High spring is serious salad season. Some of the greatest greens are best enjoyed right now, including arugula. Its delicate leaves and a pleasant peppery flavor make this a great complement to sweet and savory ingredients. Also called rocket, arugula is winning rave reviews from OpenTable diners.
* The Bay House, Naples, Florida: “The BLT shellfish salad was outstanding with large chunks of lobster and crab on a perfectly prepared fried green tomato and just the right amount of peppery arugula.”
* Boulevard Five72, Kenilworth, New Jersey: “Arugula salad with grilled peaches and prosciutto was excellent.”
* Chesapeake Inn Restaurant, Chesapeake City, Maryland: “The berry and arugula salad wonderful.”
* Cheval Blanc, Pasadena, California: “The crispy duck confit salad was incredible. Our server suggested the flavors of the frisee, arugula, crisp shallots, and crispy skin buttery meat of the duck worked extremely well together — boy was she ever so right. WOW.”
* First & Hope, Los Angeles, California: “So, the beet salad is to die for, not only for the beets but mainly the arugula salad dressing on top — not to mention the slab of soft cheese under that.”
* The Girl and the Fig, Sonoma, California: “Delicious food! Can’t say enough about the fig and arugula salad.”
* Kaya, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: “Asparagus and arugula salad with serranos and walnuts was delicious.”
* Lugano, Salt Lake City, Utah: “We split a delicious salad of arugula, shaved fennel, sweet apple slices, and toasted pine nuts with a citrus dressing.”
* Marché Moderne, Costa Mesa, California: “Although this is our favorite OC restauant for which expectations are already extraordinarily high, we were pleasantly surprised with the exquisite heirloom tomato and arugula salad.”
* North, Denver, Colorado: ”Had a great experience at North! Started with the calamari, arugula, and grilled lemon salad. Delicious and light!”
* Old Ebbit Grill, Washington, D.C.: “ I would highly recommend the sautéed seafood salad with arugula and a lemon vinaigrette. It has warm shrimp, mussels, calamari, and scallops mixed with mushrooms and roasted red peppers and shaved Parmesan cheese. Yummy.”
* Riffs, Boulder, Colorado: “Both salads, ordered as our first course, were exceptionally delicious. Our arugula salads had very thin slices of lemon peel, which gave the salad a bright, fresh, spring-like flavor, without being overwhelming. The lemon balanced very well with the other elements.”
* Rioja, Denver, Colorado: “The house salad with arugula, dates, and gorgonzola was delicious.”
* Seasons 52, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania: “We had an excellent pomegranate martini, the avocado and tomato salad, and the arugula, beet, and pistachio salad — all excellent.”
* Zero Zero, San Francisco, California: “Don’t skip the strawberry arugula salad — but you may become fixated on how you can replicate a dressing so right.”
Arugula tastes best topped fresh on pizza thats piping hot. The heat wilts the lettuce gently and adds the perfect sharp bite to contrast the cheese.