Giardinos: Home of the Epic Salad Bar

Photography By | March 07, 2017
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Self-serve salad bars were quite the thing back in the day, until someone decided they could be unsanitary, which necessitated sneeze guards. Then the whole trend just kind of went kaput. But who doesn’t want a big salad occasionally for lunch? Enter Giardino’s Gourmet Salads where you can get a salad just how you like it—although much better than what you would make at home. Giardino's does it for you. They take a big metal bowl, place all your fixins' that you've slected in the bowl, add the dressing and toss. You get a perfectly tossed salad, and the leftovers if it all doesn't fit in the plastic take-out container. The selection of toppings for your salad is pretty astounding, including capers, anchovies, olives, five kinds of nuts, hummus, salmon dip . . . the list goes on. You can either order one of their many salads from the extensive list on the menu board, or customize your own. As owner, Matthew Osman likes to say “are you a dive right in person, or a get your toes wet person?” The former, go for the Thai Thai or the Ody’s Toss, the latter, The Country Cobb or the Greek Village. Giardinos launched in March 2016 by the brother-sister team of Mindi Clayton and Matthew Osman. They have two more locations in the works.

Photo 1: Brother and sister team, Mindi Clayton and Matthew Osman, owners of Giardino's Gourmet Salads.
Photo 2: Giardino's Salad Board awaits.