Best Caesar Salad in NYC?
I moved to NYC from Portland, Oregon about 4 years ago and still have yet to find restaurants here with truly great Caesar salads.
Now foodies please dont dismiss this quest. I know Caesar salads have a bad name due to all the crap out there such as the typical grilled fill-in-the-blank protein, or the awful dressings with mayo, vinegars or those that simply give a nod to, or try to evoke the classic Caesar with unsuccessful and unnecessary "twists".
Portland however has a competitive landscape of its best restaurants creating authentic Caesars with delicious, pure and authentic dressings with the balance that truly good Caesars demand. Most have a hearty Northwest vibe to them, and they all seem to have the right ratio of salt to lemon (never vinegar) and use the proper core ingredients (Reggiano Parmesean, Olive Oil, lemon, raw egg, etc).
I can make a great Caesar at home, but I love to go out for food in NYC, so I would love to have some dining options. Anyone have any suggestions???
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12 Comments:
pearl oyster bar has a great one.
however, after i read amanda hesser's recipe for caesar salad, which she modeled after the one at pearl, i never ordered it in a restaurant again. they take maybe ten minutes tops to do at home and are just as good if not better than the restaurant version. plus they're significantly cheaper!
cybercita at 1:28PM on 01/01/09
@cybercita--can you post the link to that recipe? I would love to have a great caeser salad recipe!
gourmetgal at 4:08PM on 01/01/09
Cybercita, are talking about Amanda Hessler's old-school "Green Goddess" salad that was in the Times recently?
DudeLovesFood at 4:22PM on 01/01/09
here is the recipe, and a link to the article in the times, which was later republished in "cooking for mr. latte". { i leave out the mustard and don't bother with the croutons, unless i'm cooking for company.}
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01EEDC1739F93AA3575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Caesar Salad
Chef Rebecca Charles would give the recipe only in vague terms. She promised her mother, whose recipe it is, not to give out the complete one. It's still delicious.
2 eggs
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Coarse salt or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 slices day old bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 small heads romaine lettuce (a mixture of red and green, if available), trimmed, large leaves discarded
4 anchovies, rinsed, dried and finely minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
1. Fill a small pan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the eggs and coddle for about 45 seconds. Remove from the water. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic and dry mustard. Crack the eggs into the olive oil and whisk. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Toast the bread cubes on a baking sheet in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes; they should not brown. Tear lettuce into a large bowl. Add anchovies, Parmesan, croutons and half the dressing. Toss until leaves are generously coated. Taste, adding more dressing, anchovies or salt if needed. Place a handful on each of four plates.
Yield: 4 servings.
cybercita at 6:05PM on 01/01/09
Cybercita, thanks for posting that! The butterscotch parfait in the article sounded delish too!
gourmetgal at 6:19PM on 01/01/09
i'm such a compulsive web hopper, i just finished reading adam roberts' comments on this recipe, and he complains that the finished product is sort of disappointing in flavor because you don't add the anchovies until last. which made me realize that i don't follow the instructions as written here. what i do is mince the garlic with the anchovy until they are both a paste, then add them to the eggs and lemon juice. i let it sit for at least half an hour, which helps the garlic from tasting too acrid.
cybercita at 6:50PM on 01/01/09
Another tip is to get an aioli going with the egg and olive oil so you get some emulsification, which helps the consistency of the final product. And I agree with mixing the anchovy and garlic, but also add the salt and lemon. Then mix all the dressing ingredients together and I also say add about 1/2 cup cheese and only use Reggiano.
DudeLovesFood at 8:31AM on 01/02/09
And who's been badmouthing Caesar, anyway? It's a terrific salad. Hail!
annien at 12:16PM on 01/02/09
These are some great ideas and recipes but...wasn't the original question about what RESTAURANT offers a memorable Caesar?
bessfour at 3:43PM on 01/02/09
Thank you and yes it was! Anyone, anyone? Bueller????
DudeLovesFood at 5:19PM on 01/02/09
I generally dont love ceaser salad, too often its too dry. But the one at La Villa in Brooklyn is killer - i lick the dressing off the plate its so good!
secondbecky at 1:39PM on 01/05/09
Best ceaser ever is in "quality meats" @ central park south 58st btw 5th & 6th
elegant food at 1:01AM on 07/06/09