Mark Twain once famously commented that to eat might be human but to digest is divine. He might not be totally off the mark as heating food beyond 41 degrees Celsius kills the friendly enzymes in them that aid in digestion. Essentially heating food kills all the living goodness, the enzymes, of food. A popular study suggests that 90 per cent of our staple diet should consists of live food but eating everything raw would be asking too much of humans and especially us Indians. Push come to shove if that be the case then salads are the perfect way out. Not only do the veggies and fruits in your salad bowl contain all the goodness of Mother Nature and if done right they don't add those inches all around.
There are numerous outlets offering salads to suit the mood and pocket. Starting out in 2001, the world's largest submarine sandwich giant Subway introduced the concept of raw food on the go. Today with more than 30 outlets in just the NCR Subway's ubiquitous salads and sandwiches is part of the city's regular diet. In addition to offering daily specials at killer prices (Rs 75) Subway also allows you to convert just about everything on the menu into a lip-smacking salad. Besides offering standard regulars like BLT, Turkey Breast, Veggie Delight, Subway's Indianised menu includes Chicken and Paneer as well as Aloo Tikki in the no-fuss-all-choice options.
Salad Chef, the quaint little outlet in C Block Vasant Vihar, still remains a popular salad joint. Great value for the money it charges, Salad Chef's portions are healthy and offer a wide array to choose from. The first to throw open the concept of raw food for the masses, Salad Chef's also got the locals to like international favourites like Som Tum (green papaya salad from Thailand), Egg Salad and Bavarian Sausage Salad without altering the taste to suit the Indian palette. People might not be flocking to Salad Chef's outlet as much as the years gone by but it continues to be a popular take away option.
Most fine dining restaurants seem to be cashing on the fresh food fetish of people and have started offering combo buffets. FrescCo in the Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, has an excellent Unlimited Soup-Salad-Dessert Buffet which is to die for. Consisting of a Vegetarian and a Non-Vegetarian soup (usually spinach and chicken broths) the buffet's salad section has just about everything you could've imagined'Greek Salad, hummus, Lebanese, Spicy Chicken, Ceaser, apple and fennel, potatoes, cold cuts, accompanied by generous servings of different kinds of breads.
For the finicky FrescCo also has a live salad bar where the chef would suit your salad to your mood. Add to this the soothing blue and white Mediterranean décor and the food only gets better! The pre-mixed salads are tossed to perfection with the right amount of dressing and condiments. There is no way that you wouldn't overeat. Moving on the dessert section has mousses, pastries, and a home-made ice cream section. To top it off all this comes at just Rs 305 (plus taxes). Going green isn't all that bad for once you try these greens there's no way you would not want to come back.
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