What’s your first choice at home? At a restaurant? At a new restaurant? Do you always make your own dressing at home, or is bottled your choice? Brands? Does it vary by season? I’m on a salad kick and want to see how weird my favorites are. I’d make this a poll, but there are just too many choices out there.
Usually Thousand Island/Russian.
If we’re having salad at home I usually just make up a simple vinaigrette, generally just oil and balsamic with salt and pepper and maybe some herbs. Sometimes I put a little mustard in it. Once in a great while I’ll get ambitious enough to make a creamy Italian dressing of some kind.
At a restaurant, I always order blue cheese dressing. That was the only kind of dressing I ever saw my dad order at a restaurant, and I started getting it when I was a kid to emulate him. It became my habit too, and now I just order it reflexively.
ETA: we don’t keep bottled dressing around. We don’t use it fast enough, and it goes bad. And a vinaigrette is too easy to make.
I’m not usually a fan of Ken’s Steakhouse dressings, but lately I’ve been feeling like I could *drink *the Lite Asian Sesame with Ginger & Soy. Delicious!
I’m not sure exactly what it is called or what is in it even, but I love the orange (colour) dressing that many teppanyaki restaurants use.
At a restaurant, it’s always blue cheese – it’s become a habit, and I usually wish that I’d gotten blue cheese whenever I try something else. Unless a restaurant says that they make their own (a “house dressing” is not always made by the "house) – then I’ll usually give that a try.
At home, it’s Annie’s Goddess. Love that stuff.
I grew up in a house where the default was Dorothy Lynch. Do not love that stuff.
There is nothing as heavenly as a good bleu cheese dressing with nice, big chunks of cheese in a thick, creamy base.
Once upon a time long, long ago, I’d opt for French or Catalina, but I got over it when I discovered bleu cheese. Pardon my drool…
Good stuff. I’ve got a bottle in the fridge.
Yep! Got a BIG bottle (also Ken’s) of that in the fridge, too. I’ve been known to toss in a handful of extra crumbles as well.
Its a close tie between French and Ranch. I alternate between requesting the two.
If I can only pick one. Give me the orange stuff. French
Some places like Outback call it tangy tomato. But its really French dressing.
Italian. Wishbone is the brand that most tastes “right” to me.
I love Dorothy Lynch! I have to mail order it through Amazon, because it isn’t available out here. I also order Wishbone Western, since they no longer make Bacon Western.
My default when eating out is Thousand Island. It’s hard to screw that up. But if we are eating a an upscale place, then I will opt for the house-made bleu cheese. Emeril’s place Delmonico makes a dressing with Maytag that is downright sinful.
But my all-time favorite dressing was the warm bacon dressing they used to serve at Sizzler. The stuff was finally outlawed in California in the interest of public safety. But it was so good.
Italian is my thing again. it was when I was a kid and it is again.
Wishbone for me too. Although I think it has gotten more sweet lately, which I do not care for.
I adore Olive Garden’s italian, and Pizza Hut’s creamy italian. The former is now bottled in stores. Yes!!
I keep two dressings in the fridge - both Ken’s: the Lite Asian Sesame and the Sweet Vidalia Onion. I also like Russian, but rarely buy it unless I’m planning on using leftover cold rare beef for salads. It’s my favorite with cold rare beef.
If I’m looking for a viniagrette, I make it myself. They are so very simple to do in a blender.
Another blue cheese fan here. I have some kind of “salad wrap” for dinner at least three times a week and 99% of the time I use blue cheese dressing…I’m kind of surprised I’m not tired of that flavor by now.
Green goddess is my favorite but it’s hard to find and you never see it in restaurants. So I usually order Caesar’s or blue cheese.
I’m glad to see some love for blue (bleu?) cheese dressing. It’s been my favourite for as long as I can remember. Renée’s brand in Canada is quite good.
Sometimes I’ll crumble my own extra blue cheese and mix it in. To die for.
Currently it’s raspberry vinaigrette.
When I do use blue cheese dressing I also crumble in some extra chunks of blue cheese.
Ranch is my go-to…lately I’ve been making my own with Hidden Valley’s powdered mix, some mayo and sour cream.
I’ll typically order ranch in a restaurant too - Outback’s stands out in my mind - unless the wife and I are sharing a Caesar’s salad. Some of the higher end steakhouses make some damn fine homemade (I think) Ceasar’s dressing - mmmm…anchovies.
I really should order blue cheese more though.
There’s this spot in town, a lunch place, I go and buy their homemade sesame seed, poppy seed, sorta sweet dressing, because I just adore it. Especially on a spinach salad.
But sometimes I go throught an Italian dressing phase. Sometimes Russian.
Pretty much always vinaigrette. I dislike ranch, except maybe as an ingredient (my brother has some mashed potatoes I love that have a little bit of ranch–not too much–cut into them, along with the normal creamy buttery ingredients.) Thousand Island is okay, but better on a burger or fries. French and Catalina are way too sweet for me (thousand island comes close, but I can tolerate it). Blue cheese is acceptable. Basically, I just want a little oil and a little acid on my salad. Maybe a bit of garlic. Keep it simple. I don’t want the dressing to be the focus of the salad.