Why Whiny Baby Matters

And why the wine doesn’t…

A quick note before I jump into the Whiny Baby article…Harvest is over for me and OND is in full swing, which means events, more road travel, and more ideas for stories. I’m nearly at 100 subscribers which is really great, thanks for subscribing, reading, and commenting on my articles. I’m sticking with one article per week at this point, as it’s manageable for me and I’m trying to be disciplined in my writing at between 500 and 1000 words. Thanks again for your support…now Why Whiny Baby Matters

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The recent acquisition of Whiny Baby by Gallo made plenty of headlines, not just in the press, but within the insular (think palace intrigue) California wine industry.

A screenshot from their Instagram page

Let’s do a quick recap of what Whiny Baby is:

  • Whiny Baby (WB), founded by Jess Druey, is a wine company that, based on reports as of 2025, produces roughly 6,000 cases. It was established in 2020 and then “incubated” by McBride Sisters Wine Company to help with production and distribution. McBride Sisters produce Black Girl Magic, SheCan, and McBride Sisters Collection. Amy Butler is the winemaker for several of the brands including Whiny Baby.

  • The Whiny Baby wines are legally labeled California Red, White and Rosé Wine without vintage. They are bottled in 750ml flint (clear) glass with crown caps, not corks.

  • WB had multi-state distribution in big box stores and specialty retailers, like Sprouts and Whole Foods.

  • WB targeted the Gen-Z demographic, born between 1997 and 2012 or between the ages of 28 and 13. This is alcohol in the US, so targeting 21 and over here. There is a lot of focus on Gen Z in terms of trends. What are they drinking and why, is what the beverage alcohol community is studying closely. Obviously Gallo is studying it and was watching Whiny Baby closely these last few years. Whiny Baby seemed to nail it.

Why is this acquisition surprising, shocking or otherwise?

Answer…it’s not.

Silicon Valley companies acquire small, emerging companies on a regular basis that certainly do not make front-page headlines. Gallo, the largest wine company in the world by volume, buying Whiny Baby is a rounding error in terms of its production.

If Facebook or Oracle acquires a $10 million company, it’s a rounding error to them, barely makes news, and the industry just moves on. And like a Silicon Valley acquisition, it was about the IP and the founder of Whiny Baby that speaks loudly.

As a matter of history and perspective, Gallo has also acquired Massican from fellow Substacker Dan Petroski and Rombauer in the last few years. Massican is similar to Whiny Baby in that it had highly specific IP and an iconoclastic founder. In addition to physical property, Rombauer was a more traditional acquisition of a well-established and entrenched brand.

What do these three acquisitions by Gallo say about the wine world?

Have a strong brand and a founder that stands out.

Here’s what the Whiny Baby acquisition makes clear — the wine itself doesn’t matter.

In nearly every press release, they talked about the founder Jess, GenZ, the packaging, the branding, distribution, McBride Sisters, the messaging, the vibe. Nowhere does it talk about the wine or the winemaker. Because the wine doesn’t matter.

Let this be a lesson to every small winery and winemaker. Your wine isn’t always the most important thing in an acquisition or even in the current marketing and sale of the actual bottle of wine. The wine doesn’t matter.

What matters is everything else, especially the founder and her IP.

Distribution, packaging, vibe, feels, everything else matters except the wine.

“5 years ago I started a brand for the new generation. Today that brand is joining the largest wine company in the world.” Jess Druey from her LinkedIn Page.

BRAND. Not Winery. BRAND.

I think a lot of small winemakers like myself forget this. We’re so tied up with impressing people with our wine, site, stats, viticulture — we forget about two important aspects of the winery business; marketing (packaging, vibe) and sales (distribution).

A screenshot from LinkedIn

We’re not selling wine; we are selling a discretionary non-durable consumer product.

For emphasis — Wine is a discretionary non-durable consumer product. In other words, no one needs it to live (like water) and it won’t last long, (like a washing machine).

Jess figured her brand and distribution out rapidly, and the simple proof is the quickness of the Gallo purchase. At 24 years old, she founded Whiny Baby. By 28, she’d been bought out by the largest wine company in the world. Unicorn numbers.

