Caesar Salad’s Centennial

In early 20th Century, Caesar Cardini and his brother used to run restaurants on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego area. The most widespread version about the origin of the worldwide famous “Caesar´s salad” suggests that on July 4, 1926, in order to celebrate the Independence Day of the United States, a large group of people went to Caesar Cardini’s restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico.

Not expecting so many customers, the place ran out of supplies, so he came up with the idea of creating a salad with the food he had available: romaine lettuce, egg, Italian cheese, some lemons and dry bread. To the combination of ingredients, he added a sauce from an old family recipe and it was a hit with the diners!

Due to the short time to serve food to tables, the salad was originally prepared tableside; which is probably the reason it´s including raw egg. The real success of this dish was its tasty dressing. Years later, Cardini patented the Caesar sauce in California and registered it under the trademark “Cardini’s Original Caesar Dressing Mix”. It became very popular all over the USA and that is why today we can find this fantastic recipe in any restaurant.
According to Caesar salad lovers (also spelled Cesar, César and Cesare) the authentic recipe should include romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice (or lime juice), olive oil, eggs or egg yolks, garlic and Parmesan cheese.

Despite diners love recipes that include Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, capers, garlic, Dijon mustard or black pepper; to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the “Cesar salad”, it´s time to go back to the original recipe and enjoy one of the salads that can be found anywhere in this planet. Go visit Caesar´s hotel & restaurant this 2024.

“Caesar Salad’s Centennial” by Alfredo de la Cruz.