lettuce

The market for fresh greens is being disrupted by a small, colorful assortment of European dwarf lettuce heads that are small in stature when fully mature. What they lack in size they make up in texture, flavor and remarkably dense foliage — along the lines of what you might expect from radicchio or even cabbage. These miniature lettuce heads are sometimes erroneously labeled as “baby” lettuce — the fact that one variety is named Bambi probably doesn’t help clear this up, and that’s probably intentional.

If you scan the tables of America’s favorite eateries, from foodie to fast-casual, you’ll witness many variations of a certain salad. A base of leaves, piled high with chicken, shrimp, cheese and croutons, as well as other foods that may or may not be raw, and may or may not be vegetables. One gets the feeling these over-garnished deli platters are aimed less at “real” salad eaters and more at people who have been told by their families, friends and doctors to eat salad. If one isn’t so into raw veggies, this allows one to eat salad by dipping a crouton into ranch dressing.