The Original Caesar Salad Has Been Made This Way for 100 Years in Tijuana

This year is the centennial of the “ensalada Caesar” at the Hotel Caesar.

Diners at the restaurant at the Hotel Caesar in Tijuana have fallen in love with the tableside preparation of Caesar salad, created by Caesar Cardini in 1924. Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times/TNS

By Daniel Hernandez From Los Angeles Times

TIJUANA, Mexico—The wood-paneled cart arrives at the table with an air of ceremony, pushed by a server, usually a gentleman in a white shirt, black vest and tie. On it sit all the elements required to prepare a beloved salad that was invented right here, according to the lore, at the restaurant inside the Hotel Caesar in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.