The source of the Caesar Salad

The exact origin of the Caesar Salad is still a hotly debated topic. However, the generally accepted story is that it was made popular, in the USA, in the late 1920s by an Italian immigrant, Cesare Cardini. He and his brother Alessandro moved to San Diego from Milan after the First World War and opened a restaurant just across the Mexican border in Tijuana, to attract Americans frustrated by the Prohibition.

Legend has it that on Independence Day 1924, business was booming and the kitchen began to run short of ingredients. Cardini cobbled together a salad from leftovers, including romaine lettuce, olive oil, raw egg, garlic, parmesan cheese and Worcestershire sauce. The dressing was originally mixed at the table and used to coat the lettuce leaves, which were presented stem outwards so that it could be eaten with the fingers, in the time-honoured Italian fashion. Needless to say, the improvised dish was a success.

According to What’s Cooking America, the original recipe included romaine, garlic, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, boiled eggs, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Supposedly Cardini’s brother, Alex, came to Tijuana in 1926 and added anchovies to the salad. He called his version the Aviator’s Salad. Apparently, it’s this version that was well-received, becoming the standard recipe and called the Caesar Salad. However, Caesar was said to be staunchly against the inclusion of anchovies in this mixture, contending that the Worcestershire sauce was what actually provided that faint fishy flavor. He also decreed that only Italian olive oil and imported Parmesan cheese be used in the dressing. And quite rightly so. Today, the inclusion of anchovies depends very much on the individual eatery.

Over the years, it became fashionable to drive to Tijuana for a Caesar Salad. Californians, including Hollywood celebrities such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and WC Fields dined at Caesars to escape the Prohibition laws in the US. Across the Atlantic, Caesar’s salad began appearing in restaurants and is believed to have been first introduced to Europe by Wallis Simpson — an American socialite, well-known in her time. And in 1953, the International Society of Epicure declared the classic salad “the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years.”

Tijuana today is a bit of a dive. Maybe that’s the appeal. Any organized excursion across the border from San Diego will insist that you don’t stray from the main street for fear of getting raped, robbed, stabbed or shot. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know — I chose to heed the advice regardless. In addition, most guide books advise against eating salad, citing the dangers of unclean local water. Consequently, many tourists pass on this awesome opportunity. However, when I was there, I did indeed try the legendary Caesar Salad from the equally legendary Hotel Caesar on Av. Revolución, only 10 blocks from the border. It was delicious and incidentally did not have anchovies in.