Salad Bars

Ok... This is a strange request, but, I need a salad bar.. and I am calling on the collective wisdowm of the LTHForum to find it.

Here are the parameters:
1) Needs to be open for dinner and can be consumed exclusively for dinner

2) Similar to the SouperSalad chain you find outside of Illinois. Greenery as far as the I can see. I want an obscene display of vegetables

3) Chicagoland area/ no geographic parameters

4) Do not want to pay $30 or salad (i.e. no Brazillian recs)

5) Sweet Tomatoes doesn't really cut it (can't really go back to the salad bar and all the soups/pastas are thick and gloopy, designed to waste space)

I thank everyone in advance

Cousin's Incredible Vitality, at 3038 W. Irving Park Road, should fit the bill nicely. For 10 bucks you get to fill your plate with stuffed mushrooms, curried vegetables, roasted vegetables, several kinds of fruits, grape leaves, hummus, and a whole host of other mostly Turkish-inspired vegetarian items, all of which are entirely raw.

Yo wrote:This is a strange request,

Not a strange request at all. I'm interested as well in something similar to Sweet Tomatos in premise, but much better in terms of actual delivery and hopefully located in the city.

R.J. Grunts was mentioned recently in another thread. From an historical perspective, I'll point out that R.J. Grunts was the originator of the salad bar (now you know who to blame). Since we always talk about authenticity, I guess that makes their salad bar the most authentic one there can possibley be .

R.J. Grunts
2056 North Lincoln Park West
Chicago, IL
773-929-5363

The only part of Grunts that doesn't fit the OP's criteria is that their salad bar doesn't go on as far as the eye can see. If anything, it's compact. But if you can live with that, it's a good one, and the first one that came to my mind. If you like chopped liver, you'll give Grunts' salad bar bonus points, because it's a fixture there. (Chopped liver is salad, right? Right. The best way I know to get your 5 servings of vegetables a day.)

Salad bars are becoming rarer these days, as I've recently noticed (since the mean Doctor told me to stop my foie gras and rich cheese ways), but I can always get a good one at Dominick's. I read about one somewhere in the vicinity of Clark and Diversey, but I don't remember exactly where. Maybe at Eatzi's?

I've been meaning to write about Cousin's Incredible Vitality. The (now $12) buffet is really tasty (raw vegan, as well) but it's not a traditional salad bar. That is, you're not getting a bed of romaine and tons of toppings and individual vegetables. It's good food. Not simply good "for raw vegan", but good on any scale. Not a bit of tofu in the place.

stevez wrote:R.J. Grunts was mentioned recently in another thread. From an historical perspective, I'll point out that R.J. Grunts was the originator of the salad bar (now you know who to blame).

R.J. Grunts introduced the salad bar to Chicagoland, but they didn't invent it.

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq7.html#saladbars

sultan's market, on north avenue, has a decent salad bar, definitely loaded with enough goodies for a complete dinner. there are dolmades and raw vegetables, marinated mushrooms and cold shrimp. this place, which evolved from a small middle eastern grocery store has tables and take out. justjoan

2057 w. north ave. (773) 235-3072