Caesar Salad - To do or not to do. That is the question
 

Cost me a couple of bucks earlier today but the benefit is that I get to tell the whole TOTV world about it. For background, a couple of weeks ago I ordered a 1/2 Caesar Salad at Palmer Legends. When I requested Anchovies on it the Server advised me that there was an additional charge of $.99. I said no problem. End of story, first part.

Today Cane Garden, a Villages owned Restaurant. I ordered a 1/2 Caesar Salad, menu price $3.99. Since Cane Garden is the only place I've ever been that tops Caesar Salad with Bacon, I requested no Bacon. Then I ask the server if I could get some Anchovies on it. Answer, " no problem".

Ate my lunch which was actually OK except that there was way too much dressing on the Caesar Salad. When the bill arrived it included an additional charge of $1.99 for Anchovies, all 4 of them. Since I knew you guys would ask, I sought out the Manager, a Gal named Laurie or Lauren or something like that. I was very polite as I explained the cost of the 4 Anchovies added to my bill was 1/2 the price of the salad. I further explained that I thought it would be proper for the server to advise that there was an additional charge for the Anchovies. In a not too pleasant tone I was advised by her that any item ordered at any restaurant that is not noted on the menu comes at additional cost. I explained that that was not true, even at her restaurant where their is no additional charge for a lemon in a coke of Mayo on a Burger. Her body language displayed her displeasure with me as I walked away, paid my bill with a 20% tip and decided to tell the world about this BS. I'm sure some of you will disagree with me about this, but then again, some of you always do. Those of you who don't try to find fault will benefit from the awareness that Cane Garden Management does this sort of stuff without requiring any prior warning from their servers.

Yup! That's sneaky and over-priced.
BTW, The Villages no longer owns Cane Garden Restaurant.

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Deltaguy, I agree that the server should have told you there would be an extra charge. And the manager should have been more understanding; she has a bad attitude. Too bad the owner doesn't know how she treats costomers. She should be fired if that's her standard way of reacting to complaints.

You should have asked if there was an extra charge for the anchovies.

At Luigino's in Spanish Springs, I once ordered a Caesar Salad with anchovies. I did not ask if there was an extra charge. The runner brought the Caesar Salad and there were no anchovies - but I still got charged $2.50 for them. The server went to the manager when I questioned him when the check came. The manager only agreed to take $1.25 off the check. I questioned the server about that when he came back with the manager's reply. The server (huffing) said that was the answer and to take it out of his tip if it was so important to me. I sure did.

I have not been back to Luigino's restaurant since that time. However, I do like their outdoor bar where it is Happy Hour from 11 am until closing. Lexi is an excellent bartender - and quite easy on the eyes, too!

wow isn't a whole tin the same price

I always thought Caesar Salad was normally served with anchovies. Kind of standard operating procedure. That's why I always make a point to tell the waiter to keep the dead fish.

Amazing, considering anchovies are the standard in a true Caesar salad. And a tin or little glass jar of anchovies costs little. Plus they store well, so this should not be a financial drain on a restaurant. Geeze. So if they are not the standard on the salad, the restaurant should definitely tell you there's an extra charge. And if they fail to do that, the proper thing for the resto to do is forgive the charge. Their bad.

If there's a way to contact the owner, I'd do it, if only to let him know how rude the manager is.

You should have asked if there was an extra charge for the anchovies.
You should have asked if there was an extra charge for the anchovies.

Hindsight is 20-20 vision. Not my responsibility to ask.

By the way, I also think Luigino's stinks but I wouldn't frequent their bar even for cheap HH drinks.

You should have gotten credit for the bacon that paid for the anchovies--like that would ever happen.

Just eat it all gone the way it is put on your plate and they will give you a balloon. ;)

agree you should have been informed of additional charge. not nice Cane Garden !!

When I go out to eat I always ask questions. I assume nothing. I am the consumer so I always ask.

Not that it matters but I do not believe a "real" Caesar salad contains anchovy fillets BUT "real" Caesar dressing starts with pulverized anchovy fillets!:icon_hungry:

Yes you are correct

I'm confused. Are you saying that the salad itself contains anchovy fillets plus the dressing contains pulerized anchovies?

From the recipes that I have made, I always added an anchovy in the mix.

So who owns it? And does this person own any other restaurants here?

Let me add. not on top. That is an additional preference by the consumer.

You are correct
 

Wendy....you are correct. See recipe below.

When I was a little kid, I LOVED anchovies. They appeared on all the antipasto plates (appetizers). Now, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. Anchovies are imported and can harbor botulism. They are just one of those foods I would avoid. But once upon a time, I loved them. I cannot see any of my grandkids even going near an anchovy today. We weren't fussy eaters back in the day.
p.s. Nor would I eat raw egg yolks now.

Authentic caesar salad dressing
Ingredients

1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovies
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Preparation

Add salt and pepper to the salad bowl. Using the back of a soup spoon, grind the garlic against the wall of the bowl until it becomes a paste. Then add the anchovies, and grind them into a paste. Follow the same procedure, adding the Dijon, egg yolk, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, 1 at a time. Toss with a couple of chopped heads of romaine. Serves 6 to 8.

This is the true way Caesar Salad is supposed to be made. Your recipe sounds similar to mine, which came from the Joy of cooking Cookbook. I used to make it this way, except used a whole egg which was coddled (imersed in very hot water for a bit).

Ideally the dressing it is made in a wooden bowl so the wood will pick up the aroma and flavor of the garlic and anchovies. Now my mouth is watering.

I asked that question at Cane Garden and was told that it was bought by the person or persons who had run it for the Morses for a long time. Brothers I think...not sure.

