Technicolor lettuces from The Garden Of are the stars of Great White's salads

What's in season at the farmers market this week:

Pears
Young ginger
Fresh barhi dates

As product manager for Great White , Jai Chebaia sources ingredients for all three locations — Larchmont, Venice, and West Hollywood — of the Australian, all-day cafe. He and food and beverage director Juan Ferriro head to The Garden Of stand at the Santa Monica Farmers Monica for their technicolor lettuces. A blend of salanova and butter lettuces compose their mixed greens salad. Rainbow chard, arugula, and butter lettuce are found in the market chopped salad. Romaine, little gem, and a variety known as taco taco can be found in their version of a Caesar salad. Chebaia explains that the taco taco variety is a sturdier lettuce like a romaine or iceberg that can stand up to a heavier dressing.
Incorporating underutilized greens in their market salad, Ferriro chose the rainbow chard for its color. He adds collards when they're in season, trimming the strings out of the leaves and using the stalks. Arugula from Schaner Farms , situated near the coast in San Diego County, adds pepperiness and salinity to the salad.
A creamier, emulsified dressing works well with the heartier lettuces in the Caesar while a broken dressing coats the leaves of the chopped salad. Ferriro uses his grandmother's vinegar-based dressing with sesame seeds, mustard, paprika, and shallots for the mixed salad.
Ky Takikawa of The Garden Of has been growing lettuce with his father in Santa Ynez. He refers to salanova, which has only been available for the last 20 years, as a subgrouping of lettuces that includes classic butters and oak leaf lettuces. Salanova are bred for the size of their leaves, which don't necessarily need to be cut for salads and are easy to process.
Takikawa attributes the look and taste of their lettuces to his father's farming methods. They harvest their summer lettuces early in the morning and immediately store them in walk-in coolers. They bring their lettuce to market in refrigerated trucks, extending the life of their produce.