The overall, all-time favorite Caesar’s Salad turns 100 years old this year, having been created in Tijuana by Italian chef Caesar Cardini at his Alhambra Cafe. That’s an incredible feat for a dish that uses only a few ingredients: Romaine lettuce, egg yolk, garlic, anchovies, olive oil, Worcestershire, apple vinegar, Mexican lime (limón), croutons and parmesan cheese.
Cardini was an Italian immigrant who moved to Mexico during the prohibition era in the early 1900s. He founded the Alhambra Cafe in Tijuana, which later turned into Caesar’s Restaurant, which still exists to date. There are several versions of how he created the world-famous salad, which is considered a delicacy throughout the world.
One version says that some patrons arrived late at his cafe and he had to come up with something from the leftovers in his fridge.
Another version states that he was given the recipe by the mother of one of his also Italian cooks.
Caesar Cardini was immortalized early this month with a statue outside his restaurant, currently owned by celebrity Chef Javier Plascencia, who also owns the Jazamango restaurant in Todos Santos and Animalón in San Jose del Cabo.
