Chuck Donk is a master of soups. He makes them from scratch every day and tosses onto his menu their natural best friend – the salad. And despite the choice implied in his eatery’s name, Soup or Salad, visitors would be remiss if they passed up one for the other.

After working in the hotel industry for 18 years, Donk set his sights on the former Café Caspian in November to open a low-investment restaurant that brings to University Heights a quaint dining experience that fosters nutritious eating without all the bragging that the food is indeed healthy.

There are no sandwiches or appetizers on the menu, but rather three different soups of the day (two hot, one cold) as well as three bare-bone salads of romaine, spring mix or spinach. Customers simply select their greens and then direct the staff as to what fixings they want thrown in. The toppings list covers the usual suspects plus a whole lot more – artichoke hearts, dried cranberries, jicama, eggs, sweet corn, various cheeses, etc. With 25 fresh choices in total, the decision-making process is like picking out donuts at Winchell’s and then walking away guilt-free.

There are also eight different dressings to choose from. My dinner companion and I tried them all and fell head over heels for the homemade honey-mint and the tomato-garlic vinaigrette. Donk lifted both recipes from an old English cookbook, which explains their uniqueness on the modern-day salad scene. My companion, however, felt that the rosy colored vinaigrette was better suited for bread dipping, given its bruschetta-like flavor. I thought it jibed with every last veggie on my plate.

Other dressings include a robust creamy blue cheese, ranch, Caesar and a big and fruity raspberry vinaigrette that we couldn’t quite wrap our hypothermic brains around at this point in the season.

But the chili con carne was a welcome annexation to the soup menu on a cold, wet evening. Thick, sweet and mellow, it’s served with a nice dollop of sour cream on the side and available every Sunday. The mushroom soup was beautifully earthy – a dense puree that isn’t diluted by cream or milk. The vegetable-barley was also good, although salt-fanatics will immediately notice the sheer absence of sodium in the recipe, as Donk uses an extra-light hand with the stuff to let the natural flavors ring through.

Always available is chicken rice and noodle, a tomato-based signature soup that Donk’s mom made when he was a kid. The rice and noodles are used sparingly so that it isn’t too starchy. “I have to get this recipe!” we overheard a woman saying to her friends at a nearby table. We echoed her sentiments once we began lapping at ours.

Donk’s knack for soup making extends to the cold varieties as well. Gazpacho and fruit soups are ubiquitous in the monthly rotations, although we lucked out on a perfect dessert with his now-available cherry soup, made with yogurt, sour cream and heavy cream. The hint of nutmeg that goes into it strikes an irresistible match to the cherries. Donk says he’s keeping it on the menu for the next two months, and we’ll likely be racing back for more.

It won’t take a whole lot of consumer traffic to fill up the eatery once January’s post-holiday slump ends. Two small dining areas the size of dorm rooms gives way to five tables, plus two more outside. Eavesdropping requires little effort here. An efficient takeout counter caters to pedestrians on the go and seems to have already gained a foothold among the neighborhood folk.

Donk has remained earnestly supportive of the community with the help of art curator and photographer Andrew Printer, who brings in saleable works by local artists to benefit various GLBT charities. The walls are currently brightened up with acrylics on canvass, but will change exclusively to photography in the summer.

Soup or Salad offers full wait service for dinner and counter service during lunch. The staff is friendly. The greens are fresh. And those soup kettles yield some deliciously inventive recipes.