The True Caesar Salad

The 15th of March was known in Ancient Rome as the Ides of March – the famous date when Julius Caesar was assassinated.

As such, what other recipe COULD I post today but the finest salad recipe on this small blue planet? 😀

The Caesar salad is actually named after Caesar Cardini – an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in both Mexico and the United States in the early 1920’s.

Cardini was living in San Diego but also working in Tijuana where he avoided the restrictions of Prohibition. His daughter Rosa said that her father invented the dish when a Fourth of July 1924 rush depleted the kitchen’s supplies.

Cardini made do with what he had on hand, which included romaine lettuce, an egg, Worcestershire sauce and a few other ingredients in his virtually empty kitchen. He added the dramatic flair of the tableside tossing “by the chef” and the rest is history!

I still prefer the drama of Caesar salad tossed tableside and recommend you invest in a large wooden salad bowl to do the same for your guests.

Caesar salad is an old-school recipe that deserves respect and not a plastic coffin filled with chopped romaine, dried-out shredded Parmesan and some chemically-treated, shelf-stable “dressing”. Make it the real way and treat yourself to the noble truth of the recipe that conquered the world!

I have my own version of a Caesar salad, but in this case I will post the true Caesar recipe, as served at the restaurant in Tijuana that created it. The recipe was recounted to the writer of The Kitchen Buzzz blog and is reprinted in its entirety below. If you want to ever stop by:

Caesar’s Restaurante Bar
Revolucion Ave. between 4th & 5th St.
Downtown Tijuana, Mexico
Reservations from USA:
01152-664-685-1927

The recipe is best savored in tandem with a delicious steak au poivre, IMHO!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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