From Wine’s Soft Sell to Martha’s Monetization

Wine takes a background seat

I do watch old cooking shows at night to relax. Jacques Pépin is still a favorite, but so are the old “Great Chefs” series on Discovery. Check out this one from Chef Charlie Palmer (who lives in Healdsburg now) when he was head chef at Aureole in NY. Enough nostalgia…on with the article.

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The PBS Model: The Soft Sell of Jacques Pépin

I have fond memories when I was a kid of PBS and Cooking with Jacques Pépin. I learned a lot from him, next to my mom, Jacques was my second cooking teacher. Now that I look back, through the magic of Amazon Prime Live TV and YouTube, Jacques nearly always had a branded wine sponsor and always cooked with wine, even offered a branded pairing suggestion at some point during the show. I haven’t done an explicit episode by episode analysis, but Jacques’ closing remark of “Happy Cooking” was usually with a glass of wine in hand, a smile on his face, and a perfect 3-course menu prepared in less than 30 minutes. Just look at his set-up in this video from KQED, I can see a branded bottle of wine in the frame along with a plastic Pellegrino bottle — it’s like you just came over for lunch at a friend’s house.

The Network Model: Alcohol as Background Noise

Bobby Flay on Beat Bobby Flay sipping a plastic tumbler of whiskey in the Cacio e Pepe challenge (a very funny episode). But it’s used as a gag.

Bobby and Giada in Italy. There’s wine in the background and the foreground when they’re in Italy, like a set prop from Roman Holiday. Sure they clink glasses, but I have no idea what they are drinking.

Ina, Ree? It’s not front and center to their cooking or their brand. We remember “Jeffrey” from Ina more than we remember wine on her table.

Stanley Tucci and the lack of wine in his Italian TV show, check out https://wineeconomist.com/2025/07/08/tucci-2/ for an in-depth analysis of the show.

Top Chef has shown to incorporate wine and food into the show over its 22 seasons. It’s not a ‘front and center’ item, but it happens. And how can it not? The show gets paid through ad and sponsorship revenue from a large alcohol brand, which is seen usually during the final episode. The SHOW gets paid, NOT the TALENT.

I don’t believe cable networks have shadow banned wine product placement out of legal concerns or focus groups. The celebrity economics have changed.

The Social Media Model: Pay to Play

Wine influencers on Instagram and TikTok are celebrities within their own ecosystem. Individually they are mainly small dollars when compared to any of the above cable network celebrities, but their influence adds up when looked at collectively and collaboratively on IG/TT. Influencers have been charging for their direct wine branding sway for years, some disclose it, others don’t. Wine influencers are a fragmented industry but have global reach with their particular audience. It’s the most accessible pay to play market for direct brand placement with a celebrity/influencer.

Over-the-top popular chef and influencer Olivia Tiedemann with 4.4 million followers on Instagram doesn’t incorporate wine into her regular posts unless she gets paid. Check out the February 3, 2025 post for her explicit paid partnership. She’s a major influencer in the food world and she is directly monetizing her brand — which is her.

That said, it’s likely Olivia could and will transition to the next level…Martha’s Level

Martha’s Model: Monetize the Brand. The Celebrity is the brand!

Martha Stewart understands monetization. From QVC to 19 Crimes (along with Snoop and their faces on the label). She’s the one who’s branding, monetizing directly, taking control of it. Not an afterthought, a background prop or a casual mention on her shows. Her name and face IS the branding. She’s the master of her own brand. Cookware, homegoods, wine, everything.

When you have audience currency, why accept sponsorship pennies from a boutique winery when you can own the revenue stream?

If you are a chef, a food celebrity, an influencer, or just a major star and have that much pull and online audience currency, you want more than a pittance of a sponsorship from a winery, you want your own brand to monetize. Why shill for another brand and make pennies, when you can make real money with your own brand?

Wine hasn’t disappeared from food media, it has transformed and been monetized more efficiently. Celebrities today understand that building their own alcohol brands (look at tequila) generates more revenue than simply endorsing another, competing brand.

Should I drink wine with Dr. Frasier Crane, Donna Berzatto, or Beth Dutton?

I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s. I watched network TV and the beginnings of cable. There were plenty of direct, product references to food and wine on television. It’s 2025, what’s changed?

