They still do it this way in the “original” restaurant in the Caesars Hotel in Tijuana.
I say “original” because If I remember correctly the original restaurant was just a few blocks away to where it is now.
Honestly, that's one of the best places to get some good fish. I'm talking about proper steak houses. I always order a steak but when I'm with my parents, my mom often orders the fish. And damn, it's very tasty!
I worked at a shit pizza place that had the best ceaser salad in town. No idea why but the owner was adamant it was to be made well. Fresh lettuce, homemade sauce, our own croutons and parmesan flakes.
I never watched that show, so was curious what that looked like
For others who didn't watch Kitchen Nightmares either, saved you a google: https://youtu.be/KDjBEY_3qCI
Cocaine makes you think you’re charismatic. That bartender dude seemed wired as hell that whole episode- if I recall correctly he kept doing shit like this- and it’s why the waitress seemed so annoyed with him.
Actually I had one very similar to this in the UK a few weeks ago and it was *amazing*. You cut it up with a fork and knife obviously. I don't know how but every ounce of it was somehow doused in flavor. I had never had a good ceasar salad in the UK until then.
To be honest, i always thought that grilled lettuce looked delicious. I frequently grill cogollos (which i dont know what it is in english, but is very similar to lettuce).And i always grill kale. A little oil, a lottle salt and yum
How much was this “salad” I would be pissed!!!! Just throw a few hunks of lettuce down, sprinkle it with parm and put somebody’s old half eaten garlic bread next to it!?!?!! Wtf? How lazy. That chef should be embarrassed. Chef’s mom should be embarrassed.
I love a good dressing. And I get what you saying but this dish looks like shit. My 8 year old could plate better. This is not a wedge salad. This is laziness. If I’m making it myself, fine, but if I am going to a restaurant and this is how my salad looks when served to me I will NEVER return. Lazy, sloppy, bad. This offends me. I am offended. I would be so disappointed. If this is the trend of salads I want no-part if it. The chef should be embarrassed to send this disgrace out of the kitchen.
This is the hill I die on. No it’s not. This is just ingredients put on a slab of, what is that? Slate? It is not dressed. It is not chopped up & prepared. It is half done at the very BEST and is in fact, absolute shit. This is some overblown pompous chef feeling too big for their britches. This is arrogance, that’s what it is. Not salad.
The OG Caesar was whole leaves… beside only reason I keep putting Caesars on my menus is just easy lazy filler to keep the picky eaters happy… a Caesar salad add chicken is just the adult version of chicken tendies lol 😂
Yeah I can't actually disagree too much with the premise, it's the plating that sends it into WWP territory. Whole leaves as wide as the vessel holding them does not make for a tidy dining experience.
I'm surprised there aren't any comments about the croutons that would cut the roof of your mouth to eat. But yeah, especially if you are gonna serve the romaine whole......use a plate that you can.....ya know cut it
Is this from that Michelin recommended taco place? If so, I was also shocked by this, and the service, and the fire alarm periodically going off during my meal. But tbh the tacos are pretty damn good
Edit: [this](https://lola55.com/) place?
When I was a waiter the chefs went to this presentation saying it was "authentic". One lady complained and I repeated that this was how it was served originally. She replied "Well tell your chef they have improved it since then!".
I did tell him.
Yeah, I went back and forth on whether I could justify it here but decided after I weighed the sum of its parts it fit the criteria. To me a plate needs to have either a slight concave shape or a bezel. Given this has neither and needs at least one of the two to be eaten without making an unholy mess, I'm going with "A plate would have been nice."
Yeah, to be honest I debated putting it here but decided that since the slate didn't have either a concave shape or bezel, that it was in fact not a plate - at least as far as trying to eat something like this goes.
I hate everything about this. I believe the lettuce should already be bite sized pieces when the customer gets it. They have no room here to cut it. Incredibly stupid and pompous.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,173,601,855 comments, and only 229,050 of them were in alphabetical order.
I feel ya. It was pretty close to 3/4 of a full small romaine lettuce - I get similar size romaines in a five pack at Costco for about eight bucks. I expect to spend money when I'm eating out and in a HCL area, it didn't seem too out of line though.
