Caesar Salad: The Border-Town Dinner Rush That Created a Culinary Icon

It’s the summer of 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico. The air is buzzing with jazz-age energy. Prohibition in the United States is still in full swing, and Americans are flocking south of the border for legal cocktails and casino nights.

At Caesar’s Hotel and Restaurant, owned by Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant, the July 4th holiday weekend is in full swing — and the kitchen is running out of ingredients.

The night necessity became invention

According to Cardini’s own telling, the restaurant was swamped with hungry guests when supplies began to dwindle.

Rather than disappoint his customers, Caesar wheeled a cart into the dining room and began assembling a salad tableside with what he had left: crisp romaine lettuce, coddled eggs, Parmesan cheese, croutons, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.

The spectacle of tossing the salad right in front of diners, combined with the rich, tangy flavor of the dressing, was an instant hit.

While there are competing origin stories (including one involving Caesar’s brother, Alex, and another crediting an employee named Livio Santini), the legend of Caesar Cardini has endured — and the dish was named for him.

The Hollywood connection

Caesar Salad’s fame skyrocketed when Hollywood stars, who frequently crossed the border for weekend escapes, began raving about it. In the 1930s and ’40s, it became the salad to order among the Los Angeles elite.

Julia Child herself recalled eating it as a young girl at Caesar’s restaurant and described Cardini breaking the eggs over the greens before tossing them.

Then vs. now: how the salad evolved

The original Caesar Salad:

• Contained no anchovies (the Worcestershire sauce provided that subtle umami depth).

• Used whole romaine leaves meant to be picked up by hand.

• Featured coddled eggs for creaminess instead of mayonnaise or heavy cream.

• Was served without chicken, bacon, or other add-ons.

Today’s versions often swap coddled eggs for pasteurized egg yolks or mayonnaise, use chopped romaine for easier eating, and add proteins or other toppings to make it a main course. While anchovies are now common in the dressing, purists point to Cardini’s original as a lighter, brighter, and more elegant dish.

Why the original still charms

• The lemony, salty bite balances perfectly with crisp lettuce.

• Tableside preparation turns a simple salad into a performance.

• It’s proof that culinary magic can happen when you don’t have all the ingredients you thought you needed.

Caesar Cardini’s Original-Style Caesar Salad

Ingredients

• 1 large head romaine lettuce, leaves left whole

• 2 large eggs, coddled for 1 minute in boiling water and cooled

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 cups day-old bread cubes, toasted in olive oil until golden

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Arrange romaine leaves on a chilled platter.

2. In a large wooden bowl, whisk together lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.

3. Crack in the coddled eggs and whisk until creamy.

4. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking to emulsify.

5. Add toasted croutons and toss gently to coat in dressing.

6. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan.

7. Arrange dressed croutons and cheese over romaine leaves and serve immediately — ideally with a flourish, just like Caesar did.