# Craving a Chef's Salad and can't find one. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 28, 2024, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364 "2024-10-28T21:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/41 "2024-10-30T21:08:47Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > It also just hit me that all the independent places I looked at are also big breakfast places. So they’re making Denver omelettes, ham & eggs, and similar in the morning. So they might as well use the ham and eggs they already have on hand in a Chef’s salad at lunch time. Cf. the _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ episode where Larry wants to order breakfast at a restaurant that’s already switched to the lunch menu. So he orders a Cobb salad and asks them to hold everything except the bacon and eggs. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/42 "2024-10-30T21:23:08Z")
Sounds like Jack Nicolson trying to order toast in the movie Five Easy Pieces. “I’ll have the chicken salad sandwich, toasted, hold the chicken” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/43 "2024-10-31T01:16:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > uncured bacon, “Uncured” bacon is still very much cured, but it’s cured using celery juice or other concentrated nitrate/nitrite-containing vegetable product, sometimes in nitrate/nitrite quantities larger than regularly cured meats. Soon the loophole will be closing that allows companies to falsely claim “uncured” when it truly is cured. > **[USDA pushes forward label updates for cultured-meat, uncured claims,...](https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2024/06/12/usda-pushes-forward-label-updates-for-cultured-meat-uncured-claims-nutrition-facts)** > > USDA is working through a backlog of much-needed updates to labels for meat and poultry, and anticipates publishing this year or early next several proposed rules, including for uncured and cultivated products, according to an agency official. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/44 "2024-10-31T01:18:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > “Uncured” bacon is still very much cured, but it’s cured using celery juice or other concentrated nitrate/nitrite-containing vegetable product, sometimes in nitrate/nitrite quantities larger than regularly cured meats. Soon the loophole will be closing that allows companies to falsely claim “uncured” when it truly is cured. Finally. I love cured meats and eat them, and all the “uncured” nonsense irritated the crap out of me for its BS. _It’s still cured, people!_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/45 "2024-10-31T01:35:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Finally. I love cured meats and eat them, and all the “uncured” nonsense irritated the crap out of me for its BS. _It’s still cured, people!_ Whatever. I don’t care about ‘cured’ or ‘uncured’ any more than I care if something is gluten-free. Just reporting what’s in the salad. I certainly don’t choose products simply because they’re ‘uncured’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/46 "2024-10-31T01:40:30Z")
I didn’t even realize your post is where the uncured stuff came from. I’m not criticizing you or even tangentially responding to your post, but rather expressing happiness that they’re finally doing something about that labeling. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/47 "2024-10-31T01:49:35Z")
I think chef’s salads are just okay. It is true they are less common in Canada, even as salad consumption has become more popular. I remember a fast food commercial from the 1980s making fun of men who eat salad, kind of like the Seinfeld “mutton” episode. But there are a lot of salads I think are way better than chef’s. I can think of a few places that still serve them where I live, and several places that still have salad bars. If chef’s salads sold phenomenally well at restaurants they would still be omnipresent. As ingredients have become pricier, and alternatives better, perhaps the game is not worth the candle. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/48 "2024-10-31T01:56:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > but rather expressing happiness that they’re finally doing something about that labeling. Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/49 "2024-10-31T02:26:56Z")
Heck, my new diet calls for a chef’s salad for breakfast a couple of times a week. Tomorrow’s has romaine, peppered turkey, shredded cheddar, sliced hard-boiled egg, and french-fried onions with a Frenchy dressing, lo-cal. Chef salads ain’t dead around here. Ain’t even sick! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/50 "2024-10-31T05:53:34Z")
So how is a Cobb salad different from a Chef’s salad? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/51 "2024-10-31T08:02:26Z")
Generally, I’d say Cobb salad has grilled chicken and bleu cheese; a chef salad has turkey and ham and cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/52 "2024-10-31T09:49:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > So how is a Cobb salad different from a Chef’s salad? The toppings on a Cobb salad can be remembered with the acronym EAT COBB; egg (hardboiled), avocado, tomato, chicken (boiled and chopped), onion (green), bacon, and bleu cheese. On a bed of mixed greens with a red wine vinaigrette dressing. This is the one true incarnation of the Cobb salad as it was originally served in the Brown Derby in 1937. All other forms are unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/53 "2024-10-31T17:05:14Z")
Forget a Chef’s or Cobb Salad - what’s really hard to find these days is a Waldorf Salad. Last place I had one was at a quaint English hotel in Torquay. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/54 "2024-11-05T16:09:11Z")
Couldn’t be easier to make. Chopped apple, celery, and walnuts, mixed with mayonnaise. It’s more than the sum of its parts. You can add things to make it ‘better’, but a plain old Waldorf Salad is retro and satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/55 "2024-11-05T16:54:33Z")
[You left out the grapes.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZoUH43nI4w#t=34s) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/56 "2024-11-07T22:50:48Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Last place I had one was at a quaint English hotel in Torquay. I see what you did here, and do not need to click your subsequent link to know where it leads 😛 ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364/57 "2024-11-07T23:09:58Z")
Yesterday I was ordering lunch from Beach Hut Deli (a California based sandwich chain) and noticed they have a Chef’s salad on the [menu](https://beachhutdeli.com/menu/). And it makes complete sense for them to offer one; pretty much every ingredient in a Chef’s salad is something they already offer as a sandwich filling, so it doesn’t cost them anything extra to just put them in a bowl instead of a sandwich. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craving-a-chefs-salad-and-cant-find-one-why/1009364.md?page=2)