All hail the mighty wedge salad

I first learned about the wedge salad from a friend who works at a classy restaurant in Chicago. I admitted that I was enjoying the guilty pleasure of iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing, and she informed me that it was technically called a "wedge salad," and people pay $12 for it at fancy restaurants.

Of all the things to go upscale, who could imagine iceberg lettuce would hit the big time? This staple of bland 1950s suburban cuisine has long been reviled for its complete lack of nutrition or flavor. Pushed aside for unusual and bitter greens like radicchio and baby spinach leaves, iceberg lettuce is basically just water with a crunch.

But the wedge salad is truly a thing of beauty. It is simple, yes, but that's part of its appeal. Your basic wedge salad starts with a quarter head of iceberg lettuce, laid with the outer leaf down and all the cut sides facing up. (This lets all the good stuff work its way in between the leaves.)

The most traditional topping is sliced tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, buttermilk dressing, and crumbled bacon. It's basically an inside-out, low-carb BLT.

If you're making one at home, you might want to save yourself the shopping drama and just use bleu cheese dressing. But for the love of all that is holy, do not skip the bacon. Use bacon-flavored soy crunches if you must, but the salty, smoky taste is a key element of the flavor profile of the wedge salad.

From a meal planning perspective, most restaurant wedge salads are just a side dish. But frankly, I am not usually very hungry once I finish eating one. I wouldn't plan on serving them alongside a large dinner. Maybe just a nicely seared petite sirloin or half a roasted chicken breast, at most.

Image courtesy Flickr/kimberlykv