Salad at bbq

Ohhh goodness, that seems like a lot for a salad. Can u ask for the salad to be undressed and buy a bottle of vegan dressing or just have oil and vinegar on the side if thats driving the price up.

That seems high. I agree that you see if you can get the salad undressed with dressing on the side and just get oil and vinegar for the vegans.

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It is most definitely the vegan dressing and the root vegetables in the salad that is driving the price up. To be fair, they do have amazing vegan salads... like I'd convert to vegan if all vegan food tasted like that. Maybe a better option is to get a quote for the bulk salad from a non-vegan place and just get my vegan guests a big hearty, vegan salad from them?

$800 for a salad?! That's $100 per person! That's more than my entire food and drink package together! Yes, this is outrageous regardless of the dressing.

View Quoted Comment $10 a person, but yes, I think $800 for side salads for 80 people is ridiculous

View Quoted Comment Unfortunately I can’t… it seems I have to get their dressing, but I can choose a vinaigrette instead of a creamy dressing to drive the cost down a bit. But, what is a reasonable cost for side salad for 80 people? She said, I could give her my budget and she‘ll let me know what that will buy us. Meanwhile, I think I’ll call a few restaurants to see if I can get a better quote for non-vegan options and I’ll just get an individual hearty, vegan salad for the 1-3 vegans. I definitely do NOT want to plan my entire buffet around 1 to 3 people and I told her that. I even told her that my entire BBQ spread is $1200 and $800 for salad alone was too high.

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I would say anything above 400 would be too much. Even that I think is a lot. A salad is not expensive or difficult to prepare.

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Wow my math is very flawed today lol but still, that's a bit much.

Without other context for pricing, menu, etc it is difficult to say. What is the cost per person of each full meal? Is it comparable to what you would spend for a regular bbq meal eating out or is it upscale “to fit a wedding” which means more money? Depending on where you are located, a full catering drop off invoice would easily be in the ballpark of $800-1000 for everything. Adding a salad should not cost that much extra. But if you can’t afford it, feel free to skip it.


People always say bbq is cheapest until they see the price lists for it. Are you set on this restaurant? If not, keep looking and find something within your budget. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Especially since you have a much larger group than the standard.

$800 seems ridiculous for a salad but to be fair I have never just bought a salad for a large group of people I m not really sure what I d even expect it to cost . I m super curious about this salad now though and want to try it ha! Is the salad the only vegan offering, if there will be other things I d see if you can make it a less hearty salad, just simple spring mix, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes, maybe toss in some nuts or seeds and a vegan vinaigrette. Is this happening at a restaurant because if it is they may not allow you to bring in outside food but if its being catered somewhere look around and see if you can find a cheaper salad option.

View Quoted Comment It’s a buffet and I can tell you that my entire BBQ spread (meat + sides without dessert) is $1200 total, which ends up being like $15 a person for 80 people. This is not a catering company so I’m actually getting a hodge Podge of food from different places and hired a separate wait staff. We actually only have ONE catering company in the entire town that does catering outside of their venue (because they’re a mobile food truck LOL) and I wasn’t a fan of their food. After looking at our menu, I noticed that we are really lacking in the greens department so I contacted a place that specializes in salads literally wanting to just get a few big bowls of salad as a side to go with the BBQ. She quoted me that $800 for 80 people (so $10 side salads 💀). I do think their salads are “premium” and I honestly just need a basic AF Caesar salad. I’ve contacted other restaurants, but they will not provide just bulk salads. I have one more place to ask, but if I can’t get a damn salad, I might just say F it. Event planning in a small town is hard sometimes. The choices are limited.

View Quoted Comment I’ve eaten their salads before and it’s damn tasty actually, but just not something I’d be willing to pay for 80 people lol. My spread actually has NO vegan offering because BBQ BUT, I do have an “Do you have dietary restrictions?” question on my RSVP and so far I’ve got 1 vegan and 2 GF. At this point, I’d be more willing to just get one of their hearty vegan salads for the handful of vegans and vegetarians. I’ll try to find a place that will make non-vegan bulk Caesar salads, but it’s been challenging living in a small town since my choices are very limited. Most of them won’t cater outside of their venue and we are kinda married to the brewery and getting BBQ. If I can’t find a place that will just provide salads, I’ll just forgo it, but I have one more person to ask.

I agree that $800 for $80 people is ridiculous! Do you happen to live close to a Panera or Chilis/BJs? They do "party platter" salads. Looking at the prices, it comes to $90-$100 total pp (and those are CA prices)!

Sorry, meant to say $90-$100 total for 80 people.

View Quoted Comment Thats more price point when it comes to salad, but unfortunately, I live in a small town where literally our only chain restaurants is 1 McDonald and 1 Pizza Hut

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It sounds amazing! Well since that salad sounds like a meal in itself I d just order it for the vegan guests. Are you having any veggie sides with the bbq if you are I d totally skip the salad for everyone else. Sounds like a delicious spread!

View Quoted Comment Does coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad count? 🤣

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You know what yes for one night it does count 🤣. This way everyone will have more room to eat the other deliciousness. Sounds like a great meal and a fun time. It really is very considerate of you to make sure your vegan & gf friends have some good eats too. Enjoy!

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What about your local grocery store? Could you order large salads from them?

View Quoted Comment Hahaha thank you for all your advice! It does really help just talking it out.