When Eddie Met Salad

Things have been a bit hectic as of late, but I did manage to get out to lunch with the BFF. Based on some twitter recommendations we tried out When Eddie Met Salad. I do like a good salad. They also have soups, wraps and sandwiches.

So basically, this place reminds me of a salad taqueria. You get in a line, and order either one of their salads, or you can build your own (or you can order your sandwich, etc) and they assembly line make it in front of you, a la Subway. I ordered the Cobb Salad listed on their menu (minus the ham) and a cup of broccoli cheese soup. So basically the salad was their “house mix” of lettuces which is iceberg and romaine. They squirt some dressing on the leaves and then put the toppings on top. They do have a lot of choices of ingredients, and my salad had turkey, bacon, blue cheese, finely shredded cheddar, egg, mushrooms, diced red onion and avocado. I ordered the avocado ranch dressing.

Well, as for the toppings, I wasn’t overly impressed. None of them seemed overly high quality and the ones that were the highest price point items (blue cheese and avocado) were put on in skimpy portions. The little slivers of avocado on top were pretty lame I thought. But there were plenty of mushrooms and red onions (too much red onion really for a proper mix). The turkey was just regular lunch meat that they chopped up (the exact meat used on my friend’s sandwich) and the bacon was under cooked and had virtually no flavor.

Now, I realize that a Cobb is traditionally served this way, with the toppings on the top, but I still like a tossed salad. And all the salads at this place are served in the same manner. An improvement might be a “toss option” where they actually toss it for you. Because there isn’t enough room in the bowl to toss it yourself. I liked the dressing—a more interesting take on just your straight Ranch.

The concept behind this place isn’t bad—I like the idea of lots of different kinds of salads made to order—but the execution was lacking. They were fast, but the ingredients weren’t the best and the proportions were off. I do like that they offer 2 sizes of salads, small and regular, because I don’t need a huge portion. And the soup wasn’t bad. Not great, but not bad.

Also, there is a serious design flaw in the 96th street location. The line to order is right in the same spot where the only trash cans are to bus your trays, and the soda fountain to fill up your own drinks. Nothing like fighting people with their dirty dishes and empty cups just to get in line. I don’t know, maybe if I worked next door, I would maybe stop in here every once in awhile for a quick lunch, but probably not very often. When I asked my friend what her thoughts were, she told me, “if the place I really wanted to go was closed, I’d go to this place again.” So there ya go.

When Eddie Met Salad
3855 E. 96th Street (and several other locations)
Indy, 46240
317-574-1926
www.wheneddiemetsalad.com