Hail, Caesar

The local, legendary salad's origin — but not its popularity — remains a mystery

No dish has ever been more disputed. Its ingredients, its creator, its origin, how you eat it — the salad has more drama than reality TV. Nevertheless, the Caesar salad, invented in San Diego’s backyard, is one of the world’s favorite dishes.

In 1953, a group of master chefs in Paris proclaimed the same salad to be “the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years.” But there is still mystery behind how the dish was invented. The most widely accepted story among written sources, however, is that of Caesar Cardini.

During Prohibition, Americans could simply drive to Tijuana to escape the alcohol ban. On the busy evening of July 4, 1924, Hollywood friends came to the restaurant at Caesar’s eponymous hotel looking for something to eat. Since it was late and there was little left in the kitchen due to the holiday rush, Cardini threw together the remaining ingredients — stumbling upon the Caesar salad. From then on, he re-created the salad for the guests who would pour into his restaurant to get a taste, each time preparing it with his signature flair — tableside.

It became somewhat of an attraction to drive to Tijuana and have a Caesar salad. Famous celebrities such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow traveled across the border to enjoy the crisp lettuce and original Caesar dressing. Since that day the restaurant has changed names, but Caesar’s Sports Bar and Grill Family Restaurant, as it’s now called, still claims to serve the “original Caesar salad.”

In 1948 the Cardinis moved to Los Angeles, and soon after, customers began bringing bottles to fill with the dressing. Caesar then patented the recipe, and it is still packaged today as Cardini’s Original Caesar Dressing. He was, however, unable to get a patent for the name “Caesar Salad,” because it was too widely known by then.

After Caesar’s death in 1956, his daughter, Rosa Cardini, took charge and built up her father’s business.

The people at Caesar’s Bar and Grill have a different story. They say Alex Cardini, Caesar’s brother, invented it. Alex was an Italian air force pilot working at his brother’s restaurant. On October 24, 1924, a group of military friends visited him looking for a bite to eat. He threw together some ingredients, and what resulted was the Caesar salad. Caesar’s Bar and Grill says it didn’t have a name but later became known as the Caesar Salad because of the restaurant and hotel name. Some think it was first called “aviator’s salad” but the name didn’t stick.

Caesar’s Bar and Grill still gets customers asking for their number one menu item. “They usually come for the Caesar salad,” says Lalo Sanchez, a waiter at Caesar’s for two and a half years. They say, ‘Oh it’s wonderful. It’s good.’ Some people are surprised because we make the Caesar in front of you,” a tradition that has continued since it was first invented. 

Other accounts of those who say they invented it seem unlikely. Some say it was created in Chicago by Giacomo Junia, who wanted to celebrate Julius Caesar, but there is no documentation or anecdotes to verify this. Also staking claim for the creation is Paul Maggiora, a partner of Caesar’s. Livio Santini, a friend of Cardini, said at 18 years old he made the salad from his mother’s recipe and that Caesar took the recipe from him. Exactly who created it is up for dispute, but it seems likely the famous salad was created in Tijuana in Caesar’s kitchen.

As disputed as its origin are the ingredients in a Caesar salad. Many variations have arisen, and even the original recipe is unclear.

In her book, From Julia Child’s Kitchen, Julia Child tracked down Rosa Cardini to re-create the original recipe. Despite their wide use and popularity when creating the dressing today, anchovies were not used in the original recipe; nor was vinegar. The recipe includes romaine lettuce, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, salt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, raw egg and ground pepper. The lettuce is served whole in this recipe and meant to be lifted and eaten with your fingers.

At Caesar’s Sports Bar and Grill, the recipe is kept more secret. “[Customers] ask first for [the] recipe. For many years we used a business card and on the back was the recipe but not anymore,” says Caesar’s bartender Agustin Zapata Martinez. “It’s real because when people come here, they enjoy the salad with different chefs.” The Caesar’s recipe reportedly includes romaine lettuce, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, coddled egg yolk, black pepper, olive oil, anchovy paste and mustard.

No matter which chef you get at Caesar’s Sports Bar and Grill, there’s one requirement that they all have to meet. “First rule if you want to work here: You need to make a good Caesar salad,” Martinez says.

Its origins will likely remain a mystery, but with the Caesar salad’s popularity on menus and dining tables throughout the world, our region’s culinary creation certainly here to stay.

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