When you don't feel like making your own, what are your favorite restaurant salads?
I am loyal to the classic Greek salad you can find in the Greek restaurants and diners in Astoria—romaine, grape leaves, kalamata olives, red onion, anchovies and cheap red wine vinegar and olive oil on the side. Never fancy, always reliable. It used to be really easy to find a solid Greek diner in Manhattan, but now you have to go to Queens if you want to avoid mesclun greens and balsamic vinegar (a dressed-up Greek salad is one of my LEAST favorite salads).
On a the other end of the spectrum, I love the Mark's Madison Avenue Salad at Fred's in Barney's, and the Grilled peach, Shishito peppers and spicy pecan salad at Dimes (I ate that last night).
