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#Post#: 82203--------------------------------------------------
Salad Bar Etiquette
By: jpcher Date: November 28, 2025, 2:45 pm
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Recently, I ordered the salad bar from a restaurant. At the end,
there was a selection of six different dressings. None of them
were labeled!* One looked like a vinegar/oil infusion with
spices. The second looked almost the same, but darker and
thicker (maybe a balsamic dressing?) The third was clearly 1,000
island. Then there were three creamy white dressings, all
looking quite similar, but I think I knew which one was Ranch. I
figured the other two were Bleu cheese or Creamy Garlic.
I took a quick look around, trying to flag down a staffer, saw
no one and there was a short line forming behind me. I most
definitely did not want to cover my beautiful salad with yucky
Bleu cheese, but thought Creamy Garlic would be nice.
I took a small dab out of one bowl of the dressing with the
serving ladle, put it on my plate, returned the ladle to the
bowl, switched my plate to the hand I used with the ladle, took
a finger from my other hand, dipped it into the small dab and
tasted it. Definitely Bleu cheese (yuk!). Did the same with the
next dressing, switching my plate to the other hand (the one I
used to taste). Used my non-dipped/non-tasting hand to put a
small dab of dressing on my plate. Changed hands/plate to dip a
finger and taste.
At no time did my finger tasting hand touch the ladle or
dressing in any way. Is this an acceptable way to decide which
dressing you would enjoy at a salad bar? To be honest, I looked
at the vinegarette dressings and thought they might be an
interesting choice but had no clue as to how they tasted.
What would you do?
#Post#: 82204--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: Lula Date: November 29, 2025, 7:11 am
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Sounds perfectly normal, reasonable and courteous to me. I've
probably done something similar at some point.
#Post#: 82205--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: shadowfox79 Date: November 29, 2025, 8:11 am
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Considering I saw someone licking the ladle once (ugh) I think
what you did was fine, in the absence of labels.
#Post#: 82206--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: Rho Date: November 29, 2025, 9:33 pm
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Sounds perfect. I will never use communal salad dressing after
shadowfoxs experience. Ya gotta wonder about someone who licks
a communal ladle.
#Post#: 82207--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: vintagegal Date: November 30, 2025, 7:35 am
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most of the salad bars I have seen, have the dressing name
printed right on the ladle. But I'm with Rho, the older I get,
the less I am interested in communal feeding situations.
Buffets, potluck, etc.
#Post#: 82208--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: Rose Red Date: November 30, 2025, 12:15 pm
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I think the only thing I would do different is use a carrot
stick (or toothpick or something similar) instead of my finger
to taste the dressing. I know you didn't use the hand that touch
the ladle but people can still be weird about seeing others lick
their fingers at a buffet.
#Post#: 82209--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: lowspark Date: December 2, 2025, 9:56 am
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Generally, I think you were ok. I like the idea of using a
carrot stick or other food item as the tasting utensil instead
of your finger.
What bothers me the most about this story is that the restaurant
didn't bother to label their dressings.
Really, each item should have a clear label - but that's
probably asking too much! :)
I am another one who avoids buffets.
I quit going to them years ago because I always overeat.
Salad bars are a sort of middle ground there, since most of it
is good-for-you veggies, but inevitably they have a bunch of
not-so-great-for-you options on there as well.
I think that covid made me shy away from them even more... but
it seems that they are pretty much as available and popular now
as they were pre-2020.
#Post#: 82210--------------------------------------------------
Re: Salad Bar Etiquette
By: Gellchom Date: December 5, 2025, 11:33 am
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I'd do the same as you did.
What I hate about salad bars is being behind someone who chooses
every morsel with exquisite care, like they they are creating a
work of art and entering it into a contest.
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