For as long as I can remember, salads have been reliably budget-friendly. As a senior member of the Girl Dinner Dining Out Society (a group I’ve entirely made up), my pre-pay day restaurant order often consisted of a large salad, maybe an appetizer, and the always-reliable free bread.

And the salad bar? A $5 food-pyramid fever dream, piled high with ranch dressing, sunflower seeds, croutons and shredded cheese with a few wilted leaves of lettuce buried somewhere beneath the rubble. Salad Days were both literal and figurative in my early dining years.So, when I spotted a $25 “tapas salad” on the menu at Forestville’s Sonoma Pizza Co. last week, it seemed borderline absurd. Then I remembered that their stunning beet and burrata salad was $18 back in 2022. First, I choked a little. Then I ordered it.

It turned out to be one of the best salads I’ve had. And, yes, I would happily pay $25 for the privilege of eating it again.

Why? The ingredients were impeccable: thin curls of perfectly ripe honeydew melon and squares of sweet cantaloupe that hit that rare, elusive balance — neither too hard nor too soft, and bursting with flavor. End-of-the-season blackberries, freshly picked nasturtium blossoms, crushed Marcona almonds, crisp Journeyman Meats pancetta and a drizzle of honey surrounded a perfect orb of burrata at the center, finished with a swirl of olive oil.

The salad haunts me. Was it truly the best I’ve ever had, or simply a ray of late-summer sunshine on an otherwise drizzly afternoon? Perhaps my shock over the price was softened by a concurrent lunch special: $15 for a slice of pizza and a side salad, a rare bargain by California standards. Or maybe my brain simply stalled at the concept of a giant ball of burrata paired with pancetta.

Clearly, a $20-plus salad isn’t an everyday indulgence. Until it is.

Last night, I ordered a $20 seasonal salad at Baci Cafe and Wine Bar in Healdsburg made with arugula, shaved fennel, dates, cantaloupe and endive. Not quite as transcendent as the Sonoma Pizza Co. salad, but still excellent — thoughtfully composed, beautifully presented and made with high-quality ingredients. (Watch for my Hidden Gem story on Baci in late October.)

Is this a trend? A survey of recent menus revealed no shortage of salads priced at $18, $19 and $20 — each elevated by premium ingredients and restaurant-level finesse.

This is no longer the Round Table salad bar, which apparently has gone away, once $9.99 with a slice of pizza.

Then again, Spoonbar in Healdsburg recently launched a “Girl Dinner” happy hour: $20 gets you a Caesar salad, deviled eggs, fries and a martini. Now that’s a $20 salad I can support.

What’s your take on the rising price of salads? And what would it take for you to splurge on a $25 plate of greens? Email me at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com.

Celebrate Jacques

A celebration dinner will be held Oct. 23 at TORC in Napa to honor Jacques Pépin’s 90th birthday. Both the legendary chef and his daughter, Claudine, are expected to attend. The four-course dinner will be prepared by chefs Kyle Connaughton (SingleThread) and Sean O’Toole (TORC). Tickets are $1,750 per guest.

Additional Napa events include a reception and three-course dinner at the CIA at Copia ($750 per person), featuring more than a dozen local chefs. Pépin will also appear at Cyrus on Oct. 29 and The French Laundry on Nov. 1. Both events are sold out. More details at celebratejacques.org.

FYI: Noodle Palace has relocated to 958 Santa Rosa Ave. in Santa Rosa, next door to Santa Rosa Seafood. The restaurant is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 707-528-1548, noodlepalacesantarosa.com