Secret Caesar Salad History: 100 Years Later | Eater San Diego

"Seeing its furniture and iconic rolling salad carts out on the sidewalk in 2010, I watched Grupo Plascencia step in to save this Tijuana institution that originally opened in 1923 and is credited with popularizing the Caesar’s salad. After signing the lease, the family restored the dark wood interior and black-and-white checkerboard floors to their roaring-twenties look and reopened on July 24, 2010 with Javier Plascencia as executive chef. Working with longtime waiter Efrain Montoya, they restored the salad toward its roots—sourcing extra-crisp romaine and Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano from Southern California, using anchovies from Roland Foods, and blending extra-virgin olive oil (a 50/50 mix from Casa Magon or L.A. Cetto and regular olive oil); Javier also substituted limes for the original lemons. The restaurant now celebrates the salad’s layered history (including the disputed July 4, 1924 origin story), showcases donated memorabilia and photos on the walls, and draws locals and tourists alike for a tableside Caesar, especially when Montoya is on duty." - Bill Esparza