Salad gets a center-of-the-plate upgrade

BY NATION’S RESTAURANT NEWS – Last year, Vitality Bowls, the San Ramon, Calif.-based chain that specializes in acai bowls, added new superfood salad to its menu. The idea was to appeal to health-conscious consumers with something more than traditional lettuce-based salads, offering salads that pack a superfood punch. The new salads are Spinach, made with fresh spinach, goat cheese, quinoa, strawberries, almonds and housemade balsamic vinaigrette; and Kale, made with kale, cucumbers, goat cheese, quinoa, celery and housemade Dijon vinaigrette. Customers have the option to add roasted turkey breast or seasoned, seared, grass-fed sirloin to either salad. “As more people are becoming health conscious, they’re looking for creative meal options, so it’s important for us to provide unique flavor combinations while utilizing ingredients that match our superfoods cafe concept,” said Uriah Blum, vice president of operations. “We’re always recipe testing and researching new ingredients and hope to add to our salad offerings in the coming months.”