Frank Sinatra's Favorite Salad To Order In NYC (And How To Replicate It At Home)

Frank Sinatra enjoyed several favorite dishes and drinks when dining out with friends. From Clams Posillipo to lemon ricotta cake, many of his best-loved meals hailed from Italy and had a rich quality and hearty character. However, Ol' Blue Eyes also valued the simple pleasures of a fresh green salad. Sinatra's favorite salad to order in NYC was a peppery arugula number from Patsy's Italian restaurant.

Perfect for balancing the full-bodied flavor of a heartier main, this leafy green salad was served very simply and featured a quick dressing made of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Shredded basil was also added to the mix to lend it an inviting aroma and freshness. While this dish used few ingredients, it was the clever combination of oil and acid that gave it a harmonious flavor and brightness.

Arugula has a polarizing bitter taste and spiciness due to the presence of chemical compounds called glucosinolates. Adding red wine vinegar to this earthy leaf suffuses the salad with a slight acidic tang and roundedness that offsets its harsh personality. Meanwhile, the olive oil that's whisked into the vinegar creates a complex fruity dressing that tempers the bitter vibe of the arugula. To recreate this salad at home, simply combine your olive oil and vinegar together with seasonings (a ratio of three parts oil to one part vinegar is the safest bet). Then, pour your vinaigrette over your arugula and basil moments before serving to prevent the leaves from getting soggy.

As always, there's lots of bandwidth to experiment with flavors when making a vinaigrette. You might like to increase the vinegar for a tangier taste or use more oil to subdue the earthiness of your greens (baby arugula has a mellower flavor than mature leaves, so have a quick taste and adjust your vinaigrette and seasonings as needed). If you don't enjoy the punchy aroma of red wine vinegar, feel free to sub it for another acidic ingredient such as lemon or lime juice. Topping your arugula salad with shavings of Parmesan will lend it a salty, nutty hit and give it a boost of savoriness. However, you could just as easily scatter over some pine nuts for a textural hit or pile on some licorice-flavored fennel to maximize the pepperiness of your entire salad.

Arugula salad makes the perfect bowl of greens to serve alongside the Italian veal dish that was one of Frank Sinatra's favorites: veal Milanese. This golden and crispy meal was made with thin cuts of veal that were coated in breadcrumbs and cheese before they were fried. Patsy's stuffed artichokes (the old-school appetizer Frank Sinatra ordered on repeat) also paired well with the zingy and earthy flavor of the arugula salad.