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Update on California Salads


slumdog

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I promised Gringal I would guinea-pig it over at California Salads, and I finally got there.

I must agree that the portions are substantial, and I like substantial. There's really quite a large selection. too. We ordered chicken Caesar and arrachera salads. Both were pretty darn tasty.

Now for the comments: the owner was swamped cooking the meat ingredients (and their were only six people in the place) so stuff can take a long time to get to your table, and I don't know whether my arrachera was supposed to be hot or just lukewarm. He doesn't shred the lettuce; pretty much all our leaves were just ripped off the head, so cutting was necessary to prevent juices and sauces all over the face. For a place that only serves salads, that's just not acceptable to me. The Caesar was drowning in a very good sauce, leaving the bottom half of the bowl soggy and way over-spiced; the arrechera oil-based dressing was almost non-existent. The croutons, which were home-made, were WAY too big.

I'd say the servings were great for the money. I'll go again and try something different, but I will definitely ask for the lettuce to be ripped up. (And by the way, neither of us suffered stomach problems afterward.)

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Were you talking about the Ceasar Salad when you said the "leaves were just ripped off the head?"

It sounds as if they just need to get better organized and iron out a few wrinkles, which is the norm here.

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The correct way to make a Caesar Salad is to leave the leaves whole, but not with other salads. I think you mean you want hand torn lettuce, not cut with a knife or shredded.

I hand tear all my lettuce for salads, byt not for Caesar.

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.

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I was working today (as in, not retired....) and so I was stuck at home, where I work. The other half brought me what I think was probably the "steak salad" or arrachera referred to above.

I was starving. It was huge. And it was delicious. (And silly inexpensive.)

I attacked it with a knife and fork at home....

I have only praise.

That's all I know.

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The correct way to make a Caesar Salad is to leave the leaves whole

I disagree vehemently. There are a number of places down here that make Caesar by laying the leaves out whole, and dumping sauce on them. "My" way is to tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces, whether you are doing the whole "show" with a wooden bowl and all the ingredients or not. And this is a method you will find all over North America, and all over the web. Here's the first three links I clicked on:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Salad/CaesarSalad.htm

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caesar-Salad-I/Detail.aspx

http://www.culinaryarts.com/Recipes/recipefiles/Caesar.htm

For those who prefer it the whole-leaf way, nothing wrong with that; that's your choice, of course. But salad was not meant to be slapped all over the face, nor was it meant to be eaten with a knife. Ever seen a "salad knife" sitting beside the salad fork at a proper place-setting?

2young2retire: Not sure what you're suggesting.

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The correct way to make a Caesar Salad is to leave the leaves whole, but not with other salads. I think you mean you want hand torn lettuce, not cut with a knife or shredded.

I hand tear all my lettuce for salads, byt not for Caesar.

John is correct. A true Caesar salad is made with full leaves of romaine.

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Guest Gringal

Slumdog: Thanks for being the test case. I'll admit that your description doesn't make me feel impelled in the direction of the place. Maybe later.

I've had Caesar salad served both ways. The big deal is the dressing. Croutons should be little guys.

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luisa - Thanks for your comment. As you can see from slumdog's links, it talks about tearing up the lettuce.

Either way, I believe the most important part of the Caesar salad is making the dressing the proper way. The "Best" Caesar salad I've had in Ajijic is at Number FOUR restaurant. Theirs is a beautiful presentation of whole hearts of Romaine with just enough dressing, anchovies too and a fried lacy piece of Parmesan on the side.

Most other restaurants in Ajijic don't have the foggiest idea of how to make and present a Caesar salad.

I admit that I have not tried California Salads, but I probably should for a comparison to Number FOUR.

There are lots of positive comments about California Salads, which is good, but I doubt they will make a go of it because it's too narrow an audience. They will have to expand.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had lunch there today and ordered their San Antonio salad: romaine lettuce, cherry tomatos, cucumber, some red, yellow peppers and a good portion of skirt steak. I was very good and I took 1/2 home with me. If you haven't been there yet I would suggest you try it. The owner Carlos is very nice and I hope they are able to stay there.

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The correct way to make a Caesar Salad is to leave the leaves whole, but not with other salads. I think you mean you want hand torn lettuce, not cut with a knife or shredded.

Well done John! Why are they left whole? It was intended that the leaves would be picked up by the stem and eaten. Slumdog you're dead wrong. Read about it's history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_salad

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I admit that I have not tried California Salads, but I probably should for a comparison to Number FOUR.

That is not a fair comparison. This place is not trying to take business away from Number FOUR. It's just a small place - that focuses on salads - and gives you fresh and very large servings. The ambiance is a few steps above deli casual. I am sure number FOUR didn't blink an eye when they opened.

I stop by once or twice a week - and get the Cesar salad to go. I love it - their one serving gives me two large lunches. The lettuce is fresh - all of the fruit and veggies are great - and it would cost me a lot more to just to purchase the ingredients.