Sherry, Niles?

The 1993 Cheers spinoff Frasier was a favorite of both my brother and mine —network “Must See TV” from an era I enjoyed as a viewer. Frasier ran from last century through 2004.

I just wrote “last century”.

While Cheers centered around a bar with lovable characters, Frasier devoted entire episodes to wine and food—specific ingredients, vintages, regions, labels. The neurotic, pretentious yet endearing snobbery of Frasier and his brother Niles discussing cheese, art, wine, and theatre from Frasier’s stylish bachelor pad was pure gold.

Frasier’s references to food and wine were part of the show, woven into a larger sitcom. It wasn’t a show about food and wine, it was a show about Frasier and the world around him, which included food and wine. Anxious, slapstick situational comedy? Absolutely, and the regular consumption of alcohol was not destructive to the premise of the show or the characters.

Yeah, I got a little Frasier in me. Hammy.

Character development

Today’s bingeable “Must see Streaming” like The Bear on FX are entirely different creatures—complete with sommeliers and Michelin-starred chefs where food and wine aren’t just admirable passions but the show’s entire world. Unlike Frasier’s lighthearted sophistication, The Bear delivers raw, hard-hitting drama. Chef Carmy, the protagonist, attends Al-Anon meetings, deals with nicotine addiction, numerous relationship difficulties, and hasn’t been happy since he was in Europe. Jamie Lee Curtis’s brilliant portrayal of Carmy’s mother Donna, shows her chain-smoking and alcoholism at Christmas dinner, along with borderline personality disorder. Not slapstick late 90s comedy but rather authentic dysfunction.

You’d grab a beer with Norm from Cheers or tolerate Frasier’s stories about southern France at a dinner party. But spending Christmas dinner with the Berzattos, watching Donna spiral out of control while wine and cigarettes fuel the family chaos? Put me in Frasier’s living room any day. Hanging with Donna Berzatto? Hard pass.

That’s me with my Mom making ravioli. No shouting. Evidently plenty of bottled water. No splashed sauce or chaos. Oh sure, there’s some pressure, but the good kind.

Drops of Gold (AppleTV) is highly specific to wine, critics liked it, it had broad international appeal and was picked up for a second season. But let’s face it, it’s obsessive, niche-binge material, which is what streaming content usually is. Niche, not the broad network appeal of Frasier 25 years ago.

We wonder why whole generations of people are drinking less wine? Perhaps because the message and the messengers have changed. Donna Berzzato in The Bear isn’t exactly the role model for fine wine and food the way Frasier was portrayed. Frank Gallagher from Shameless, a dumpster fire of problems. How about Beth Dutton from Yellowstone? Plan any murders lately? All memorable characters with big issues who abuse alcohol.

Can’t I just like to cook? Like to drink wine? Bourbon by the fire? Enjoy a screw-cap Savvy B? Sounds like moderation to me — aka Boring TV.

Today’s must-see TV/streaming programs portray wine and food enthusiasts as either deeply flawed individuals or obsessive perfectionists, often both. While this makes for compelling drama, it’s a far cry from the accessible sophistication that Frasier once modeled.

At a time when the wine industry seeks to attract new audiences, perhaps what we need are fewer tortured chefs, singularly focused wine aficionados, or outright destructive alcoholics with murder on the brain and more characters who can demonstrate that appreciating good food and wine doesn’t require either obsessive expertise or dysfunction.

There is no Spoon: Decrypting the Code in Wine Enthusiast’s Matrix

"The Matrix is everywhere…. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." Morpheus, The Matrix

Wine scores used to mean something. 98 points from Robert Parker made a winery famous and their wines impossible to acquire. Now, with no leading critic, no single voice, every wine that isn’t outright flawed gets 88 points or better.

Wine media hasn’t abandoned real wine criticism, it has just coded it, crafted it more cleverly. Think demographics, micro-influencers, Somm speak, manufacturing sensory ecosystems through carefully chosen keywords and categories. The noise is the score — 95 points — but the signal is ‘blood sausage’, ‘fernet’, ‘black-rock minerality’.

