Caesar salad is a cross-cultural creation. While its definitive origins have been lost to time, Italian American chef Caesar Cardini is often credited as its creator. Legend holds that on a busy Fourth of July in the 1920s, Cardini crafted the salad at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico — aptly named Caesar’s — when the kitchen didn’t have enough food to meet customer demand. The original Caesar salad differed in various ways from the salad we know today, but it’s the same basic formula, balancing creamy, tangy, fresh and crunchy elements.
Its evolution continues at Cento in downtown Madison. Executive Chef Edwin Ramirez recalls a former sous chef adding the dish to the menu in 2019, just before the COVID pandemic. Cento’s take revises the salad’s traditional formula.
“It’s not quite an ‘authentic’ Caesar salad,” Ramirez says. “The lemon-anchovy vinaigrette is actually cheese- and dairy-free so we can accommodate guests with dietary restrictions.”…