That's right, it's March 15, the infamous date on which Julius Caesar was killed. But we come to eat Caesar, not talk about him. At SFist, we're always on the lookout for the perfect Caesar salad. A lot of places get it somewhat right, using romaine lettuce, but 99% of the time your lettuce is torn up into pieces and the salad is sprinkled with crouton cubes.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Michael Chiarello, whom we sort of adore, gets it right with this recipe from NapaStyle: the hearts of romaine are left as whole leaves, adorned with a couple of thin parmesan toasts that you break up yourself into delightful organic shapes. We haven't tried his dressing recipe, so we can't vouch for that, but if he's taken the time to get the presentation right, his dressing is probably closer to good than most examples of the form you're likely to come across.
And if you don't feel like making it yourself, we'd like to direct you to the one restaurant we know of that gets it 100% right, every single time we go there: Caffe Venezia, on University Ave. in Berkeley.
Have any favorites? Leave 'em in the comments.
Image of Caesar salad from NapaStyle
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Reggarding Caesar Salad etiquette... Some friends and I have long standing, although infrequently visited debate regarding the caesar and utensils. I say that when the lettuce leaves are left whole, it's ok to use your fingers and pick the little guy up. They say not. Any thoughts on this matter?
It's kind of a toss-up for me, like when to eat sushi with one's hands v. chopsticks. I don't typically go much for general rules of etiquette -- it's more about the atmosphere of the place. If I were doing it at home, you can bet I'd be eating it with my fingers. I'm not even sure how I do it at Venezia -- I probably start with knife and fork and end up finishing with my fingers. It probably also depends on the day.
That wasn't terribly helpful, so I'll just say that I support you completely, and I admire your willingness to connect directly with your food, despite whatever rules of decorum you may run up against. Your friends are welcome to eat their way, too. More than anything else, I salute you on this being the most interesting disagreement I've heard in a while.
Alfred's, on Commercial near the Chinatown Holiday Inn, used to prepare their Caesar salad at table, the way it's supposed to be done. And boy were they scrumptious. Alas, I have heard that they don't prepare them at your table any more.
Oops, Alfred's is on Merchant, next to the Chinatown Holiday Inn, not Commercial as I stated above.