By Wendy Guzman

The New York City cabaret club 54 Below used to see a steady stream of orders for burgers and heartier entrees, such as their chili-rubbed skirt steak with bliss potatoes, or their rib-sticking pasta dish, the Cavatelli Pomodoro with spinach and zucchini.

These days, the venue is seeing orders simpler, yet stranger.

Restaurant manager Mandisa Boxill says many patrons are ordering salad and a serving of fries -- as a complete meal. Yes, something leafy and heart-healthy paired with an order of salted fried starch. If dinner was music, this is a string quartet and a side order of death metal. Do these things really go together?

Boxill added extra manpower to the salad station to keep up and said the salad-and-fries trend is the biggest she's seen in her 11 years in the industry.

"This is definitely a little peculiar," she says. "Usually you can tell what people are going to order, but now the mixture is definitely different."

American diners have long adhered to basic unwritten rules about what goes with what. Meat and potatoes. Eggs and bacon. Or a dinner that starts with soup, then salad, entree and dessert.

Diners and restaurant workers say that more and more, those guidelines are flung aside for menu mayhem. Fries, traditionally paired with burgers, have become salad's best friend. A "starter" can be had anytime, while a "main" may be skipped altogether.

Food-industry consulting firm Technomic has observed an increase in customers ordering sides over the last year and estimated that 15% of diners order sides as their entree.

Skipping larger entrees may also save money at a time when restaurant prices have climbed. According to market-research firm Datassential, the median price of a beef entree at casual and fine-dining restaurants is $22.95. A non-fried veggie side, such as green beans, costs about $4.50. Other appetizers, such as sliders, are $10.

"We've gone to a space of more liberated dining," says Nia Grace, who owns three Boston restaurants, including Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen. Some patrons make a reservation for dessert only, or "swap and choose" from around the menu. "They'll say, 'I'll do this and that, and listen, give me one of those, give me that, I'll pair it with this and we'll share that.'"

She recalls one customer ordered chili, a side of cheese, and Cajun fries, and then proceeded to make chili-cheese-fries right at the table. "It was amazing," Grace says.

Younger diners these days won't be pigeonholed into one page of the menu, says Lindsey Kelso, 26, who works in digital communications and lives in Savoy, Ill. She's a salad-and-fries regular.

"We were raised in a society where it was so 'eat healthy food' with the older generations," says Kelso. Supplementing salad with fries, she said, "it's like, 'I am, but I'm getting a little treat with it.'"

The salad-and-fries craze speaks to an emerging connection between indulgence and mental health, says Diana Kelter, associate director of consumer trends at market-research firm Mintel.

Although indulgence is typically regarded as bad for physical health, Gen Z sees it as helpful for mental health. More Gen Z adults, aged 18 to 26, rank taking care of their mental health as a top-three health priority, according to a Mintel report from May.

Cobbling together sides also helps with portion control.

India Davis, 32, a Nashville, Tenn. financial coordinator, says she's noticed herself struggling to finish a full restaurant meal. On a recent trip to Cheesecake Factory, Davis barely finished half a cheeseburger, and preferred to munch her sides of Brussels sprouts and fries.

"I don't know if it's just me getting older or what," she says. "But I was like, 'this is ridiculous.'" Davis took home the leftover cheeseburger and later made it into its own meal.

"Is ordering only apps/sides as an entree at a fine dining restaurant frowned upon?" asked a recent poster on a Reddit forum for food servers. It drew nearly 2,000 views and more than 300 comments, with most saying to order what you want.

"In most cases, ordering side dishes as appetizers is lame," says Adam Reiner, author of food blog the Restaurant Manifesto.

Reiner, who has worked at a number of fine-dining restaurants, says diners hack the menu to find cheaper apps, but the savings aren't worth having a boring meal. He's seen people order sides of sautéed escarole or steamed broccoli rabe as appetizers that wound up unfinished.

"I can't tell you how many people would ignore my recommendation against ordering a certain side dish to start, then be miserable with what they ordered," Reiner says.

Pairing greens with greasy sticks of starch isn't entirely new. The famed Pittsburgh salad has fries on top.

The current craze often involves a Caesar salad and side of fries, perhaps with a Diet Coke or wine. Some fans top salads with chicken or salmon, or spring for truffle fries when the opportunity presents.

In January, Haley Schuster, a 23-year-old in Austin, Texas, posted a TikTok video captioned "the feminine urge to order a Caesar salad with a side of fries," to the tune of "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" which has since reached eight million views.

One viewer commented: "Salad and fries is the perfect balanced meal for my soul."

Nutritionally, the two foods aren't vastly different. A Caesar salad with chicken and one tablespoon of dressing typically contains about 250 calories, 942 milligrams of sodium and 14.6 grams of fat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An order of restaurant french fries has 289 calories, 357 milligrams of sodium and 14 grams of fat.

"Salads aren't always healthy," says Kelter, of market-research firm Mintel. "But it feels like a healthier item in your brain."

Houston high-school student Maite Chacon says she doesn't usually order salad, but tried the salad-fries combo after seeing buzz about it.

"Five minutes passed by, and the fries were halfway done," she says, "and the salad was still there."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2023 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)

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