With the heat about to hit 100 degrees, who wants to eat? So, as I did in the spring when the ice turned to sunshine, I went in search of a salad. This time, however, it was too hot to sit out on a patio, so I opted for the air-conditioned atmosphere of Applebee’s restaurant.

Looking over the menu, I noticed Applebee’s has an incredible variety of flavors and was sorry neither I nor my dining companion had an appetite for more than a salad on this fine summer day.

Just listen to some of these ingredients: apple-smoked bacon and chicken, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, pineapple salsa, onion rings with Parmesan cheese – and that’s just on one section of the menu. While many of these ingredients are beginning to show up on menus all over town, from what I could tell, Applebee’s really has taken the time to create flavorful combinations, not just on a few select dishes, but on the entire menu.

This certainly was true for the salad portion of the menu. I chose the pecan crusted chicken salad. The salad consisted of strips of white chicken encrusted in pecan-flavored seasonings and breading over romaine lettuce with mandarin oranges, sweet pecans, blue cheese crumbles, dried cranberries and celery served with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

It was flavorful. Both the lettuce and celery were not as fresh, and therefore not as crispy, as I hoped they would be. This would have made the flavor and texture combinations a perfect 10 if they had been. Overall, though, it was an appetizingly well-balanced salad for a hot summer day.

My dining companion opted for the grilled shrimp and spinach salad. The grilled shrimp and spinach are combined with tomatoes, red peppers, onions and almonds with a unique dressing twist: bacon vinaigrette. The smokiness of the bacon combined with the slight intensity of raw spinach and shrimp offered exclusive taste for the palate, while the almonds did the same for texture.

The variety of salads for anyone on these hot summer days is impressive. You can also order salads in full or half portions, so if you’re really not that hungry or low on cash, the options are helpful.

Both my dining companion and I opted for half salads and it was more than enough food. We stopped to see a friend on our way out and he was having a full Sante Fe chicken salad. It was monstrous, and as he reported to me, delicious. It looked good. It included grilled marinated chicken on mixed greens, as well as pico de gallo salsa, tortilla chips, olives, sour cream and guacamole with mexi-ranch dressing.

This is something that truly impressed me about Applebee’s salads. Each salad had its own matching dressing. The Greek salad has Mediterranean vinaigrette, the Italian salad is served with a Caesar dressing and the Oriental chicken salad includes a sweet and sour vinaigrette. This, to me, takes the salad concept to a new taste level. It speaks to the fact that salads can be designed for taste and putting a random flavored dressing on it can ruin all the hard work of creating just the right flavor combinations.

Of course, the rest of Applebee’s menu is filled with pasta, seafood, steaks, sandwiches and the like – if you’re hungry. But if you’re not, stop in for half of a salad. Your palate and your waistline will both be grinning from ear to ear with satisfaction.

Applebee’s restaurant

2545 Scottsville Road

Bowling Green, KY 42104

782-6981

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday

Summer Specialties: Salads

Cuisine: American

Price range for salads: $6.99 to $8.99

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: Yes