STEPH DEROSA: BALSAMIC VINEGAR EXPLOSION >>>

Ravenous
Antipasti Chop Salad
Price: $9.50
Rating: Three out of four croutons

Once again my faithful downtown Tacoma lunchtime partner in salad crime, Tacomachickadee, met me for lunch â€" this time at Ravenous. I’m not gonna lie here, It’s been most likely a solid decade since I’ve rested my hungry bum inside Ravenous. But on this day it was after stopping by the Broadway Center Conservatory’s office to ruffle the feathers of friend Nyree Martinez that I found Ravenous completely convenient for feeding my hunger. I wonder how busy this tiny place gets before and after shows at Pantages and Rialto. Maybe one day I will scope out the night scene at Ravenous.

Description: Not a brown edge was spotted on this bed of fresh chopped Romaine lettuce, which held up a menagerie of cured and marinated delicacies for me to pick through with my fork. Chunks of salami, artichoke hearts, capers, and garbanzo beans were marinated in Ravenous’ special house marinade consisting of balsamic vinegar, oil, and herbs and set upon the aforementioned bed of romaine.

Taste: Like I said, the romaine was fresh. I liked that. The marinated toppings were robust and definitely marinated in a strong balsamic concoction. I liked that even more. But then again I’m a sucker for the cured and pickled foods, so the sweet and tangy combination of anything balsamic-flavored tends to speak heavily to my heart. The hearty vinegar that I loved so much in this salad took over any and all flavors that would’ve otherwise bored me, like garbanzo beans. Everything tasted balsamic, and I was happy.

Conclusion: Did I mention this salad tasted of balsamic vinegar? Well, it did. Once I reached the last 25 percent of my Antipasti Chop Salad at Ravenous, I was vinegared-out. I found myself still picking at it as Tacomachickadee and I chatted, simply because it was sitting in front of me. It had taken me a minute to realize my mouth had become raw from the acid before I reached for my water and tried to wipe it clean with some Ravenous crusty bread.

As much as I loved this salad, I would’ve maybe preferred to be able to actually taste some of the salami, capers, and artichoke hearts, instead of pure balsamic.

Dressing on the Side
I took a hooky day with my daughter yesterday and did a huge no-no: I spaced out on writing my Tossing Salad column. My apologies, but DAMN have you SEEN the weather outside??? Can you blame me? The last thing my brain wants to do is sit in front of this retched computer and string words about lettuce. I mean, think about it, maybe if my column was about hot men I’d be more inclined, right? But nooooo, Pappi Swarner and his selfish salad requests â€" F that noise. Just for that, I think I’ll attach a hot man picture to this column.

People of the Spew, I present to you Seattle Sounders soccer team player Fredrik Ljungberg. Enjoy.

[Ravenous, 785 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402, 253.572.6374]