Endnotes: Caesar Salad, Summer Reading Bingo, Street Markets, Librarian Names & More
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This sweet illustration is an artist’s interpretation of the patio at Caesar’s Palace restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, circa the 1930s. Caesar’s was the birthplace of the Caesar Salad, that delightful combo of romaine lettuce, garlicky croutons, parmesan cheese, and a tangy umami dressing made with salty anchovies mashed into oblivion in a homemade aioli. (The best room service meal is a Caesar salad and a side of fries. I will not be convinced otherwise.)
To understand the story of the Caesar Salad, travel back in time to Prohibition-era California — warm sun and empty cocktail glasses. Then imagine the rollicking good time to be had just across the border in Tijuana, where Prohibition was merely a foreign word. That’s where Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef who landed in San Diego after World War I, opened his restaurant.
According to lore, on July 4, 1924, the restaurant had a rush of customers — patriotic revelers who wanted to celebrate Independence Day and enjoy an adult beverage, perhaps? On the brink of running out of food for his hungry clientele, Caesar tossed together a salad with what he had available: romaine lettuce, coddled eggs, and olive oil. The original salad was served with the leaves whole, stems facing out, with the ingredients piled in the middle, so customers could eat the salad with their fingers, using the leaves as scoops. It was often prepared tableside with flair by Caesar himself, the dressing mixed from fresh ingredients right before the diners’ hungry eyes.
But Caesar’s brother Alex has another version of the tale, and his account has all the charm of a screwball comedy from Hollywood’s golden age. After a long night of drinking, as the story goes, a troupe of pilots missed their curfew and spent the night at Caesar’s Palace. The next morning, Alex made them what he dubbed an ‘Aviator’s Salad’ for breakfast — putting his own spin on the recipe with anchovies —before sending them on their way. That recipe evolved and eventually came to be known as a Caesar Salad, in honor of the restaurant where it originated.
Whichever story you choose to believe, there’s no denying the staying power of the Caesar. It’s found on menus all over the world and infiltrated American pop culture: It was immortalized in an episode of the TV show Bewitched, in which the witchy Esmeralda summoned Julius Caesar to help Samantha prepare the salad. And a Lucille Ball/Desi Arnez movie called The Long Long Trailer had poor Lucy trying to make the salad in a moving Airstream trailer; hilarity ensued.
Next Thursday, July 4, is the 100th anniversary of this iconic salad. Yes, it’s traditional to celebrate the American holiday with hot dogs and watermelon — but you could add a Caesar salad alongside, no?
Here’s my favorite version of the dressing, in case you want to give it a go. Apply this generously to icy cold romaine and top with croutons and extra parmesan.
The Best Caesar Salad Dressing
2 cloves garlic
2 large egg yolks
1 (2 ounce) can anchovy fillets (packed in olive oil) or 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-tasting olive oil
Place all the ingredients except the oil in a pint-sized Mason jar and purée with a stick blender until smooth. With the blender running inside the jar, drizzle in the oil until it’s thick and creamy. Eat with abandon.
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Endnotes: 28 June
From CrimeReads: The Best Historical Fiction of 2024 (So Far). ‘18th-century revolutionaries, 19th-century surgeons, 20th-century spies, and more.’
Tangentially related: NPR Staffers Pick Their Favorite Fiction Reads of 2024. (Or maybe you’d prefer the nonfiction list.)
In today’s episode of The Library of Lost Time, I recommended an unusual cookbook about sandwiches. Need more sexy sandwich ideas? Here are 16 epic sandwiches from around the planet.
Related: 57 Sandwiches That Define New York City. (Have you listened to our podcast episode New York City: NO! SLEEP! TILL BROOKLYN! yet?)
Visiting a street market during your holiday can make you feel like a local. Two of our favorite travel adventurers share the magic of markets in Vietnam and Thailand (from
) — and this personal essay takes you into the heart of a Marrakesh market.Now is a great time to see how your summer reading stacks up against this Summer Reading Bingo Card (from
at What To Read If).Treat yourself to this short story about a conversation between punctuation marks, including Comma, Period, Colon, Semicolon, Question Mark, Exclamation Mark, Ellipsis, Hyphen, En Dash, Em Dash, Parenthesis (a pair, P1 and P2), Quotation Marks (two pairs: Q1 and Q2 are double quotation marks; Q3 and Q4 are single quotation marks), Apostrophe, and a few others.
What’s your Librarian Name? Mine is ‘Judy Stompburger.’
Hmmm… I’m not sure what to make of Rebind, a new AI app that will ‘radically transform the entire way book lovers read books’. You choose a classic novel, then chat with an AI and watch videos embedded in the text. It’s like a big club without other people (?). Big names including John Banville, Roxane Gay, Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, and Lena Dunham have signed on to be part of it. Sign up for the app waiting list here.
Well, these are beautiful:Â 7 Glass Mosaics Around the World That Take Design to New Heights.
This is pretty adorable:
I really enjoyed this excerpt from the new novel Service by Sarah Gilmartin. (Do you love books set in restaurants like I love books set in restaurants? Here’s a roundup of our podcast, recommended books, and other fun stuff to take you behind the scenes at restaurants.)
Each week, Apollo Magazine shares ‘Four Things to See,’ a collection of four interesting objects from the world’s best museums. This collection of music-related art includes the Brontë sisters’ piano.
New Episode of The Library of Lost Time
In each mini-podcast episode, we discuss two books at the top of our TBR, then share a fun book- or travel-related distraction. Get all the episodes and books galore here.
In this episode, we get excited about two books: A Super Upsetting Cookbook about Sandwiches by Tyler Kord and Good Material by Dolly Alderton. Then Dave shares three great stories about India from his podcast research.
Links
A Super Upsetting Cookbook about Sandwiches by Tyler Kord
Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin in New Orleans by Mason Hereford
Deadly Sin crime series by Lawrence Sanders
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Distraction of the Week: Three Cool Things About India
Meet The Indian Giant Squirrel That Looks Like A Dr. Seuss Concoction
India’s election 2024: A logistical triumph across a vast polling network
My librarian name is Anne Listburger 😂. I love Caesar salad but never make it at home because I don't want to think about anchovies being part of the deal. Restaurant-made ignorance is bliss!
Mel, I don’t have a stick blender. Use a blender blender or a whisk for that Caesar recipe ?