Cool Salads for Hot New Orleans Days

No shame in my game, I eat a lot of salad. When I’m not eating or recreating the Commander’s Salad (sort of Caesar/Cobb at Commander’s Palace), I’m stabbing bowls of leafy, meaty, shaved-vegetable tosses from scads of other local restaurants. The following four are on my current regular rotation…but there’s always the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. By Lorin Gaudin

What’s more refreshing than fresh crab or shrimp? Combining both with avocado at Warbucks.

(©Lorin Gaudin)

WARBUCKS

On the bottom of the bowl of the Warbucks Seafood Salad is a thick stripe of creamy Goddess dressing. Atop is soft, butter lettuce leaves, boiled shrimp, lump crab and—the kicker—chunks of tempura-battered avocado. www.warbucksnola.com

You can dive into Houston’s summery Shrimp Louie year-round.

(©Houston’s)

HOUSTON’S

Shrimp Louie is a sizeable wedge of iceberg, over which is draped jumbo Gulf shrimp, avocado wedges, a creamy house Thousand Island and a shower of fresh tarragon. www.houstons.com

R&O’s simple Shrimp Salad is simply delicious.

(©Lorin Gaudin)

R&O

This old-school New Orleans restaurant is known for its massive Italian Tossed Salad, but the sleeper is the Shrimp Salad— iceberg lettuce, diced onions, celery and bell pepper with a half-dozen spicy, boiled shrimp tossed in a light, creamy Italian dressing. www.r-opizza.com

Mexico meets the Mississippi in Del Fuego’s Ceviche Caesar

(©Lorin Gaudin)

DEL FUEGO TAQUERIA

The Ceviche Caesar is handsdown one of the city’s best salads. Bite-size romaine, tossed in a hybrid Caesar/Goddess dressing, is topped with a hefty serving of citrusy shrimp, fish and diced veg ceviche, followed by a liberal shake of cotija cheese and fried tortilla strips. www.delfuegotaqueria.com