Restaurant That Invented Caesar Salad Closes

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Sep 21st 2009 @ 4:30PM

Caesar Salad. Photo: stu_spivack, Flickr.

Veni, vidi, evicted.

Caesar's, the restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, credited with creating the now-mainstream Caesar salad, closed last week over a rent dispute.

"I showed up for work on Monday and I found all the furniture outside," Miguel Angel Ventura Oros, a waiter at the restaurant, told the Associated Press. "The manager told us there was an eviction for not paying the rent."

The restaurant blamed recent drug cartel battles and the swine flu outbreak for a downturn in business.

Tijuana relies on tourism as a major source of revenue, so it comes as no surprise that the restaurant blames the lack of customers for the closing.

Caesar's Restaurant was the latest incarnation of Caesar's Place in Tijuana, Mexico, where according to lore, an unexpected number of diners came in craving salad on July 4, 1924. The owner, Caesar Cardini, used what he had on hand to make a salad for all the hungry guests -- Romaine lettuce, lemon juice, croutons, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, egg and Worcestershire sauce -- creating a salad that proved to be a worldwide hit.

For those who still want to taste the "original" Caesar, Cardini's is bottled and distributed to grocery stores nationwide.

Tell us what you think! And see how Cardini's stacks up in AOL Food's Salad Dressing Taste Test below.

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Salad Dressing Reviews

by AOL Food Editors
Our team of food editors poured, dipped and spooned through 94 bottles and pouches in search of the most refreshing, zesty and creamy brands of store-bought salad dressing. In the end, they selected several runners-up and a winner and loser in each of six flavors: Ranch, French, Italian, Caesar, Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. Read on for results and see the surprising brands they found to be the winners.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Salad Dressing Reviews

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Ranch
Best Yet Ranch

Calories per serving: 140
Total fat per serving: 14 grams
Creamy (1-5): 3
Our panel says: "With the right amount of tang, a great spice blend plus a kick of pepper makes this the 'best yet.'"

Learn more about Best Yet.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Ranch
Cardini's Parmesan Ranch

Calories per serving: 150
Total fat per serving: 16 grams
Creamy (1-5): 3
Our panel says: "A great consistency with the classic tang of Ranch, there was a good blend of Parmesan and spices." "Would love to dip carrots into this!"

Learn more about Cardini's.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Ranch
Wish-Bone Ranch Salad Spritzer

Calories per serving (10 sprays): 15
Total fat per serving: 1 gram
Creamy (1-5): 1
Our panel says: "A refreshing, lighter version of ranch, but just as bold in flavor." "This would season a salad instead of overpowering it."

Learn more about Wish-Bone.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: Ranch
Trader Joe's Organic Ranch

Calories per serving: 90
Total fat per serving: 9 grams
Creamy (1-5): 2
Our panel says: "Savory and not too sweet. Has a great buttermilk flavor with an intense Parmesan flair."

Learn more about Trader Joe's.

Rachel Been, AOL

Winner: Ranch
Hidden Valley Ranch Powder Packet

Calories per serving: 120
Total fat per serving: 18 percent
Creamy (1-5): 5
Our panel says: "There's a reason this powdered dressing has been popular since the 1950s." "I can't stop dipping into it -- it's just as addictive as French Onion dip for chips."

Learn more about Hidden Valley Ranch.

Rachel Been, AOL

Worst: Ranch
Wish-Bone Ranch

Calories per serving: 120
Total fat per serving: 13 grams
Creamy (1-5): 3
Our panel says: "I had a mild gag reflex -- it tastes like sunscreen, which is not a good thing."

Learn more about Wish-Bone.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: French
Brianna's Zesty French

Calories per serving: 150
Total fat per serving: 15 grams
Sour (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Our panel says: "It's odd that it doesn't contain tomatoes, as most classic French dressings do, but Brianna's bottle claims their dressing tastes great on tomatoes." "It has a good sweet and sour balance."

Learn more about Brianna's.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: French
Wish-Bone Deluxe French

Calories per serving: 120
Total fat per serving: 11 grams
Sour (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Our panel says: "Just what you would expect to get at a salad bar." "This is what you think of when you want a solid, standard French dressing."