For the full article go to my Substack

Forget about Wine Education, we need Brand Education

Winery Brand A picks Zinfandel at 29 brix, waters back a little but not too much, because the winemaker wants a “big Zin” and starts fermentation with D254, 3g/L tartaric to start along with some DAP. Might need some more tartaric/DAP later. Any hiccups, dose it with Uvaferm 43 (ramming it home), extended maceration up to 25 days, press hard right on top of the Petite Sirah you pressed out an hour before (cause why not) then finish in 50% new American Missouri and Virginia oak with M+ toast and some 3 year old steam cleaned used barrels. ML bacteria is placed in barrel, not native. Likely 15.5% alc (if they got the water add right), but legally labeled 14% with just enough residual sugar to choke down the booze. Bottle at 12-14 months so it has plenty of punch on release one day after bottling.

For the full post, please go to my Substack

Where is the Tasting Room from 30 years ago?

This is an excerpt from my most recent post on Substack. Give it a look:

As I am seated for my pre-set 5-Wine experiential tasting, I know exactly what’s going to happen. A monologue-style talk, where my “wine concierge” speaks and I just listen. Always the same superlatives, the “best wine”, the “most remarkable vineyard”, “greatest” winemaker, “perfection” in a glass, multiple wines with 95-100 points, 24 months in new French oak from Allier, Nevers, Tronçais, and Vosges, the expanded vocabulary to describe the aroma and flavors, petrichor, early summer white flowers, mineral tension1; the same cadence, inflection, and superlatives over and over.

Beyond the Romance: Run your winery like a business, not a passion project

This is an excerpt from my Case to Case with David Mastro Scheidt on Substack

As the founder, sole owner, and winemaker for Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars, I’ve built a business over 18 years where I have no outside investment and no debt financing. It’s a model based on positive cash flow, not overproducing, releasing several SKUs, and running out of wine. Making wine is easy, selling wine is difficult. Here are 3 Lessons from that experience.

For the full post, go to my Substack to read.

The Legacy Wine Media's Recipe: Old Money, New Winery, Instant Lead Story

Here’s an excerpt from my latest post on Substack. For the full post Click Here.

The same dull trope is being broadcast loud and clear in legacy wine media publications both in print and online, wine is elite, wealthy, makes Cabernet, and isn’t for the unwashed rabble.

It’s cliche, nearly mathematical at this point, so please, let me set up for you on the blackboard a common story in a legacy wine publication:

I just designed The French Laundry’s Wine Pairing Menu with Notebook AI

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote on Substack. Go to Substack for the complete article.

This question isn’t theoretical. Consider the following: A restaurant with a well-curated wine cellar loses their sommelier of 5 years, the same sommelier who designed the wine list. Could the Front of House (FOH) create wine pairings for the multi-course Michelin starred tasting menu with the assistance of AI?

AI could handle this task now, if given proper inputs: a detailed wine list, menu ingredients, the final menu, pricing constraints, and well-crafted queries. I decided to test my hypothesis will a couple real-world examples.

Using Notebook AI, I gathered data from two real-world Michelin starred restaurants, The French Laundry *** (TFL) in Yountville and Acquerello ** in San Francisco. Both sets of data are available to download from their websites.

For the rest of the article, go to Substack. The article is free.

Where are the Winemakers Discussing the Wine Industry?

This is an excerpt from my article on Substack. The article is free to read. Take a look.

We as winemakers and many owners of wineries gave up our authoritative voices to critics, bloggers, Somms, and influencers. We gave it up for higher scores and free marketing. It’s damaging wineries and the wine industry.

Where are the winemakers?

Winemakers are largely absent from direct self-publishing platforms like Substack, much less socials like Insta and YouTube (at least with any critical mass), with some exceptions. Blogging on the winery website is generally geared toward product and event promotion. This leaves a gap for voices willing to share deeper, insider perspectives.

The Somm just recommended Blaufränkisch. Now what?

4 Questions to ask the next time you want to move beyond your favorite Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay.

Question 1: What is the geographical provenance of that fermented elixir that has captivated your esteemed palate for so long?

Sometimes it feels like we speak about our favorite wine like we’re from some bygone Victorian era. However, wine does have its own language and dialect.

