Best Caesar salad in Chicagoland?

Best and or favorite Caesar salad??

Can't say I've had any really memorable ceasar salads in Chicago, except one...and it's been 10+ years (maybe 15?). My stepdad, who passed away 8 years ago, belonged to the Chicago Yacht Club (and he probably stopped being a member at least 4 or 5 years before he passed).

They used to make and toss it table side, and that was always a treat. Their all-you-can-eat seafood buffet (I think it was on Wednesdays) was also pretty incredible: clams casino, oysters rockefeller, crab legs, bisque, (I think there was a gumbo)...they even took a shot at Sushi.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some items, but that was a rare lakeside treat.

I think there's a case to be made for Adorn, the restaurant in the Four Seasons. While not quite deconstructed, it is not a tossed salad; rather, it's a bunch of individual pieces of lettuce, uh, adorned with what I recall being shavings/flecks of anchovy and garlic breadcrumbs--really emphasizes tangy and briny flavors rather than just being an oil slick of wet salad greens.

Lula cafe.

Why I love it?

Lemon, crispy, crunchy leaves. Celery. Perfect croutons.

Shaggywillis wrote:Lula cafe.

[...] Celery.

Celery has no place in a caesar salad, just as balsamic has no place in a caprese salad. Those ingredients take away from the original intent of the salad.

David Burke's Primehouse used to have the best table-side caesar preparation in the city. It's been a couple years since I've had a good caesar in the city since most meals are now eaten at home these days.

I am partial to Hugo's Frog Bar no-frills perfect-ratio version with Grana Padano and a (just for me) obscene amount of bartender-cracked black pepper.

We regularly also pick up a giant catering greenhouse container at Costco which includes lemon wedges and separately bagged croutons for crispness. Add grilled or rotisserie chicken or lemon seitan and baby you got a stew going.

I probably most often have a Caesar at Buona Beef, including a cost-effective side salad with a generous tub of their house dressing I save for homemade salads, which has an extra sour and sharp cheese dimension, pretty craveable.

lodasi wrote:

Shaggywillis wrote:Lula cafe.

[...] Celery.

Celery has no place in a caesar salad, just as balsamic has no place in a caprese salad. Those ingredients take away from the original intent of the salad.

David Burke's Primehouse used to have the best table-side caesar preparation in the city. It's been a couple years since I've had a good caesar in the city since most meals are now eaten at home these days.

When I was discussing this thread with my wife, she also mentioned David Burke's. That was truly a memorable and exceptional take on the caesar.

I loves me some Lula (and some celery) but I also agree on the celery. Putting it in a caesar is heresy!

=R=

lodasi wrote:

Shaggywillis wrote:Lula cafe.

[...] Celery.

Celery has no place in a caesar salad, .

True dat. Venturing into Waldorf territory.

Fire and Wine in Glen Ellyn has a grilled ceasar salad that is good. I think Gia Mia Pizza in Wheaton, which is owned by the same people have it as well. Update: I checked. Fire and Wine has a grilled romaine salad that is similar to a ceasar. Its delicious. Gia Mia has a shredded ceasar. Both restaurants have delicious food and wood fired pizza.

Arvey’s (RIP) in Niles.

I had a very good chicken ceasar salad the other day at Little Gem Cafe in Oak Park on Marion street. The dressing tasted like house made and it had good chicken on it. The
chopped salads my family had were good also. They were very similar to Cobb salad.

Dave148 wrote:Arvey’s (RIP) in Niles.

OMG, I thought I was alone

Vital Information wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Arvey’s (RIP) in Niles.

OMG, I thought I was alone

Arvey’s was our go-to for many Saturday lunches after temple. George usually manned the helm making the salad in the dining room. His brother Tom was in the kitchen.

Dave148 wrote:

Vital Information wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Arvey’s (RIP) in Niles.

OMG, I thought I was alone

Arvey’s was our go-to for many Saturday lunches after temple. George usually manned the helm making the salad in the dining room. His brother Tom was in the kitchen.

Add the Roadhouse clan to the list of past Arvey's Caesar Salad lovers.

Buddy

It's been a few years but I always liked the Caesar at Di Pescara in Northbrook. It was more of a chopped salad and the croutons were crushed so they were sprinkled all over the salad rather than a handful of giant croutons. I would think it's still the same but I don't know.

Dave148 wrote:Arvey’s (RIP) in Niles.

What memories! We went to Arvey’s every other Sunday for dinner.