Best Salad & Best Place to Stick to Your Diet: Chop't

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THE STAFF SWEARS it's the special knife — the crescent-shaped mezzaluna — that makes the salad so tasty, but customers might say it's the thousands of topping combinations. Lines are usually out the door at lunchtime, but Kevin Hood, who manages the Chinatown location, says the queues move faster than they appear to. If you're counting calories, stay away from the fried chicken, nuts, cheese and salami, and ask for any of the 39 toppings that are less than 100 calories. Chop't's grilled shrimp topping adds just 69 calories, and edamame just 59, and all the veggies are an obvious choice for dieters. Customer Favorite: "We don't know why, but people will add Craisins to any salad. By far, it's the most popular add-in," Hood says.

» Chop't, Multiple locations; Choptsalad.com.

» Explore a full list of the year's winners at the Best of 2009 index.

Written by Express contributor Rachel Kaufman
Photo by The Washington Post