobb Your Enthusiasm, and Moroccan & Rollin’. You can also “build your own” salad with ingredients you prefer. For the set salads, you can get chicken added for $3 or avocado for $2. And you can put it in a wrap.

1430 SE Water Avenue and 7000 NE Airport Way, Portland; 1237 NE 48th Ave, Hillsboro; 2725 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Suite 120 Beaverton. https://evergreens.com/

Garden Monsters

Photo credit: Garden Monsters

Garden Monsters is a welcome supporter of Portland Salad Week here on Bridgetown Bites, and we are glad for it. I remember a while back when they opened a location in the Hollywood District (where Doe Donuts is now) and it was so great to have them there. They are now back to slinging salads in their trucks, and have some sweet locations in Portland.

They really offer something for everyone—omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, paleo, keto. I love that about them. They offer seven salads, from the Macho Taco (featured for Salad Week), to a great cobb salad (I had that Monday night), to The Hercules, which is like a Greek salad starting with a Romaine & spinach blend base. Add proteins (grilled chicken, grass-fed beef ($.50), bacon; vegan chicken, soy curls, tofu) and some other treats like avocado and marinated artichoke hearts for $1.50 to $2.

5029 SE Division Street and 2231 NE Alberta Street, Portland. https://gardenmonsters.net/

Harlow

Photo credit: Harlow

This vegetarian restaurant offers “clean & healthy food made with love.” The Harlow Chopped Salad and Harlow Wrap are pretty dang popular, but there are some other salads to consider here: the Urban Bowl that features, among other things, sea vegetables; a simple Organic Mixed Garden Greens with a fabulous lemon ginger dressing; and the Utopian Dream Salad made with an intriguing mix of ingredients: raw shredded green papaya, carrots, shredded kale & broccoli tossed in almond butter Pad Thai sauce, topped with almond parmesan, mint, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd and 505 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland. https://harlowpdx.com/

Laughing Planet

When I moved to Portland’s Hollywood District, I was overjoyed to find a place that offered so many things that my entire household could enjoy. I’ve eaten many a Harvest Bowl, Moroccan Bowl, and Lebanese Bowl over the years, but I’ve also really gotten into the Zappatista Salad (mentioned in an earlier post this week). They offer a total of six salads, half of which you can order in small and large formats.

Add grilled chicken or tempeh for a little bit more—the tempeh is some of the tastiest I’ve even encountered (they marinate it and bake it). Don’t forget to check to see what kind of kombucha they have on tap, too.

1914 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland (other locations, here). https://laughingplanet.com/menu/

Market Street Salad Bar and Deli

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Photo credit: Market Street

Not too far from PSU, Keller Auditorium, and the waterfront, this fast-casual breakfast and lunch restaurant offers “a wide variety of health-conscious foods.” Five salads are on the menu and they are relatively simple compared to most—a Kale, Caesar, Spinach, Asian Cabbage, and Spring Mix. The Spinach Salad in particular—with pickled beets, red onion, mandarin orange, cranberry, and nuts—has my number.

105 SW Market Street, Portland. https://www.marketstreetsalads.com/menu.html

Papa Haydn

Photo credit: Papa Haydn

Known moreseo for its crazy awesome dessert menu, Papa Haydn has some lovely main dish salads—four on the menu right now (two with seafood, two without). The Salmon Nicoise Salad, which Jen Lewis of Cooking Fresh recommended earlier this week, sounds particularly good: it’s made with a pan-seared salmon filet, butter lettuce, potatoes, green beans, oven roasted tomatoes, kalamata olives, hard boiled egg, spanish anchovies, and a sherry vinaigrette.

Balance that with a slice of cake (the Mt. Adams Cake is my favorite) and you have a truly special meal.

5829 SE Milwaukie Avenue and 701 NW 23rd Avenue in Portland. https://www.papahaydn.com/

Poa Cafe

Photo credit: Poa Cafe

Yesterday Judith highlighted Poa Cafe in her post about fruit salad and kids, but their bowls straddle that line between veggie bowl and salad (see also: Rabbits Cafe below). I’d put five of their six bowls in this category, as they are nourishing and fresh. The Paleo Bowl calls out to me: A “healthy and light salad with organic chicken breast, mashed avocado, spring greens, feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, carrots, super seed mix, honey mustard vinaigrette, and vegan beet tahini sauce.” The Yogurt Granola Bowl also pushed the envelope, with a Greek yogurt-style base topped with seeds and fresh fruit.

4025 N Williams Avenue, Portland. https://www.poacafe.com/

Rabbits Cafe

Photo credit: Rabbits Cafe

I first got to know Rabbits Cafe as a healthy option for office workers in Big Pink, and while they offer bowls and salads, their bowls could be considered somewhat like esoteric salads, since they each involve salad elements in them. Case in point, the Chickpea Bowl: along with chickpeas and brown basmati rice, there’s also a lemon-curry cauliflower, kale in tahini dressing, and pickled veg (they top it with a cilantro-mint chutney and garam masala spiced almonds). It’s like everything all at once.

Full blown salads, of which there are two, are:

The Peter Salad: Kale in tahini dressing, chickpeas, tempeh, quinoa, Kalamata olives
The Thumper Salad: Mixed greens in red chili sauce, black beans, quinoa, tomato-corn relish, spiced pepitas.

I can’t deny—as a fan of wild buns (which are all over my neighborhood right now), I love the rabbit theme.

555 SW Oak Street and 1640 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland. https://www.rabbitscafepdx.com/

Spitz

Photo credit: Spitz

Judith recommends this colorful spot that offers a variety of “healthy Mediterranean” salads and bowls that are both fun and hearty. They offer seven salad/bowl mashups: the Donner Salad, Remix Bowl, Medi Bowl, Berliner Bowl, Greek Salad, Quinoa Salad, and Brunch Quinoa; there’s also a yogurt bowl with a Greek-style yogurt base topped with fresh fruit.

2103 N Killingsworth Street, Portland. https://spitz-restaurant.com/

The Celery

Photo credit: The Celery

I wrote about The Celery earlier this year; they opened in January 2022. Healthy food—smoothies, juices, grain bowls, salads, and smoothie bowls—are the name of the game here, in a light and airy atmosphere. From what I can tell, the owners hope that this is not the only The Celery that will be out there (one day). As for straight-up salads, they offer two:

Little Salmon Salad: 100% organic salad made with *salmon, greens mix, slivered almonds, golden beets, crispy chickpeas, quinoa & lemon thyme vinaigrette (*USDA does not certify organic for any fish including salmon).
Zig Zag Salad: 100% organic salad made with radicchio, frizzled onion, candied pecans, Farro & vegan Caesar dressing.

The Açai and smoothie bowls could be considered fruit salads, too, as the smoothie/Açai base is covered with fresh fruit. Delicious and refreshing!

4008 N Williams Ave, Portland. https://www.thecelery.com/