Soup or salad?

I've come to realize recently that I don't really care for green salads. You know, the kind with chilled (perhaps wet), pale lettuce, oversized slices of cucumber, hunks of mealy pink tomatoes, maybe some shreds of carrot and Cheddar cheese. They just don't do it for me. I usually realize this *after* I have ordered one, and end up eyeing my neighbor's steamy, hearty bowl of veggie soup with envy.

My kind of salad looks more like this:

Or this:

Dark, tender mixed greens topped with a melange of fruits, nuts, stinky cheese, and veggies. Now we're talking.

If you ever have occasion to dine out with me, and I am debating between soup or salad, please point me back to this post.