Singing Praise to Salads

There’s this lovely little café on the Danforth that I love to frequent for lunch. Mocha Mocha Café is a small establishment with only a handful of tables squished together that specializes in homestyle, comfort foods, serving a variety of salads, sandwiches and daily specials for a quick bite to eat. I’ve only ever had their salads when I’ve eaten here, but they have been some of the best salads I’ve ever had. They are always fresh, and the combination of ingredients makes for a hearty, comforting and satisfying meal (something that not all salads can achieve!).

What really makes Mocha Mocha’s salads so special (in my opinion), besides the fact that they’re always very fresh, is the addition of warm potatoes. Most people often pick salads because it’s healthy and because there are no carbs. Trust me, I’ve been one of those people who have sometimes picked to eat a salad over a club sandwich for those reasons. But the potatoes give you enough carbs to satisfy your hunger and give you energy for the rest of the afternoon. Plus the combination of the warm potatoes against the cool crispness of the lettuce is so comforting. I had lunch at Mocha Mocha this past week with a friend, who tried their Mediterranean salad for the first time and loved it. Alas, we ended up dreaming of salads with warm potatoes for the rest of the week.



This sparked me to replicate Mocha Mocha’s Salad Niçoise for dinner the other day. I simply tossed some torn romaine lettuce with some balsamic vinaigrette, and topped it with chopped parsley, grated carrots, cucumber slices, roasted beets, hard-boiled egg, boiled potatoes and tuna salad (I mixed a can of drained tuna with 1 tablespoon of mayo and a handful of chopped parsley). It was so delicious and satisfying, and if you’re a salad hater, it’ll really change the way you think about salads!