I recently spent the good part of the day in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood, where I visited a couple of music venues and also had lunch at Arnold’s, an amazing meat-and-three in the heart of The Gulch. This restaurant goes beyond most meat-and-threes, offering a variety of entrées and side dishes each day. Wednesday, the day I was there, featured catfish, brisket, lima beans, greens and broccoli salad, among many other dishes.
It was the broccoli salad, though, that stood out, and I learned that it’s one of Arnold’s signature dishes. It was delicious and not a lot different from other broccoli salads I’ve had, except for the fact that Arnold’s cuts its broccoli into small chunks rather than large ones, as many cooks do, which makes it so much easier to eat.
I hadn’t had broccoli salad in quite some time, but this reminded me of just how good it is, and what a perfect side dish it is for a spring meal or summer barbecue.
Here’s a recipe from my files that I’ve always enjoyed. It’s refreshing and so easy to make.
Adjust the amounts of ingredients according to the number of people you’re serving. It is easily halved or doubled. And it tastes even better the next day as the tangy dressing, crunchy broccoli and sweet dried cranberries marry for the perfect salad.