I treated myself to a Caesar salad for my birthday. But many days are like my birthday, thanks to my near daily cravings for lip-smacking, salty, briny goop dripping over crunchy romaine (read that in Bourdain’s voice).
This salad was invented in the 1920s by Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant chef who owned a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. Some state that Caesar Cardini's brother made the salad, but also a number of Cardini's staff have also said that they invented the dish. I’d say this is a title worth fighting over, and I can’t wait to go to the OG Caesar’s.
Julia Child said that she had eaten a Caesar salad at Cardini's restaurant in her youth during the 1920s, made with whole romaine lettuce leaves, which were meant to be lifted by the stem and eaten with the fingers, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, coddled eggs, Parmesan cheese, and croutons made with garlic-infused oil. 1
To my surprise, the original recipe did NOT use anchovies… a modern recipe for Caesar dressing includes anchovy as a key ingredient, as shown below:
Lemon juice (or lime juice)
Olive oil
Eggs or egg yolks
Worcestershire sauce
Anchovies
Garlic
Dijon mustard
Parmesan cheese
Black pepper
I dare not to include the measurements. I love that every dressing uses more or less of any ingredient to the maker’s palate. I’ve learned that you can use fish sauce instead of anchovies, to keep the pungent pop of a Caesar dressing without having to handle the raw fish. This reminds me of a time when Josh and I went out for an Italian dinner, and to the waiter's surprise, we asked for anchovies on our Caesar salad.
I fell for Caesar salads after trying one from the historic Two Boots Pizza in the LES. It’s a pleasant surprise when you discover that their Caesar dressing tastes like it’s made in-house with generous amounts of anchovies.
Then there are the steakhouses. I have judged the quality of a steakhouse with how good their Caesar salads are. Delmonico’s has been my favorite so far, as well as Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn.
Should you consider joining me on this journey, I’ve started a list and am considering a Caesar salad follow-up post. Recommendations are welcome.
Signing off with cold, crisp, crunchy romaine. 🥬
Child, Julia; Child, Paul (1975). From Julia Child's Kitchen. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 431–433. ISBN 978-0-394-48071-8.