These days, if you said your favorite wine is simply “Napa Cab” or “Russian River Chardonnay,” that’s not specific enough or perhaps, not Victorian enough. A Napa Cabernet from the valley floor is not Napa Cabernet from Howell Mountain. Neither is a Russian River Chardonnay near Healdsburg versus near Occidental. How much new oak? Is the oak American or French? How long in barrel? Full malo Chardonnay or only partial? The more specificity in your preferences, the more likely you’ll be able to find an acceptable or even better substitute to your “default” Cab or Chard.

If you’d like to read more, please head to my Substack Page, Case to Case with David Mastro Scheidt. Like. Subscribe. Comment.

From Winemaker to Fancy Bartender in 4 Hours

I’m one of 40 wineries at “Anytown, CA Wine Festival”, with around 200+ wines for guests to sample. It’s four hours long, I’ve got 5 wines to pour and I’m here at the pre-opening VIP session for the buyers, wine writers, influencers, and trade members.

So why are we as winemakers here for 4 hours? A serendipitous encounter? The Lotto Pick that someone loves your wine and buys 5 cases? The wine writer who pops in and ‘discovers’ you? They are random, have nothing to do with actual sales, and are completely out of our control. I ask again, why are we here?

The Dynamics of the Modern Wine Festival is what I tackle next on Case to Case with David Mastro Scheidt on Substack. Click the link to read the entire article, it’s free on Substack. Read it. Comment. Like. Subscribe.

David Mastro Scheidt on Substack at Case to Case

Excerpt from Case to Case with David Mastro Scheidt on Substack

Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars has been in operation since 2007. I am its founder and sole owner. It’s a small winery in Sonoma County, California. It’s a regional success story and it’s a lot of work.

I’m writing because the voice of the working winemaker and owner is almost silent. It’s odd, because we are the ones behind the brands, the wine, and the industry and I want more of us to speak up.

Logistics and Signup

Signing up for Case by Case is Free at present. There will be free content posted on a variety of topics in the winemaking world. In the future, I may put up a paywall for exclusive content and longer form subject matter. It’s a work in progress, just like the winery, so expect changes along the way.


Grilled Lamb Chops with Mastro Scheidt Superstrada

Cucumber, tomato and onion salad with grilled lamb chops and Mastro Scheidt 2016 Superstrada 75% Sangiovese / 25% Cabernet Sauvignon

2 Persian Cucumbers, rough cubes
A couple handfuls of Cherry or Grape tomatoes, cut in half
¼ of a red onion, sliced long
Juice of ½ a Meyer Lemon
Parsley, rough chopped, solid pinch
Dill, rough chopped, a solid pinch
Splash of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Handful of Mixed greens, it could be arugula or baby lettuces

Lamb_chops_mastro_scheidt.jpg

I didn't trim my lamb at all, but you have to be mindful of how much fat they have, they will flare up on a grill. I tend to put the lamb initially on the bottom rack, closest to the fire to get some grill marks and some flame, then move them to the top rack, fat side down to cook. They are rested off heat for 10 minutes before I slice them

I’m serving the 16 Superstrada because the grilled lamb has both weight and fat. The Cabernet adds backbone here in the form of tannin that Sangiovese just doesn’t have. Simple as that.

To make the salad, put everything together in a bowl and give it a good mix. Adjust for salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil. Place your mixed greens in the center of the plate and take a good handful or two of your mix and place directly on top of the greens as the salad with dress itself. If you want more of your dressing, add a tablespoon or two over the top

Arrange your lamb chops decoratively for an Instagram picture

Use your hands to eat the lamb like an absolute savage and a fork to eat your salad like a civilized human

Polenta and sausage with Mastro Scheidt Sangiovese

Polenta and tomato sauce with Mastro Scheidt 2017 Sangiovese

1 cup Corn Meal/Grits/Course Polenta (each of these has a different cooking time and broth amount. You have been warned)
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano

polenta_sausage_mastro_scheidt.jpg

Get a stock pot and fill it with all the course corn meal and broth and turn it on. You'll need to stir it initially to break it up and give the polenta time to hydrate. If you follow chefs on TV they have you heat the water and slowly incorporate the corn meal. You don't need to do that, it's overly complex and prone to clumping if you don't do it right