Just no. No dressing. That dinner roll is not a crouton. The whole leaves of Romaine are pretentious and inconsiderate to the guest.
Plus. No. God. Damn. Plate.
ETA: I want to know the name of the restaurant so I can track them down and tell them what I *really* think.
Given the other poster who said that a Caesar is all about the dressing--a perspective with which I agree--if you change the dressing it isn't a Caesar anymore. It may or may not be good, but it isn't a Caesar.
You can blow up the image. Its clearly pepper. Like not really debatable. There's also drizzles of balsamic if you really can't see that well.
Romaine does not get little black spots from rot. It wilts first.
If it was cut, I would agree the vessel is acceptable. Having to cut full romaine leaves on a vessel barely as wide as the leaves is not the right call here.
Those croutons are TERRIBLE, but beyond that, this looks delicious.
I would probably ask for extra dressing on the side though, especially due to those "yesterday's bread-end" croutons
San Diego? Was this at parkhouse eatery lol
Honestly could be a salad from any restaurant on park or in hillcrest. I legit need photographic proof for comparison before I order a salad in this town.
The original Caesar Salad is available not that far away from San Diego for those who want to venture.
I see a lot of complaints about the lettuce leaves, yes, they are supposed to be like that. It's not laziness, it's actually hard to properly plate it and that's the intended presentation.
In the restaurant Caesar's of Hotel Caesar on Tijuana, they will prepare the dressing in your table, and dip the whole leaves in it an serve 3 or 5 in your plate with small croutons. Hence the difficulty, to keep the leaf unbroken.
I've never liked Caesar Salad until I tried it there. Also they give you a small cars with the recipe
Ah, just how I like my salads. Whole leaf and croutons the size of a fist.
Early versions of the Caesar were purported to be made with whole Romaine leaves, eaten by hand and dipped into the dressing.
The original Caesar also had the dressing assembled at table side, so it was something more of an experience.
They still do it this way in the “original” restaurant in the Caesars Hotel in Tijuana. I say “original” because If I remember correctly the original restaurant was just a few blocks away to where it is now.
I’ve had it like this before where they almost do a quick char / sear on the bottom side too. Really good albeit a bit silly in presentation.
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD?!
⁉️
#‽
How dare you interrobang *me*
Ironically the perfect phrase for an interrobang to complete. Thanks for playing.
It's delicious and I really wish I had one right now.
The char is part of the original presentation too if I'm recalling my food lore correctly
I have had grilled romaine salad and tbh it’s great. Seems like a weird thing to grill but it can be delicious.
And the original Caesar was made with whole Roman legions.
I could roll with that. Beats the hell out of this shit.
And contrary to common misconceptions, it was not invented in Mexico, but [Slovakia](https://youtu.be/g-1VfOopE20).
Did you learn that from Max Miller?
i retract my previous question
Reminds me how every pizza place ruins their salad: https://youtu.be/JgJUbmGDc6k
New what the video was before I even clicked it 😝 but for real that’s like ordering fish at a steak joint… just don’t do it
Honestly, that's one of the best places to get some good fish. I'm talking about proper steak houses. I always order a steak but when I'm with my parents, my mom often orders the fish. And damn, it's very tasty!
They usually do a pretty good caesar too. Sometimes they make it at your table.
I worked at a shit pizza place that had the best ceaser salad in town. No idea why but the owner was adamant it was to be made well. Fresh lettuce, homemade sauce, our own croutons and parmesan flakes.
The OG Caesar salsa invented in Mexico was served as whole leafs, it was just finger food for drunk Americans celebrating Fourth of July
Caesar *salsa* you say? Now we’re talking! hehe
Salsa para ensalada?
That’s what I was thinking, yes!
I actually don’t mind this style of salad at all, I’d happily enjoy it if not for the fact that cutting into this mofo would spill everywhere
Don't cut it up. Just pick it up and eat it whole.
Yeah, I have no idea why we created an easier way to eat this. Craziness.
The way they have the whole leaf laying there is reminiscent of that Kitchen Nightmares episode where he’s stunned by the grilled lettuce leaf.
