One of our favorite places to eat, when I'm not cooking at home, is a locally owned restaurant, Arris Pizza on Republic Road. Started in Jefferson City, MO in 1961 by Arris Pardalos, we're lucky to have one his few franchises here in Springfield, just a couple of miles from home. The pizza is thin-crusted crunchiness that we love with generous toppings and the salads are to die for. They serve pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and salads, almost all of which are made from scratch in house but we are bad about sticking to our favorites: Gene's is the Hercules with ground beef, Greek sausage, bacon, and Canadian bacon, while mine is the Veg Head (tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, green peppers, spinach, and mushrooms) plus Greek sausage. Gene jokes that I shouldn't be allowed to ordered a vegetarian pizza and then add sausage to it, but hey, it's my party--and it's so yummy!
Of course they have Greek Salad (duh!) and a Caesar, but my favorite is the Berry salad with spinach, romaine, berries in the summer or dried cranberries, bleu cheese, toasted walnuts, and their homemade red wine vinaigrette. Even when I'm cooking at home I love to serve my version of this salad. The combination of fresh green, sweet berries, savory walnuts, with the bite of bleu cheese and the sweet fruity dressing is the essence of the perfect bite, in my mind and mouth.
Disclaimer: I don't claim that this dressing recipe is directly from Arris, and I have no connection to the restaurant or its owners, but this recipe is one of my go-to vinaigrettes as it tops a delicious salad to serve at home that is very close/similar to the one I always order there.
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