The last one I had came with green beans, apples, pineapple, yellow and red peppers, cherry tomatoes, several kinds of lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons - and I am sure I left out a lot. Sometimes strawberries are added. Last time he included two small containers of salad dressing - instead of one large - and that was a delicious surprise.

And the strangest Cesar Salad that I have ever had. But the food is fresh - and very good - and I feel like I am eating healthy - and it costs me less than 28 pesos per serving.

So you can discuss the proper way he should be preparing the lettuce - but this isn't your average Cesar salad - and he probably should call it something else. But regardless of what he calls it, it is a great salad. His overhead is small, he does offer other food - and is conveniently located next to Mikeys - so one can also top this off with a delicious piece of carrot cake or something similar.

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Slumdog you're dead wrong. Read about it's history here: http://en.wikipedia....ki/Caesar_salad

Yep, read that a long time ago. And it says the original dish had whole leaves. I remember the original steak, too: hacked off the side of a lumbering beast and cooked over a lightning-created fire. No herbs, no spices, no side dishes. All gristle and fat left in place, eight inches thick.

I like to think we've come a little ways since then. Same with the Caesar: you'll note that in the original story, that was a quickly-prepared invention, and while it may have been the original way, if you go to the finer restaurants in North America and Europe, you'll discover that they tend to (as per the many websites supporting this) use the hand-ripped style, for all the reasons I've stated before. And that's now the way. I repeat: ever seen a salad knife?

(Addendum: Actually, the argument is usually not about whether the leaves are whole or not. The argument is usually about whether it's more acceptable to hand rip or cut with a knife.)

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After getting criticized about leaving the leaves whole or hand tearing them, someone posted that they should not be whole because they liked hand torn better and were obviously too "lazy" to cut them.

Someone said "ever seen a salad knife"? My first answer would have been "no", but apparently there is according to the picture above.

To me, the properly made dresssing WITH ANCHOVIES and the proper good quality parmesan cheese is more important.

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That is not a fair comparison. This place is not trying to take business away from Number FOUR. It's just a small place - that focuses on salads - and gives you fresh and very large servings. The ambiance is a few steps above deli casual. I am sure number FOUR didn't blink an eye when they opened.

Mad Max - Of course it's a fair comparison if two or more restaurants make Caesar Salad, one will always be the best.

"You said they give you fresh, very large servings."

I wouldn't expect anything but top quality from a salad place or a restaurant.

"Very large servings"-----Of course they should for $ 55. pesos. That's a lot considering that lettuce is the cheapest item you can buy in a salad.

Look at it this way, you buy a bag of 3 hearts of Romaine for $ 24.0 pesos, that's 8 pesos per head. How many servings on a Caesar do they get, possibly 3, which is 2.7 pesos per Caesar. Add a little extra for the dressing and cheese shavings. A nice high profit at $ 55. pesos for the salad.

Ricki's Japanese & Thai restaurant has the best chef's salad in Ajijic. It's enough for 2. It has Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado and red onion in it. Only $ 44. pesos. It's deeelish.

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Guest Gringal

I'm cracking up at the picture shown of the formal setting. It will be freezing in Hades when a local restaurant puts that next to your plate. If you're lucky, you get the three essentials. If you're even luckier, you can hang on to the little bread plate before the waiters snatch it (and anything else you aren't hanging onto for dear life) during the course of the meal. The best method for avoiding this seems to be a well-aimed fork hovering over the extra plate along with constant alertness. :020:

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OMG! I've never seen anything like that in my life. And I'm trained to eat the at the table of the Queen of England.

So, I give in, I give up. I'll shred my lettuce so I don't have drool on my chin, and so I can continue to eat comfortably with just the fork.

And I'll have to agree (ouch) with Newinajijic: maybe we should just hope for the Caesar Salad "show", wherein one gets the wooden bowl on a stand, the egg, cracked pepper, anchovies, fresh parmesan, and flourish of the waiter as he tosses the whole thing at your table.

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Sirloin steak sandwich for 50 pesos, it is huge and good, a bargain but the guy serves very slow. He had taken our order after another table's and started their food and than after started ours, instead of cooking both at the same time. Well worth the wait, just be patient.

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Intercasa - Go to Tango between 12:30 - 1:30 PM ONLY, for lunch a few steps from your Law Office.

They have 3 different kinds of steak sandwiches with fries and a salad for $ 55. pesos. 14 total Lunch combos for $ 55. pesos. I had the Filet sandwich one day cooked medium rare. It melted in my mouth. mmm....deelish.

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Mad Max - Of course it's a fair comparison if two or more restaurants make Caesar Salad, one will always be the best.

"You said they give you fresh, very large servings."

I wouldn't expect anything but top quality from a salad place or a restaurant.

