Jason’s Deli // Still the Best Salad Bar in Town

Jason’s Deli // Still the Best Salad Bar in Town

As a true fan of full disclosure, I have to remind my readers that I’m a dietitian. However, despite my nutrition expertise, I would still rate Jason’s Deli as having the best salad bar in town. As a lover of all foods, the perfect lunch spot for me offers a variety of things so that my cravings are never limited. Because let’s be honest, there are always those friends that we go to lunch with that never seem to be craving the same things that we are. Enter Jason’s Deli…the epitome of lunch variety in Tuscaloosa. Sure it’s a place with multiple locations across the country, but despite the lack of “mom and pop shop” appeal, there’s obviously something good about the place that continues to keep it busy after all these years in Tuscaloosa.

Perusing the menu, one may notice that besides the awesome salad bar, Jason’s has a plethora of soup and sandwich options. Whether it’s a hearty cold sandwich like the California Club or a hot Panini or muffaletta monostrocity, Jason’s has you covered. Now if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, penne pasta with meatballs or chicken Alfredo might be calling your name. If you’re more of a potato lover, the pollo Mexicano potato boasts quite a large baked potato stuffed with grilled chicken, cheddar, sour cream, butter, pico de gallo, and Southwest spices.

Jason’s was long ago a favorite lunch spot of my mine when first dating my husband. This week I realized that it had been quite a while since we visited our old lunch spot. Heading over to the Tuscaloosa Jason’s Deli, I was surprised at the amount of remodeling that had been done to the establishment. The place was still just as spacious as ever with an update of increased booth seating and gorgeous pictures of the menu items around every corner. One of the biggest things that caught my eye was the featured “Super Slaw Salmon Salad” developed with MD Anderson Cancer Center. Curiously scanning the description, I was pleasantly surprised that the salad included tri-colored organic quinoa mixed with a super slaw of kale, broccoli, cabbage, and carrots, tossed with a wasabi mustard-honey vinaigrette, along with a cranberry walnut mix and an ample portion of wild Alaska sockeye salmon filet. With all that said, we can definitely agree that it was a salad that only the healthiest of the healthy could have dreamed up.

Despite how amazing the Super Slaw Salmon Salad sounded, I knew my heart wanted Jason’s famous salad bar. There’s nowhere else in town that I’m able to get ample portions of spring mix, crunchy refreshing vegetables, and sides of hummus, potato salad, quinoa, pasta salad, nuts, and dried fruit. Even after enjoying the gorgeous salad bar, the grand finale for me is always the free soft serve ice cream.

Though I don’t know what may be in your rotation of favorite lunch locations, I encourage you to have Jason’s Deli as part of your routine. There are few places in Tuscaloosa that offer such a variety of options while also having such an ample salad bar. Sure the location is a “chain” but the employees are anything but. What the restaurant may lack in small local establishment is made up in the friendly service of the staff and the amazing menu that the restaurant has to offer.

Jason’s Deli is located as 2346 McFarland Boulevard East and open seven days a week.  Tweet us @ThePlanetWeekly and let us know where you are eating!

Sheena Gregg, MS, RDN,LD is a registered dietitian and local “Filipino foodie.” Follow her on Twitter @AFilipinoFoodie