The Details: Our signature house salad, built for freshness and flavor. We start with crisp romaine tossed in our creamy house-made ranch.
The Toppings: Loaded with pickled red onions, diced tomatoes, tangy feta cheese, and our signature house croutons.
Dietary: Vegetarian (VEG)
Price: $15 (Add Chicken $5 | Shrimp $8)
The Perfect Pour: Pair with a Blackberry Smash ($12). The sweetness of the berries and the zing of the mint provide a fun, fruity contrast to the savory house ranch.
The Story of the Trailside Salad
Named after our home on the Redbud Trail, the Trailside Salad was designed to be the “daily driver” of our menu. It’s the dish you can order three times a week and never get tired of. We wanted to take the ingredients everyone loves—ranch, feta, and fresh veggies—and elevate them through small-batch prep and high-quality sourcing. It’s the quintessential “neighborhood” dish for our Andover community.
The Craft: The Power of the Pickle
The secret weapon of the Trailside Salad is our pickled red onion. We don’t just use raw onions, which can be sharp and overpowering. Instead, we quick-pickle them in-house to give them a bright pink hue and a sweet, vinegary tang. This acidity is the perfect foil for our creamy house ranch, which is rich, herbaceous, and thick enough to cling to every leaf of romaine.
The addition of feta cheese provides a creamy, salty “zing” that keeps the salad from feeling too heavy. Combined with the crunch of our house-fired croutons and the sweetness of ripe diced tomatoes, it’s a perfectly balanced bowl of goodness.
The Point Nine Experience: Family & Friends
This is a “everyone loves it” salad. It’s a frequent flyer during our family dinner hours, where parents can feel good about a fresh meal while the kids enjoy the patio. It’s also the perfect “happy hour” companion. If you’re stopping in on a Thursday afternoon to decompress from the work week, a Trailside Salad and a Blackberry Smash offer a refreshing way to reset. It’s casual, approachable, and always fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a different dressing? While our ranch is the star, we have several house-made vinaigrettes available if you prefer something lighter.
Is it filling enough for dinner? By itself, it’s a great light meal. When you add Chicken or Shrimp, it becomes a substantial entree that will satisfy any appetite.