Question: are romaine and escarole the same thing?
Answer: And yes, as the family name “bitter greens” suggests, escarole is a tad bitter. There's a sharpness that comes with escarole's wide leaves, not quite as much as radicchio, but definitely more than a piece of romaine. At the grocery store, escarole can be easy to miss, since it's a chicory that looks like lettuce.