Photo of the Blackened Cobb Salad courtesy of @theporchami

In the vast world of salads, there exists an area of inquiry dedicated to the salad as a meal. This area of study seeks out forms that buck the consumption of salads as a side, an appetizer or a post-meal serving of leaves. The 1905 salad at Columbia Restaurant has a well-documented history as an important entry in the canon of Salads That Eat Like a Meal, and nowadays, just about any salad can be ordered with some form of seafood protein, grilled chicken or any number of meat accompaniments that allow the diner to feel full for more than 30 minutes. The Cobb salad is another such salad.

Named after the founder (Robert H. Cobb) of a chain of Los Angeles restaurants called Hollywood Brown Derby—the most famous of which was shaped like an actual derby hat—the Cobb salad is made traditionally with mixed greens, crispy bacon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chives and bleu cheese, sometimes with chicken breast on top. Notably, the ingredients are often arranged in neat little rows.

At The Porch on Anna Maria Island, the Blackened Cobb salad adds julienned carrots, a small handful of grilled corn along with the classic bleu crumbles. The salad is then Florida-fied on the dinner menu with the addition of blackened shrimp. But even without the shrimp, the lunch version already packs an enormous punch with the hardboiled egg, an eyebrow-raising amount of bacon, half of a fresh Haas avocado and a house chipotle ranch dressing. This is a salad for people that hate salads, a salad that won’t leave you wanting, a perfect meal for the hot Florida fall to get you back out on the beach.

Photo of the Blackened Cobb Salad courtesy of @theporchami

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