Chopped Salads: What Are They About?

• “It’s about control, especially for millennials. They want the ability to customize and control what’s happening to the food that’s being prepared. They want it the way they want it.”

• “It’s about flavor distribution. If you order a deli tossed salad you put dressing on it and the dressing distributes over 50 percent of it, and you end up stabbing a cherry tomato.”

• “It’s nice because it’s something you can’t do at home. You’d have to buy so many ingredients it’s just not possible.”
 — “The ceaseless chop of the curved two-handled blade known as a mezzaluna provides the background music for lunch in Manhattan these days.” And how!