Bite Of The Day: A Surprisingly Satisfying Salad Bar Lunch

Feeling like we’ve been overindulging in the many (stellar) Thai, Indian/Pakistani, Caribbean, Italian, and Mexican cuisine lunches the neighborhood has to offer — my eating partner and I ventured out in search of a something lighter: a colorful, crunchy, refreshing salad that would be hearty without guilt-inducing.

But we had two beasts to satisfy — despite our newfound commitment to healthy eating, we had waited too long for a lunch break and were now ravenous. Luckily, we found something to satisfy both demands from our gnawing stomachs and better reasoning at Kensington’s Soho Cafe and Grill, on Church Avenue between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets.

We were happy to stumble into the Cafe, which I’d always dismissed as a replica of those stale, cookie-cutter midtown Manhattan chains that espouses freshness but displays unappetizingly wilted lettuce and crusty sandwich bread in its deli counters.

But I let down my guard and was pleasantly surprised by the fresh ingredients and dizzying array of choices at Soho Cafe ($9 gets you a salad with a base lettuce, meat or cheese, and 6 veggies). Plus, there’s something exciting about building a meal from scratch with just the tastes you want (#pickyeater).

The small-size salad was more than I could finish in one sitting, and was delightfully fresh tasting. Salad #1 (left) is an italian lettuce blend with crispy chicken, chopped egg, kalamata olives, tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli and edamame beans with a sesame vinaigrette. Salad #2 (right) includes artichoke hearts, peppers, and sprouts with a creamy caesar dressing.

The large chicken noodle soup ($5), though okay in a pinch, was underwhelming. Packed with the standard pulled chicken, mushy fettuccine pasta bits, carrots and celery, it delivered on comfort but fell short on taste.

Chicken soup connoisseurs will catch the red flag: With too many carrots and not enough added salt, the broth tasted too sweet and flat instead of the usual salty, savory flavor that makes this soup a classic, all-weather delight.

We will definitely be returning to the Soho Cafe and Grill for more hearty lunch salads. The cafe also sports a huge breakfast and sandwich menu as well, and opens at 6am for the morning rush.

Soho Cafe and Grill is located at 215 Church Avenue between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets. Call for delivery (plus $3) at (718) 436-8800; open 6am to 8:40pm