Texas BBQ Fiesta

I haven't tried a new seasonal salad at Just Salad for some time, but today it felt like 88 degrees and a salad was the perfect lunch idea. Of the 4 seasonal salads on the summer menu, 2 have fruit (which I'm not that into mixing into savory salads) and I already tried the Beach Bound. That left the Texas BBQ Fiesta, which I was more than happy to try.

The Texas BBQ Fiesta salad comes with a romaine-red cabbage mix (they didn't include the red cabbage, but I'm happy with that omission), BBQ rubbed chicken, black bean and corn mix, green peppers, tortilla strips (substituted those out), and pepper jack cheese. I substituted red onions for the tortilla strips, and since I brought my bowl, I got to add 2 more ingredients so I picked tomatoes and chickpeas. I couldn't remember what the recommended dressing was at the time (it's buttermilk ranch), so I went with the horseradish chive I've been getting lately. 

This salad was okay, but I've had better salads there. I've narrowed it down to 2 main reasons. One, I was expecting a lot of seasoning from the chicken since it was "BBQ rubbed," but I didn't taste much in the way of spices or rubs at all. The other was my fault, as I think the horseradish chive wasn't a good match for the salad ingredients this time. It just seemed to clash with the ingredients and overpower whatever flavor was there from the chicken and vegetables. I imagine this would be better with my old favorite, the sherry shallot vinaigrette, or the recommended ranch.

While not my favorite salad combo there, I'm glad I tried it. I was really craving fresh vegetables today so it hit the spot.