Great ideas for a side salad for a Memorial Day barbecue?

I’m attending a Memorial Day BBQ thrown by friends who happen to be caterers. Their professional food writer friends and restaurant owners will be in attendance. I have to bring a side salad of some sort, and even though I can normally be inventive, I feel WAY out of my league. Do you have any great side salad or pasta salad recipes that verge on the border of gourmet and are always a hit?