Please Tell Me How to Make a Decent Salad...

Last Saturday I took K to Chez Panisse (for those of you who read this post, please note the dinner was pretty good however I really could have done without the squab livers. ick). My favorite part of the meal was...wait for it...the salad. Yes folks, the salad. It was as simple as can be: mixed baby lettuces, a mild vinagrette, salt, and pepper. But it was incredibly good.

Which begs the question...how is it that something so basic can be so frigging hard to make? Am I retarded? Lest you think "yes, Jen...I suspect you are retarded," let me clarify. Of course I can throw some lettuce and veggies into a bowl, toss with dressing, salt, and pepper, and end up with a perfectly edible, if average, salad. But that's not what I'm looking for. I want the kind of salad you can only seem to get at upscale restaurants in California but are available to every Tom, Dick, and Hugo in France.

The one that looks and tastes like this:


Not this:


Before you jump to further conclusions about my culinary skills (or lack thereof) I also want to point out that I generally buy the freshest greens at our local farmer's market + use extra virgin olive oil for our vinaigrette. So what gives? What's the trick? The really good salads all seems to be room temperature...but when I try to emulate this, my leaves inevitably wilt. And what exacty do you use for the vinaigrette? I thought it was simply extra virgin olive oil and vinegar (balsamic or white/red wine) with a little dijon mustard thrown in from time to time. Is there more to it? Or less?

Help!!!!