With creamy miso dressing and crisp romaine, many Japanese restaurants offer a cool little companion to sushi. But the best one I've found in the City so far this lifetime belongs to Kyoto Sushi. Its Yasai Salad takes those basics and kicks up the flavor and texture with black sesame dusted avocado slices and a mountain of diced vegetable tempura, the latter of which adds a touch of fun and caloric naughtiness to the plate of those that are trying to be good. Kyoto Sushi is located at 1233 Van Ness (at Post). —Tamara Palmer

This week, Executive Chef Alessandro Cartumini of Quattro Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley brings us a true taste of autumn on the Pacific Coast. His recipe is for a unique and luxurious Fall Vegetable Salad full of color and life. —Tamara Palmer

Delicacies of the sea highlight this Octopus and Calamari Salad by Chef Hoss Zaré of Zaré at Fly Trap. There might be just a little bit more preparation than average involved to make his lemon confit dressing for the first time. But the reward is in the flavor, versatile enough to appear on just about any salad you imagineer at home. —Tamara Palmer

We're happy to be the beneficiaries of a treat from Executive Chef Parke Ulrich of Waterbar, who has gifted us with a really personal recipe. Inspired by his daughter, Emma's Favorite Salad is the restaurant's signature salad and blends apples, endive, radish and celery with aged Gouda toast for a cheesy, healthy crunch. —Tamara Palmer

Black Mission figs, Rubenesque and sweet, are the focus of this installment of Salad Daze. Executive Chef Jeff Mosher of Julia's Kitchen at Copia in Napa shows us how to adapt the restaurant's fig salad (served in-house with greens from Copia's Edible Garden, Cambozola cheese, balsamic onion, fig crostini and fig vinaigrette) for home. Chronicle wine editor Jon Bonné reported on Friday that a San Francisco location of Copia could be open by March 2009, though there are no plans for a restaurant at this point. —Tamara Palmer

I need to eat more salads, and you probably do, too. So I'm launching Salad Daze, a new recurring feature that will bring you the lowdown on great healthy plates around town as well as recipes from local luminaries that can be made at home. We begin with a beautiful offering of heirloom tomatoes from Chef Mark Richardson of Seasons Restaurant. —Tamara Palmer