"Very large servings"-----Of course they should for $ 55. pesos. That's a lot considering that lettuce is the cheapest item you can buy in a salad.

Look at it this way, you buy a bag of 3 hearts of Romaine for $ 24.0 pesos, that's 8 pesos per head. How many servings on a Caesar do they get, possibly 3, which is 2.7 pesos per Caesar. Add a little extra for the dressing and cheese shavings. A nice high profit at $ 55. pesos for the salad.

Ricki's Japanese & Thai restaurant has the best chef's salad in Ajijic. It's enough for 2. It has Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado and red onion in it. Only $ 44. pesos. It's deeelish.

John I wish you would please open your own restaurant, and show all these locals how to really run a restaurant.

First are you going to be a one man operation or are you going to have employees, own your own facility or rent, have a plain decor or upscale, a modern kitchen or used and inferior equipment, purchase only the very best product or buy only the cheapest you can find, pay the hacienda ie taxes and Imss or avoid it, pray everyday the union dosen't drop by or pay them, cover every position in the restaurant yourself when one of your employees dosen't show up for work and finally deal with people that think that your making a fortune and that everything should be less and that water and ice don't cost you anything ie electricity, gas to cook and make hot water, soap to wash the dishes and cleaning supplies to keep the place clean.

So now to what set me off: you are right today you can buy 3 romaines for 24 pesos but it is going to be one very small salad if you are going to make 3 out of one romaine,are you using quality virgin olive oil and anchovies. Anchovies alone are going to cost 10 pesos per salad, I would guess that if California Salads is using quality products then his cost has to be at the minimum 30 pesos not to mention all the other intangibles I mentioned above, people asking for a glass of water and ice and does he give a complimentary starter, He has to sell a helluva lot of salads to make the kind of money you think he is making. Just for your information. 3 months ago onions were 13 pesos per kilo last week 42 pesos going to 50 pesos. All veggies have gone up exponentially since the rains washed out the crops around Mexico city earlier this year and now the agriculture industry here at lakeside is supplying them. Dosen't help the owner of the salad place only hurts him as if he raised his prices each week in relation to how much more he is paying for his basic product he would be run out of town on a rail. So, each week he just grins and bears it and takes a reduction in his standard of living. I say give the guy all the support you can and try to understand just how good we have it here for many of the fine eating places we have here. Sometime the skill and talent to critizise is not to.

Have a great day!

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Mad Max - Of course it's a fair comparison if two or more restaurants make Caesar Salad, one will always be the best.

"You said they give you fresh, very large servings."

I wouldn't expect anything but top quality from a salad place or a restaurant.

"Very large servings"-----Of course they should for $ 55. pesos. That's a lot considering that lettuce is the cheapest item you can buy in a salad.

Look at it this way, you buy a bag of 3 hearts of Romaine for $ 24.0 pesos, that's 8 pesos per head. How many servings on a Caesar do they get, possibly 3, which is 2.7 pesos per Caesar. Add a little extra for the dressing and cheese shavings. A nice high profit at $ 55. pesos for the salad.

Ricki's Japanese & Thai restaurant has the best chef's salad in Ajijic. It's enough for 2. It has Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado and red onion in it. Only $ 44. pesos. It's deeelish.

And I forgot to add - the freshly grilled chicken or beef that he adds to the salad.

Thank for the tip on Ricki's - but I am one of those that if I find a place I really like, I am happy giving them my business. And I do like California Salads. Even if their version of the Caesar salad is truly unique.

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Now that it's getting nice and warm.....big salad meals sound especially good to me. Went to California Salads (first time there, last time was brought to me as take-out).

For kicks and grins, I ordered the "Caesar" topped with arrachera/skirt steak depending on which menu you're looking at.

Absolutely huge and absolutely delicious and bore absolutely no resemblance to a Caesar Salad. (Apples and cucumbers and peppers, oh my. :lol: )

Who cares. It was great.

If you're fussy, go eat somewhere else (please). Otherwise, if you want a gigantic fresh and delicious salad (with salmon or shrimp or chicken or steak or meatless), this place is a keeper. Just roll the dice and eat.

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Guest Gringal

Now that it's getting nice and warm.....big salad meals sound especially good to me. Went to California Salads (first time there, last time was brought to me as take-out).

For kicks and grins, I ordered the "Caesar" topped with arrachera/skirt steak depending on which menu you're looking at.

Absolutely huge and absolutely delicious and bore absolutely no resemblance to a Caesar Salad. (Apples and cucumbers and peppers, oh my. :lol: )

Who cares. It was great.

If you're fussy, go eat somewhere else (please). Otherwise, if you want a gigantic fresh and delicious salad (with salmon or shrimp or chicken or steak or meatless), this place is a keeper. Just roll the dice and eat.

Hey, maybe that's the one they made for Julius' birthday! :020:

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