There are three dressings as far as I'm concerned:

(1) Ranch
(2) Oil & vinegar (and some salt & pepper)
(3) That ginger dressing they put on salads in Japanese restaurants

B-o-r-i-n-g!

Amen! (insert tambourine-banging icon here)


'Fraid I'm a honey-mustard fan, then comes creamy Italian, and (I suppose) French. Raspberry vinaigrette is ok with me, but can you say "ubiquitous"? :rolleyes:

Green Goddess. So retro, it must be chic again. Created in the '20's.

Drizzle of extra virgin Italian olive oil
Splash of a good Balsamic vinegar.
That's it!
I have never understood bottled salad dressings. The olive oil, Balsamic, a little salt and pepper is the best. Only exception to this basic dressing is the Caesar. That should only be made fresh at table-side in a wood salad bowl.

I'm in the same boat, less is more. And to add an European twist, the yoghurt sauces served at Greek/Turkish places on the continent do fit quite well with a feta based farmer's salad.

I'll often toss some Greek Feta into my salad along with some walnuts, yet always use the same combo of oil and vinegar.

I love salad and almost always order one when I eat out.

For me less is almost always more, and I am perfectly happy with a bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper, or a bit of olive oil and really good vinegar.

Sometimes, however, I like to try different types of dressing, especially when I am in a good restaurant that brags about their salads and dressing. Even then, however, I have the dressing on the side. You never know how someone will interpret "lightly dressed". ;) One of my favorite surprises was a raspberry dressing on a fish salad. Yum!

Back in the early '60s I had a Caesar salad at the Turf Club at Caliente. It was the best I have ever had, before or since. They said it had been a house specialty ever since they used to make it for Caesar Romero back in the days when Caliente was a party scene for the Hollywood crowd.

The second best Caesar I ever had was at a hotel in Spokane of all places. You just never know.

I despise Ranch Dressing. Hate Bleu Cheese, too.

My all-time favorite bottled dressing was Kraft French (not their "Creamy French", which is horrible) -- they discontinued that years ago. I asked why, and they said customers preferred "creamy" dressings. Yucch. I don't like what the Europeans call "French" dressing (another creamy concoction).

I like oil/vinegar type dressings, (non-creamy)Italian, honey-mustard, any Japanese dressing, Catalina French, or just plain wine vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar and blue cheese for me. Ranch is horrible, and appears way too much in the midwest. Creamy blue is good for wings.

I don't like too many bottled dressings, but Trader Joe's has one in the refrigerated section....it's cranberry gorgonzola, and although it is on the sweet side (which I normally don't like) it's pretty tasty on a green salad. Other than that, just simple vinegar based dressings work for me.

I agree....

A few simple ingredients allow the creation (easily) of dressings far better than can be bought "Bottled", expensive or cheaply.

Per Peeve....the use of soybean oil (which lasts forever and tastes like it has) in almost every bottled dressing. If you can't use good olive oil (and personally I like a couple of the "deeply flavored" - read strong - Spanish brands), try some of the oils from (or in last gasp, flavorless rapeseed/canola).

Nastiest habit of 'Merkin and Scuppered H'aislians, the addition of sugar to salad dressings and sauces, including the clearly indefensible addition of sugar to "steak" and "barbecue" sauce.

Lawry's Vintage Dressing is sublime. ^

I love parmesan peppercorn dressing. I also love the ginger dressing you get at teppanyaki restaurants. A local pizza place (Harry's, if any Hartford area people are reading this) has an outstandign house dressing that they bottle. Lime juice, salt, pepper and olive oil works well too, especially on more delicate greens.

My thoughts exactly. I was reading through to see if anyone had posted it.

The creamier the better. Love a real, homemade Blue Cheese! YUM