# If your "mixed greens" salad was 90% dandelion, would you complain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272 "2020-02-21T01:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/1 "2020-02-21T01:54:48Z")
I like dandelion greens. But they don’t hold up well to dressing. Or heat. So my “steak Cobb salad on ‘mixed greens’” was soggy, no crunch. Would you complain? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/2 "2020-02-21T02:15:09Z")
Depends a little on the situation. I would try not to complain but would phase it as an inquiry. “Is this the standard green mix?” I would ask in a neutral tone. Depending on their answer, I either shrug and continue or I wouldn’t order that salad again or would just simply not return to that establishment. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/3 "2020-02-21T02:29:20Z")
I love dandelion — cooked in a pot with mustard, turnip, and beet greens; chard; spinach; and any other greens I can get my hands on. I would not want any percentage of it in a mixed green salad. Also, whut th’ hail is “steak Cobb salad?” Steak does not belong in Cobb salad. It’s like finding “chicken liver Chateaubriand” on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/4 "2020-02-21T02:34:13Z")
I might complain that it wasn’t 100%. One of my absolute favorite foods is my family’s Easter salad: Dandelion greens, boiled potatoes, hardboiled eggs, and onions, with a hot dressing of bacon grease, cider vinegar, and sugar. Yes, the greens end up wilted, from the hot dressing. They still taste good. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/5 "2020-02-21T02:36:01Z")
I might complain that it wasn’t 100%. One of my absolute favorite foods is my family’s Easter salad: Dandelion greens, boiled potatoes, hardboiled eggs, and onions, with a hot dressing of bacon grease, cider vinegar, and sugar. Yes, the greens end up wilted, from the hot dressing. They still taste good. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/6 "2020-02-21T03:29:17Z")
Sounds great to me. The hot dressing cooks the dandelion, so I’m on board. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/7 "2020-02-21T04:28:51Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I love dandelion — cooked in a pot with mustard, turnip, and beet greens; chard; spinach; and any other greens I can get my hands on. > > I would not want any percentage of it in a mixed green salad. > > Also, whut th’ hail is “steak Cobb salad?” Steak does not belong in Cobb salad. It’s like finding “chicken liver Chateaubriand” on the menu. [https://www.asweetpeachef.com/steak-cobb-salad/](https://www.asweetpeachef.com/steak-cobb-salad/) I like it. Not uncommon IMHO It was served with a cold avocado cream dressing. Just way too chewy. A cold salad. Like I said, I like dandelion, just the mix seemed wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/8 "2020-02-21T04:32:36Z")
This is Cobb salad. > **[Cobb salad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb_salad)** > > The Cobb salad is a main-dish American garden salad typically made with chopped salad greens (iceberg lettuce, watercress, endives and romaine lettuce), tomato, crisp bacon, chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chives, blue cheese, and red-wine vinaigrette. The ingredients are laid out on a plate in neat rows. > Various stories recount how the salad was invented. One says that it came about in 1938 at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish. It is named after t... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/9 "2020-02-21T04:50:14Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > This is Cobb salad. > > [Cobb salad - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb_salad) I’d be annoyed if somebody served me a Cobb Salad and it had steak in it. But if they identified it as a Steak Cobb Salad, I think I could figure out that they had substituted steak for the traditional chicken. To me, this is no different than being served a Chicken Caesar Salad. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/10 "2020-02-21T18:51:12Z")
I had dandelion for the first time, served in a Thai restaurant salad. It wasn’t bad but I just couldn’t get the “weed” stigma out of my head. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/11 "2020-02-21T19:00:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > IOne of my absolute favorite foods is my family’s Easter salad: Dandelion greens, boiled potatoes, hardboiled eggs, and onions, with a hot dressing of bacon grease, cider vinegar, and sugar. > . That is indeed sublime. Haven’t had one of those salads in decades, but I still remember how wonderful it is. (I think my mother used spinach instead of dandelion greens, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Stowed\_Bob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stowed_bob/32/3312_2.png) [@Stowed\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stowed_Bob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/12 "2020-02-21T19:45:11Z")
Depends how bitter the dandelion greens are. I kept trying to eat the ones growing all over the place as a kid, and would be shocked every time that they’d be so unpleasant. All the other greenery I randomly stuck in my mouth was bland but nice. Otherwise, I’d be delighted to eat something that isn’t a normal part of my diet. It’d make me like it more. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/13 "2020-02-21T19:57:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > To me, this is no different than being served a Chicken Caesar Salad. Come to think of it, I was once served a Lobster Cobb Salad where shellfish stood in for the chicken. Wasn’t bad, but I hate when the kitchen uses a specifically named dish and substitutes for the primary ingredient. Just call it “Irving Fonebone Salad” and underneath it on the menu say “This is Cobb Salad with lobster (or steak) standing in for the chicken, which usually goes into Cobb Salad. Warning: you will not get any chicken. You will get lobster (or steak) in this salad.” ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-mixed-greens-salad-was-90-dandelion-would-you-complain/848272/14 "2020-02-21T20:50:07Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Come to think of it, I was once served a Lobster Cobb Salad where shellfish stood in for the chicken. > > Wasn’t bad, but I hate when the kitchen uses a specifically named dish and substitutes for the primary ingredient. > > Just call it “Irving Fonebone Salad” and underneath it on the menu say “This is Cobb Salad with lobster (or steak) standing in for the chicken, which usually goes into Cobb Salad. Warning: you will not get any chicken. You will get lobster (or steak) in this salad.” I used to work for a restaurant that offered a “steakhouse chopped salad.” The restaurant was not a steakhouse. The salad did not contain steak. It did contain bacon and fried onion strings, and in all my years of serving it I had exactly one customer who agreed with the terminology and said yes, this is the kind of salad you would get in a steakhouse. Everyone else thought it should have steak. Some were very upset by the lack of steak. We finally got an official memo from corporate instructing us servers to warn customers ordering the salad that it did not contain steak, which I had already been doing. Several months later they gave up and changed the name to “smokehouse chopped salad.” And I finally got out of the whole silly business, thank God.