As the polenta gets hotter, you'll need to stir it more until there are no clumps. In about 30 minutes, the polenta will be pretty much ready. You can add fresh cracked black pepper and sage if you'd like as a nice diversion from the normal

Turn off the heat and add your butter and cheese. Start stirring it in. That's pretty much it. You could add cream if you'd like or even more butter

The red sauce and sausage recipe I'm not going through, everyone should know how to make a red sauce by now

Petrale sole over lemon dill risotto paired with Mastro Scheidt The Hunter

Petrale sole over lemon dill risotto paired with 2019 Mastro Scheidt The Hunter

To start the Risotto
1 half yellow or white onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon of butter
½ cup of Arborio rice
2 cups of chicken broth, warm

Melt your butter in a hot sauté pan and add your onions and then turn the heat down to medium. You don’t want the onions to burn, scorch or turn brown; you just want to sweat them out. Once the onions have gone a little translucent, add your rice and stir the pan regularly for a couple minutes so that the rice cooks and also turns milky white/translucent

Add three ladles of warm chicken broth to the sauté pan and stir through. Now the technique. If your timing is right and you don’t allow your saute pan of rice get too dry, after the initial stirring, you shouldn’t have to stir the rice again until the very end of the process. There should be enough bubbling broth in the pan at all times so the rice never sticks or gets dry

Filet_sole_mastro_scheidt_white_wine.jpg

Fast forward about 30 minutes

As you come near the cooking process for the rice you’re going to need the following

¼ cup of heavy cream
¼ cup of grated Parmigiano Cheese
A squeeze of lemon juice
A pinch of chopped fresh dill
A bit more freshly cracked black pepper

Taste your rice and see that it is almost, I repeat almost cooked through but not quite there yet. Don’t worry, you’re going to add a bit more liquid. There shouldn’t be much broth left, about a ¼ cup of broth add it to the pan along with the heavy cream and begin stirring again. Within 5-10 minutes the risotto is taking shape. This is not an exact science. Taste it again and again and again. The rice should be basically done but have a bit more chicken broth handy if it’s not. When the rice is done, add your Parmigiano cheese, lemon juice, dill, adjust for salt and pepper and plate the risotto

At the 5-minute mark for your risotto above, you’ve got to prep your fish. In a sauté pan heat some butter and olive oil. Pat your fish dry and season with salt, pepper and some Panko on the side that goes into the pan first. Place your breaded sole in the sauté pan and cook until golden brown plus on the breaded side. Flip over your fish and cook 1 minute

Filet Mignon with green salad and ranch dressing

Filet Mignon with green salad and paired with Mastro Scheidt 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon DCV

You may have noticed this is the first picture of beef since the beginning of the shelter at home order. I don't eat a tremendous amount of cow to be honest. I like cow and cow pairs with Cabernet really well, but it has taken a back seat for special occasions these days.

That said, I talked to my long-time friend John, who happens to own a prime steakhouse in Clovis, to see if I could get some steaks off of him. Think of it as "take-out" that you cook at home. And another message, continue to support your local, family owned restaurants, they need and want your support not just now but all the time.

Filet_mignon_mastro_scheidt_cabernet

I love cooking steak classic French style in a saute pan and finishing in the oven. Take a hot pan, using bacon renderings, then sear off each side of the filet in the pan and transfer the steaks to a small pan and put in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove the steak from the oven and place on the open oven door. Season the steak with a pat of butter and allow to rest on the door of the oven for another 5 minutes. Yes, it takes patience to see your steak sit there (please don't walk into the oven door or burn yourself), but it's best that the steak stays warm but doesn't cook. Season the steak again with salt. I'm going for Mid-Rare+ on a thick cut 8oz filet.

Salad Dressing
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Yogurt
2 tablespoons Vinegar
Several shakes Worchester Sauce
A couple shakes of Celery Salt, Garlic powder
Plenty of ground black pepper
Fresh or dry Dill

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let stand in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and test to see if you like it. The dried ingredients need time in the bowl to hydrate an incorporate into the wet ones, so don't taste the dressing until after it sets

Make a green salad however you'd like, my version in the picture was romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber and homemade croutons