Making the Green
Chef Henry Hané’s causa salad is the star dish on the menu at B Bistro + Bakery. We break down the numbers behind it.
When Chef/Owner Henry Hané developed the menu of B Bistro + Bakery, he knew his star dish was going to be a salad: flashy with three purées, shrimp, crab, edible flowers, and even gold leaf, but still, a salad. Luxurious salads are being proudly displayed at the top of menus all over Miami, from Boia De’s Luci’s Chopped Salad to Da Lida’s little gem Caesar with Calabrian chile and breadcrumbs. The large-format dishes are shareable and can therefore increase marginal revenues.
photos: will blunt
The idea for Hané’s La Causa Salad (full recipe here) hailed from his hometown of Lima, Peru and is a deconstructed causa, traditionally a potato and ají amarillo terrine sandwiched with chicken or seafood. At $21 (with $5 extra for shrimp), it’s an expensive lunch for the typical Financial District diner, but the dish has become a staple anyway. Despite its many ingredients, high food cost, and long prep time, Hané considers it too valuable to take off the menu and a proud representation of his heritage. Here, we take a by-the-numbers look at how a salad can be such a successful menu item.
400
Pounds of potatoes used each month
$55
Cost of Belmont’s 15-pound tubs of ají amarillo and ají panca pastes
17
Number of ingredients in the salad, including Yukon gold potatoes, onions, carrots, radishes, cilantro, botija olives, avocados, romaine, egg, lime, ají amarillo paste, ají panca paste, mayonnaise, gold leaf, edible flowers, and, the most expensive components, lump crab and Key West shrimp
$8
Cost of 4 ounces of crab and 4 ounces of shrimp per salad
$1.85
Cost of botija olives and avocados per salad
100
Approximate number of salads sold each week
5
Minutes needed to prepare each salad
$11
Approximate food cost per salad with the shrimp add-on
