
Īlthough the original recipe does not contain anchovies, modern recipes typically include anchovies as a key ingredient, which frequently is emulsified in bottled versions. Several sources have testified that the original recipe used only Worcestershire sauce without any anchovies, which Cardini considered too bold in flavor. Everyone makes the dressing a little differently and anchovy paste is sometimes added with Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and garlic to enhance the flavor of the olive oil. In the 1970s, Cardini's daughter said that the original recipe included whole lettuce leaves, which were meant to be lifted by the stem and eaten with the fingers coddled eggs and garlic infused olive oil. In a 1952 interview, Cardini said the salad became well known, in 1937, when Manny Wolf, story editor and Paramount Pictures writer's department head, provided the recipe to Hollywood restaurants. It's an intricate concoction that takes ages to prepare and contains (zowie!) lots of garlic, raw or slightly coddled eggs, croutons, romaine, anchovies, parmeasan cheese, olive oil, vinegar and plenty of black pepper. The big food rage in Hollywood-the Caesar salad-will be introduced to New Yorkers by Gilmore's Steak House. In 1946, the newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen wrote of a Caesar containing anchovies, differing from Cardini's version: Julia Child said that she had eaten a Caesar salad at Cardini's restaurant when she was a child in the 1920s. Ī poster inside Hotel Caesar's saying "Home of the legendary Caesar's Salad" A number of Cardini's staff have also said that they invented the dish. Some recountings of the history state that Alex Cardini, Caesar Cardini's brother, made the salad, and that the salad was previously named the "Aviator Salad" because it was made for aviators who traveled over during Prohibition. Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of table-side tossing by the chef. His daughter, Rosa, recounted that her father invented the salad at the Tijuana restaurant when a Fourth of July rush in 1924 depleted the kitchen's supplies. Cardini lived in San Diego but ran one of his restaurants in Tijuana to attract American customers seeking to circumvent the restrictions of Prohibition.

The salad's creation is generally attributed to the restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. In its original form, this salad was prepared and served tableside. A Caesar salad (also spelled Cesar and Cesare) is a green salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice (or lime juice), olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper.