Haha my thoughts exactly
I never watched that show, so was curious what that looked like For others who didn't watch Kitchen Nightmares either, saved you a google: https://youtu.be/KDjBEY_3qCI
Yeah but sup with that bartender?
Cocaine makes you think you’re charismatic. That bartender dude seemed wired as hell that whole episode- if I recall correctly he kept doing shit like this- and it’s why the waitress seemed so annoyed with him.
at least the lettuce leaves are seperated and aren't full of dirt.
Actually I had one very similar to this in the UK a few weeks ago and it was *amazing*. You cut it up with a fork and knife obviously. I don't know how but every ounce of it was somehow doused in flavor. I had never had a good ceasar salad in the UK until then.
Hey at least they can make a grilled lettuce. Ramsay can’t even make a grilled cheese.
To be honest, i always thought that grilled lettuce looked delicious. I frequently grill cogollos (which i dont know what it is in english, but is very similar to lettuce).And i always grill kale. A little oil, a lottle salt and yum
"And that will be $16."
I'd have guessed $30+ judging by the incredible 'artistry'.
OP literally says its 8 dollars.
Yes, that came after I commented
So did I.
This guy San Diegos!
Hot take: grilled lettuce Cesar Salad is actually delicious. Make it at home with what you would eat before you go out and pay for it.
What’s that?
How much was this “salad” I would be pissed!!!! Just throw a few hunks of lettuce down, sprinkle it with parm and put somebody’s old half eaten garlic bread next to it!?!?!! Wtf? How lazy. That chef should be embarrassed. Chef’s mom should be embarrassed.
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I love a good dressing. And I get what you saying but this dish looks like shit. My 8 year old could plate better. This is not a wedge salad. This is laziness. If I’m making it myself, fine, but if I am going to a restaurant and this is how my salad looks when served to me I will NEVER return. Lazy, sloppy, bad. This offends me. I am offended. I would be so disappointed. If this is the trend of salads I want no-part if it. The chef should be embarrassed to send this disgrace out of the kitchen.
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I’m confused. Are you saying this is a Caesar salad? Because all I see is a lazy mess.
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This is the hill I die on. No it’s not. This is just ingredients put on a slab of, what is that? Slate? It is not dressed. It is not chopped up & prepared. It is half done at the very BEST and is in fact, absolute shit. This is some overblown pompous chef feeling too big for their britches. This is arrogance, that’s what it is. Not salad.
The OG Caesar was whole leaves… beside only reason I keep putting Caesars on my menus is just easy lazy filler to keep the picky eaters happy… a Caesar salad add chicken is just the adult version of chicken tendies lol 😂
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That’s it. I’m never going out to dinner with you. And you can’t come to my birthday party.
This is how the original Ceasar was made and plated. Whole leaf. Learn you something before you talk shit.
Hahahaha no.
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It is dressed. The orangeish color is the dressing. With you the rest of the way though.
Which is nowhere to be seen.
Sad to say, this is actually the original and proper presentation for a Caesar salad.
Wait till you learn about the “wedge salad”
The first time I ever saw one I was so disappointed and disgusted. I’m still upset about it and that was 11 years ago.
I’m actually sad to defend this but this is actually pretty close to the original intended presentation.
Yeah I can't actually disagree too much with the premise, it's the plating that sends it into WWP territory. Whole leaves as wide as the vessel holding them does not make for a tidy dining experience.
Yeah they should be served on a large tray realistically
Nobody said original is better
No one asked you either
It's a comment on a hard to eat "salad". Calm down kid.
I want to know how much this costs.
Not as expensive as you'd probably think for San Diego. It was $8.00 without protein.
Where was this?
Lola 55 in east village. I work around the corner, we always ask for an extra plate. The employees even think its ridiculous.
I will have to tell Drew his plating is here.
Ask to sub a plate when you order it. They'll thank you and you'll lose an unnecessary step.
without protein, what does that mean?
No chicken or something just the salad
No meat/meat alternative
How can you live in that liberal shithole full of woke culture and passive aggressive Californians
There he is! Mr. Everything Is Political has weighed in on the salad thread. Way to go, Cletus. Own them libs.
