Meghan Winkler
Less than 50 miles from Butcher & Sprout in Cuyahoga Falls, Great Lakes Growers in Burton has a hydroponic greenhouse where the kale, arugula and spinach grow that end up on your plate at the farm-to-table restaurant. These vitamin-rich superfoods are good for weight loss, heart health and lowering cholesterol, but executive chef Logan Johnson knows they can be bitter. So he tosses the greens blend in extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to make it more palatable while still being nutritious.
“It tones it down a little bit,” he says. “I love adding kale. It’s a great superfood to add in salads, adds a nice crunch too. … It’s really rich in antioxidants, high in fiber.”
With seasoned greens and flavorful toppings, Butcher & Sprout’s nourishing salads are wholesome alternatives to heavy sandwiches. New this season is the Fresh Summer Veg salad ($13), which is inspired by a simple cucumber, red bell pepper and Vidalia onion salad Johnson’s mom used to make. He punches it up with Cleveland goat cheese and summery sunflower seeds instead of carb-loaded croutons over the seasoned greens blend. He makes a cucumber-lime vinaigrette with vinegar and pulverized cucumbers and limes for striking flavor.
“It reminds you of a hot summer day,” Johnson says. “It’s very bright, vibrant.”
For some indulgence, the roasted beet salad ($10) features beets from Middlefield, Ohio, Cleveland goat cheese and a balsamic glaze joined by walnuts candied in a sugary syrup and roasted. It all gets tossed with the seasoned arugula for a delectable salad.
“The balsamic is a very rich flavor, and the goat cheese is very creamy. The two balance out,” says president and co-owner Cassie Testa. “The beets add more of an earthy tone.”
Johnson opted for a bolder blue cheese for the new avocado and apple salad ($14) that pops with slices of red onion, which are pickled in-house for six hours, creating a garnish with a pungent flavor that “smacks you in the face,” he says. There’s a play of sweet and salty with green apples, Craisins and chopped smoked cherry bacon over the seasoned greens blend. A creamy house-made avocado vinaigrette mellows it out, as do avocado slices in the dish that fuels you without weighing you down.
“There’s a lot of crunch, a lot of freshness. … Avocado, it’s great omega-3s,” Johnson says. “It’s a nice refreshing, light salad.”
1846 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, butcherandsprout.com
