Jack Ziegler, of Baltimore, was searching for the recipe for the continental salad that was served at the long-closed Carmen’s restaurant on 25th Street in Baltimore. He took his future wife there on their first date, and the restaurant was always one of the couple’s favorites. Ziegler said they enjoyed all the food at Carmen’s, but the recipe he is still longing for is the Greek-style salad. He has never been able to duplicate it exactly, and he was hoping someone would remember Carmen’s and give him some idea of how to make it.

As luck would have it, Chris Carmen Ponticas, of Timonium, Maryland, the daughter of the original owners of Carmen’s restaurant, happened to see Ziegler’s request in this column. She was surprised and delighted that her family’s restaurant is still remembered fondly after all this time. Her parents, Luke and Teresa Carmen, owned and operated the restaurant, and her brother Demetri was the chef. Ponticas, who is now 80, told me everyone in the family was involved in the restaurant in some way or another.

As for Carmen’s continental salad, Ponticas said she does not know the exact recipe because her mother never wrote anything down — and she was the person who made each salad individually as it was ordered. Teresa Carmen was extremely meticulous about selecting and preparing the salad greens, but she never had any exact measurements.

“I can only tell you that she used Greek olive oil, wine vinegar, salt, pepper and dried oregano,” Ponticas said. “She did not mix the dressing ingredients together beforehand. Rather, she put the carefully selected salad greens, cut tomatoes and green peppers in a bowl, then she drizzled the olive oil and then the vinegar directly onto the greens, slightly tossed everything, then added the dry seasonings and tossed again.”

Ponticas told me that was the way her mother cooked almost everything. Her father and brother were professional chefs while her mother was much more intuitive. She just knew how to make the salad perfectly every time.

Like many beloved old restaurant favorites, this recipe lives on only in the memory of those who were lucky enough to enjoy it. Certainly there are countless recipes for Greek-style vinaigrette dressings available that would likely come close to duplicating the taste of the salad served at Carmen’s, but it seems it was Teresa Carmen’s special touch that made this salad truly memorable. I would suggest that Ziegler follow the basic recipe below, for proportion only, but try making his salad as Teresa Carmen did, with care and attention, one salad at a time.

Requests

Patty Wolfe of Boise, Idaho, said that growing up in Indiana her mother frequently made chili for dinner. It had elbow macaroni, kidney beans and chili powder in it. Wolfe thinks the recipe may have come from her aunt who lived in College Station, Texas. Sadly, both women are gone now, but Wolfe was wondering if anyone knows of a chili-mac recipe from either area.