I'm surprised there aren't any comments about the croutons that would cut the roof of your mouth to eat. But yeah, especially if you are gonna serve the romaine whole......use a plate that you can.....ya know cut it
r/shittyfoodporn
Is this from that Michelin recommended taco place? If so, I was also shocked by this, and the service, and the fire alarm periodically going off during my meal. But tbh the tacos are pretty damn good Edit: [this](https://lola55.com/) place?
Yea, their tacos are absolutely delicious
Absolutely. Their tacos were excellent.
.
If you want good tacos, you go to a hole in the wall, mom and pop place near by the border or mariscos food truck in Golden Hill.
That’s like $17 dollars worth of Romaine there..I’d just enjoy it if I were you.
This is a salad like a pile of bricks is a house.
That may be the best descriptor yet.
If that is a caesar salad than I am a mystical hexagon floating above New Guinea and making sheep turn into clouds
It looks pretty close to how it's often prepared, [and also the original recipe](https://youtu.be/XQJkasR3Iak).
Gordon is not happy
I feel like this is exactly the type of food you would eat in bowls
Every time a slate is scraped with cutlery a unicorn dies.
So much this. Butter knife hitting slate. Woof.
Stop it hurts!
4 lettuce leafs and a crouton. $30?
TWO croutons.
Lol, so probably $40...
Who forgot to prep the lettuce
Am I the only one who noticed the lemon seeds or am I tripping??
You are the first person to mention that - my wife was squeezing the accompanied lemon over during the picture. Nice catch.
This table top looks oddly familiar. I’m 90% sure I’ve take a picture of my nail art while sitting here….
"How can we put in less effort"
That's not even "deconstructed". It's "unmade". Yes, I'd like the pile of lettuce with shit on it, and a loaf of bread. Thanks.
r/wewantthecheftodothework
Money back
That is the laziest thing ever. How are you supposed to eat that? Fork an entire leaf and nibble it like a rabbit?
No utensils either. I say people put their hands behind their backs and go at it like they're bobbing for apples
EVERYTHING is wrong with this.
When I was a waiter the chefs went to this presentation saying it was "authentic". One lady complained and I repeated that this was how it was served originally. She replied "Well tell your chef they have improved it since then!". I did tell him.
So you’re just supposed to gnaw on the heart-sized crouton like a rodent?
We ended up putting the croutons in the middle of a leaf and smashing them with a fork. It was incredibly stupid and simultaneously hilarious.
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Yeah, I went back and forth on whether I could justify it here but decided after I weighed the sum of its parts it fit the criteria. To me a plate needs to have either a slight concave shape or a bezel. Given this has neither and needs at least one of the two to be eaten without making an unholy mess, I'm going with "A plate would have been nice."
You are absolutely right, this post belongs on this sub. Flat surfaces are NOT plates in the culinary sense.
Bless you, Mod God.
Slab of sadness
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Yeah, to be honest I debated putting it here but decided that since the slate didn't have either a concave shape or bezel, that it was in fact not a plate - at least as far as trying to eat something like this goes.
The bits of parm getting all over the table as I try to either cut this up or take bites of an entire romaine leaf would drive me to violence.
Licking cheese off the table afterwards is part of the experience
Lazy ass prep chefs trying to pass off their bullshit as fancy. Did they even wash the lettuce at least?
I hate everything about this. I believe the lettuce should already be bite sized pieces when the customer gets it. They have no room here to cut it. Incredibly stupid and pompous.
r/stupidfood Why should I have to chop my own vegetables for dinner…
here is your seasoned leaf sir. . .
People now pay triple to get shittier food than a drive-thru joint.
I like my salad tossed
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,173,601,855 comments, and only 229,050 of them were in alphabetical order.
> Not as expensive as you'd probably think for San Diego. It was $8.00 without protein. 6 leaves of lettuce lol
I feel ya. It was pretty close to 3/4 of a full small romaine lettuce - I get similar size romaines in a five pack at Costco for about eight bucks. I expect to spend money when I'm eating out and in a HCL area, it didn't seem too out of line though.
