Iceberg Lettuce Recipes

A much-maligned ingredient finds its starring role

Ah, iceberg: one of the few ingredients in which a lack of flavor is a boon.

Although we don't miss the days when this crisp, water-laden vegetable was synonymous with every "salad," we're happy to cede the floor when it comes to the wedge.

And it would seem that chefs agree, because the wedge continues to command a spot on menus across the country. And so we've created an interactive build-your-own-wedge feature (click here to see), which culls components of our favorite wedges–both classic and contemporary.

Go the classic route with tomatoes, bacon and blue cheese, or update the original. At Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc, tomatoes are oven-roasted to add extra depth, while avocado supplants buttermilk in a creamy dressing at Miami's Yardbird Southern Table and Bar.

In Brooklyn, chef Dale Talde spikes his ranch dressing with Sriracha and reconsiders the bacon bit by braising Chinese bacon in a mixture of oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine.

Blessed be the mild.