Whether you’re a salad lover or picky about your salads, chances are you’ve tried aCaesar salad.
Caesar salad can be found on menus at many popular restaurants.
It can be served as a side dish or starter alongside heavier entrees, including steak.
Photo: Shutterstock. Design: Eat This, Not That!
Or, it can be a meal, especially when topped with grilled chicken.
While some eateries offered only Caesar side salads, others offered full entree versions.
I tried them all and rated them based on looks and taste.
Ronnie Koenig, Eat This, Not That!
In the end, only one special Caesar stood out from the pack.
Chili’s
Thislittle saladincludes greens, parmesan, croutons, and Caesar dressing.
I’d love it if Chili’s offered an entree salad (with protein).
Ronnie Koenig, Eat This, Not That!
The look:The small size of this salad made it look sad.
The parmesan included mostly shavings, which had me wishing for more.
The lettuce wasn’t chopped, so it was difficult to bite.
Ronnie Koenig, Eat This, Not That!
If I came here looking for a good Caesar, then I’d quickly move along.
It was the lowest-calorie salad of the ones I tried, so that part was a plus.
The look:This salad looked more substantial than Chili’s version.
Ronnie Koenig, Eat This, Not That!
I noticed big pieces of parmesan in the mix, which was exciting.
The dressing here was darker in color than the other Caesar dressings I tried.
The croutons were toasted to a nice golden brown.
Ronnie Koenig, Eat This, Not That!
They were not uniformly sized, so maybe that makes them seem more authentic.
On the downside, the dressing was not tangy enough.
It was served with a golden-brown signature breadstick brushed with buttery garlic and parsley.
This meal was the most caloric of the whole group and came loaded with fat and sodium.
The look:Both the lettuce and chicken were uniformly chopped, making this salad appear prepackaged.
On top, the lettuce looked fresh, but I found some brownish pieces (ew!)
as I got deeper into my meal.
The parm was good but scant.
The croutons detracted from the saladthey were too big and an unnatural golden color.
I ended up eating around them.
This was a passable salad, but I would not go out of my way to eat it again.
The chicken looked a little overcooked, and the bed of lettuce was bright and crisp.
I could detect just a sprinkling of cheese, which had me concerned.
The croutons looked fine.
The taste:Surprisingly pleasant!
While it needed more cheese, I liked that the dressing was thick and tasty.
The chicken was grilled nicely and not at all rubbery.
However, I had never dined at Outback before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
The roll it came with was huge.
The chicken looked like it was coated in a nice spice rubI was intrigued.
The taste:Wow!
This salad was delicious.
This tasted like fresh rotisserie, not prepackaged meat.
This salad was so yummy and flavorful, and all the ingredients came together nicely.
I’ll be ordering this one again.
