Nuevo Nicoise salad from Saladworks on Broad Street in Red Bank, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

If you’re seeing red-breasted robins in the garden and shirt sleeves on the street, can spring be far behind?

It’s time to put away the bulky sweaters, and that means those extra pounds you added to your waistline this winter need to be shed, too.

Saladworks on Broad Street in Red Bank is one answer to the question, “where can we have a quick inexpensive and nonfattening lunch this week?”

It’s a good idea to consult the menu online before ordering lunch at the busy counter because there are many options and combinations to sort through.  (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

The lunch crowd runs the gamut, from Riverview Hospital employees sitting at tables in their scrubs to business suits and kids in their high school jackets. Always happy to have a traditional Nicoise salad, the Nuevo Nicoise ($7.99) was a must-try for PieHole. Mixing the Spanish and French languages is a curiosity unto itself.

The salad is fairly traditional in its use of romaine lettuce, chopped egg, Nicoise olives, canned tuna and crunchy green beans. It diverges by adding radiatore pasta, an odd but filling addition. The tomatoes were chopped into tiny bits, which was good, because they’re not in season right now and had no flavor, anyway. A little light on the tuna and missing the requisite anchovies and capers, the salad lacked the salty brightness that this salad is known for.

With the salad order, you have a choice of dressing, mixed through or on the side, and a fresh crusty whole wheat or white roll and butter.

The restaurant also has a menu option under which you can create your own salad for $7.99. After the basics are chosen, you can add extras such as artichokes, mandarin oranges, tofu, turkey, and chow mein noodles for an additional cost. Soups, sandwiches and wraps are also available.

In addition to offering delivery service, Saladworks enables you to send in your order in online and have it ready for pick up, or you can pull up a table in the expansive bright orange dining room.