Coming out of turkey coma, NYers crave greens

Lisa Fickenscher - Black Friday, meet Salad Monday.

New Yorkers who gorged themselves over the long Thanksgiving holiday are having big regrets—and many tried to atone for their overeating on Monday by ordering salads.

Restaurants reported a huge spike in leafy meals on Monday, with salad specialist Chop't experiencing an 18.2% increase in lunch sales at its six restaurants over the previous Monday.

“It’s usually a one-day thing after the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Chop't Co-founder Colin McCabe. After New Year's, when many people start new diets, salad orders rise again, usually for “a more prolonged period,” Mr. McCabe added.

The two health-oriented Calista restaurants, which offer a full menu that includes burgers, wraps and soups, sold 58 salads yesterday compared with 24 a week ago. The midtown location at 301 E. 49th St. was so busy that Calista Owner Howard Chung jumped in to help take orders.

Another health-focused chain, Energy Kitchen, where no item on the menu exceeds 500 calories, sold more salads at all of its 10 restaurants in the city. Each of the restaurants reported at least a 12% jump, and the highest was 30%.

“Thanksgiving is one of the more gluttonous holidays,” said Energy Kitchen Co-founder Randy Schechter. “Everyone is back to work after their 4,000-calorie dinner, and they are getting their 250- to 300-calorie salad now.”

Stay tuned for the post-New Year’s wrap-up.