Crazy Horse Restaurant
1425 Munras Ave., Monterey (831) 649-4771, crazyhorserestaurant.com
As diners became more health conscious in the 1980s, steak and potato chains like Sizzler seized the opportunity and went big into all-you-can-eat salad bars. It’s hard to believe here in the home of the Salad Bowl of the World, but the salad bar craze dwindled, causing sales to dip in the 1990s. Restaurants that invested heavily in them closed or nearly closed – Sizzler went into bankruptcy and weathered ownership changes. Vestiges of the classic ’80s salad bar can still be found, however, and Crazy Horse is a prime example. A long bar along one wall of the restaurant features a dizzying array of toppings and sides. Salad fanatics can load up their plates with a few different kinds of pasta salad, potato salad, cheeses, veggies and two of the mainstays of any good ’80s salad bar: three bean salad and canned beets.