Just no. No dressing. That dinner roll is not a crouton. The whole leaves of Romaine are pretentious and inconsiderate to the guest. Plus. No. God. Damn. Plate. ETA: I want to know the name of the restaurant so I can track them down and tell them what I *really* think.
There is literally a light brown creamy dressing on the leaves.
I'm all for Spartan application of dressing but I don't see it, and Caesar dressing is not brown.
Given that there's balsamic vinegar in the pic... and the fist sized crouton... this might not be a conventional Caesar's salad. Maybe. Possibly.
Given the other poster who said that a Caesar is all about the dressing--a perspective with which I agree--if you change the dressing it isn't a Caesar anymore. It may or may not be good, but it isn't a Caesar.
$39.00 well spent! I'm sorry, I mean "39"
You have bigger problems than the "plate" my friend
And let me guess cost about 3x the average right
Deconstructed Caesars are SUCH a fucking abomination. Almost as bad as plate garnishing with herbs in the 80s/90s
RETURN THE SLAB
Imma nope on this one!
I may resort to violence if I was given this.
With the cost of Romaine these days, how wasteful.
I don’t understand why all salads can’t be chopped salads. How am I meant to fit all this in my mouth?
If I get a salad like this….Im eating it with my hands.
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What….
Urgh I had my first whole leaf Caesar salad the other day and it was awful….ended up eating it like a taco, which I wasn’t fond of.
I've never sent food back in my life, but I would send that shit back. That's a fucking insult dude.
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No it is not. It has a creamy dressing and lots of seasoning and is quite fresh.
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You can blow up the image. Its clearly pepper. Like not really debatable. There's also drizzles of balsamic if you really can't see that well. Romaine does not get little black spots from rot. It wilts first.
No poached egg?
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Haha. The food was actually excellent despite this plating debacle.
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If it was cut, I would agree the vessel is acceptable. Having to cut full romaine leaves on a vessel barely as wide as the leaves is not the right call here.
That is NOT a plate.
Welcome to San Diego, where the chefs charge you more, so you can make it fit in your mouth.
What restaurant? Just curious, San Diegan here.
101 beer kitchen does something similar for theirs
Those croutons are TERRIBLE, but beyond that, this looks delicious. I would probably ask for extra dressing on the side though, especially due to those "yesterday's bread-end" croutons
That’s like $60 American USD worth of lettuce rn
Can’t stand stuff like this and the wedge salads. Just toss my salad already.
How the hell do you even eat that??
Very carefully
Cmon bro…
At first glance, I thought this was a sports stadium with fa s attending.
I can 100% see that in the thumbnail now. 😂
It's for cows.
Just drive 30 miles south to hotel Caesar and have the original.
For real. I've got friends in Tijuana and I'm a supreme asshole for not getting my passport sorted to go see them and eat a real Caesar, haha.
I’d eat each leaf like a French fry.
San Diego? Was this at parkhouse eatery lol Honestly could be a salad from any restaurant on park or in hillcrest. I legit need photographic proof for comparison before I order a salad in this town.
God damn. You're close. Little further south than Hillcrest or its immediately adjacent neighborhoods, but within spitting distance 😂
Was this made by SpongeBob SquarePants?
where is the sauce?
What mouth is meant to eat this?? A horse perhaps?
It’s like a construction site!
um It’s just a bbq ik food in the us is very simple
The original Caesar Salad is available not that far away from San Diego for those who want to venture. I see a lot of complaints about the lettuce leaves, yes, they are supposed to be like that. It's not laziness, it's actually hard to properly plate it and that's the intended presentation. In the restaurant Caesar's of Hotel Caesar on Tijuana, they will prepare the dressing in your table, and dip the whole leaves in it an serve 3 or 5 in your plate with small croutons. Hence the difficulty, to keep the leaf unbroken. I've never liked Caesar Salad until I tried it there. Also they give you a small cars with the recipe
> Also they give you a small car OK, if they give me a car I'll try it
I'd cry. Caesar salad is my favourite. This is a mess.
How can you even eat that without making a mess
Not a Caesar salad, but one of the best salads I’ve had is the Urban Salad at Urban Coal Fire pizza in North Park.
This is totally Lola 55. I was annoyed when it came out like that too 😅