Learn more about Wish-Bone.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-up: French
ShopRite Creamy French

Calories per serving: 120
Total fat per serving: 11 grams
Sour (1) - Sweet (5): 3
Our panel says: "While the bright orange color is a tad scary, the mustard notes are a nice change." "This French is zesty."

Learn more about ShopRite.

Rachel Been, AOL

Filed Under: Ingredients, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: caesar, caesar salad, CaesarSalad, closings, mexico, salads, soup, tijuana

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-22-2009 @10:34AM Barbara Greene said... What? Where's the anchovies? That's the best part!
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9-22-2009 @10:53AM John F.C. Taylor said... Used to be based at 29 Palms back in 69 & 70. Two popular destinations for weekends were Vegas & TJ. hAd I known that the salad was created by a restaurant there, I might have gone just to say I ate one there. Sad that a lace like this was forced to close.
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9-22-2009 @11:10AM G. John Marmet said... Ask Julia Child, who asked Rose Cardini, Caesar's daughter, there are no anchovies in Caesar Salad. The anchovie taste comes from the Worchestershire Sauce.
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9-22-2009 @12:00PM chronsolo said... sorry but it's true, there are anchovies in caesar dressing! even cardini's
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9-22-2009 @12:20PM chris said... Its sad, but most people have never really had a caesar salad. Prepared at your table in the classic wooden bowel with dressing made in front of you. I have always said the greatest insult to dining was bottled caeser dressing, without the True elements of the salad. And, the "with or without anchovies" comment on caeser salads (served as a condiment). But, lets face it restaurants love to "new" caeser salads. .50 cents in lettuce, .10 cents in dressing, a quick dusting of parmesan and a $7.00 salad is served .
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9-22-2009 @12:58PM Choco said... Try Milani's 1890 French Dressing......It puts the others to shame
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9-22-2009 @1:09PM Dee said... Did they really have Parmesan in Mexico?
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9-22-2009 @6:14PM Jules said... What a shame. Too bad the Swine Flu didn't wipe out the drug dealers and create a safer environment to visit. I used to go there from California, but usually while en route to a nicer Mexican beach destination. Bummer to learn about Caesar's closing. I've made Caesar's salad with either Anchovie paste, or the real Anchovies. You can't tell if the paste is in the salad, but it does enhance the flavor. Also, the hairless Anchovies look better and taste less salty than the regular.
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9-22-2009 @1:56PM Master Shake said... Absolutely - and they had anchovies, too. I've eaten at that place in TJ, and they DO put anchovies in it. Also it is lime juice, not lemon juice. The person who wrote this story obviously never ate there.
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9-22-2009 @6:52PM C.S. said... Rose Cardini did indeed confirm that the original dressing had no anchovies, but also said that Cesar started adding them a few years later.
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5-22-2010 @11:09PM The Real Tijuana said... Yes, Dee, we do have Parmesan in Mexico, although nowadays we are more likely to use one of our own aged cheeses instead. You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference. When Caesar and Alex Cardini were in business, however, almost everything came into Tijuana by rail from Los Angeles so it is very likely that the Cardinis worked with more imported ingredients than local ones.

The restaurant at Hotel Caesar has closed and has changed hands several times over the years; its continuity with Caesar's Place on Revolución and Second was lost ages ago. During the restaurant's most recent incarnation, its maître d' claimed to have learned the "authentic" recipe for the salad when he worked for an Italian in Tecate(!). That incarnation was closed, incidentally, because they also offered "teibols" (lap-dances) and some of the neighbors complained. The economy didn't help but it was the city inspectors that did them in.

Things are looking up for Caesar's. One of Tijuana's most ambitious and successful restaurateurs has taken an interest in resurrecting the place once more. We hope to have an item in our blog about it soon … the guy's in Chicago at the moment … no telling when we'll be able to interview him.
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8-15-2010 @3:50AM SuperChango said... It's been reopened!

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8-15-2010 @3:50AM SuperChango said... Caesar's was reopened about a month ago by the Plascencia family. The own Villa Saverios, Giusseppis and Casa Plascencia in Tijuana. It was spruced up and now has Tijuana's beautiful people filling it every day.
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