I can only say this. We have gone to eat there many, many, many times, it is one of my favorite places in TV. We went after the boys who worked in the kitchen were killed in the auto accident and we expressed our sympathy which was sadly and sincerely accepted by folks blinking back tears. I have NEVER had anyone speak to me impatiently. I have come there with big groups of golfers all hot and tired and some impatient. I have been there with folks with unusual dietary needs. I have been there with many posters on this forum. I am so surprised at this experience by the OP.

If my job was to be a server here in The Villages, I would be fired on the first day.

Something real "Fishy" about this post!!!!!!:a040::a040:

Irrespective of your prior wonderful experiences and the sympathy (which I share) for the loss of 4 young men, I have stated what happened to me yesterday exactly as it happened. I was treated curtly by the Manager and I was charged $1.99 for 4 little Anchovies, a charge that was never indicated by the server. Hopefully you did not intend to question the accuracy of my relating the incident as it happened.

No. Correctly, anchovies are blended into the dressing. The salad does not contain whole anchovies.

I agree with you. I am not doubting the OP; I am just surprised that this happened as they are usually so accommodating. Their meatloaf and the chicken portabella wrap are to die for!

I agree Gracie. We go to Cane Garden all the time with our Saturday golf group of 32 people. They are always gracious. I think it was server error not to point out the charge ahead of time, but live and learn. I wouldn't hold it against the restaurant as I think they do a great job.

I respectfully disagree. Not server error. Manager clearly indicated if it's not shown on the menu there is and extra charge. Her implication was that the server had no reason to indicate an extra charge as a matter of Management policy. If you don't think an undisclosed charge of $1.99 for 4 Anchovies is unacceptable, we will never agree that this was wrong!

Don't ever order Anchovies, Sardines, Capers, Olives, Pickles or any other stuff on the Wrap. If you do you might be upset about these outrageous and unadvertised charges too. Do you know, is the meatloaf all beef?

Do what most aggravated diners do and vote with your feet and never go back.

Absolutely not. I'm actually not aggravated, just upset that management is so unconscious. I golf there all the time. Just won't be stupid when ordering by assuming they will be fair and honest. The 1/2 Caesar Salad, with dressing on the side is OK. Just won't be foolish enough to order anchovies. Hey, taking the clue from other Villagers, I might just bring my own in a plastic bag. Oh yes, I have a cooler in my cart so they won't spoil.

I would suggest that any restaurant that calls a Caesar salad a Caesar salad without including anchovies is misleading the public. anchovies are ground into the salads along with a raw egg. Its like calling a Greek salad a Greek salad with Greek olives.

Usually a customer might tell the waiter to tell the chef not to add the raw egg but the anchovies are the main ingredient that gives the salad its taste.

This practice is disturbing and instead of charging the OP more for anchovies the restaurant ought to have reduced their price because they skipped the anchovies.

goodie an I don't like the restaurant charge post that's current. We're all over this.
If I ask for something extra and I want to know what the charge is I ask.
this is from Wikipedia which I trust as far as I can throw it if I don't need an academic answer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_salad
It says the original Caesar did not have anchovies. I never got one with anchovies, but if I knew you could,
I would be careful to get them and ask how much? And I'd order Caesar salad instead of thinking it's dull.

You do that!

um, what does your post mean?

My my...such drama when it comes to Caesar Salad!

FROM KITCHENPROJECT.COM

There are many claims as to who invented Caesar salad.

Caesar (Cesare) Cardini Caesar was born near Lago Maggiore, Italy, in 1896; he and his brother Alex emigrated to the U.S. after World War I. The Cardini's lived in San Diego but operated a restaurant in Tijuana to circumvent Prohibition.

Where was it Invented?

According to Caesar's daughter Rosa, on July 4th 1924 the salad was created on a busy weekend at Caesar's Restaurant. It is said that Caesar was short of supplies and didn't want to disappoint the customers so he concocted this salad with what was on hand. To add a flair to this he prepared it at the table. This story is not certifiable however but it very well could have happened. I can vouch for the fact that this happens frequently in the restaurant business. The salad soon became a hit and people came to the restaurant just to get the salad. In particular the Hollywood set loved Caesars

Some of Caesar's friends and family dispute this claim.

Paul Maggiora, a partner of the Cardini's, claimed to have tossed the first Caesar's salad in 1927 for American airmen from San Diego and called it "Aviator's Salad. Caesar's brother Alex had claimed to have developed the salad (he too allegedly called it "aviator's salad"). Livio Santini claimed he made the salad from a recipe of his mother, in the kitchen of Caesar's restaurant when he was 18 years old, in 1925, and that Caesar took the recipe from him.



Carla Cardini making Aviator salad for a class

The original name was the Aviator's Salad. Alex Cardini, my grandfather, was a pilot for the Italian Air Force during World War I before he moved to Tijuana to join my great-uncle Caesar. Remember,

it was Prohibition, and Tijuana was where people went to party. Caesar's Place, my great-uncle's bar and restaurant, was very popular. After a long night of drinking and missing curfew, a group of Rockwell Field Air Force pilots woke up at Caesar's, and what Alex made for them for breakfast that morning is what we know today as Caesar Salad. That day he called it the Aviator's Salad in honor of his flying buddies, but as the salad gained popularity with visitors from Southern California it evolved into the Caesar Salad. “Let's go to Caesar's and have that salad …”

Subsequently, when Alex Cardini moved to Mexico City, where he opened three restaurants, the salad was listed on his menu as "the original Alex Cardini Caesar salad."

raw egg? no one serves anything with raw egg anymore. including caesar salads.

If you coddle the egg it works!

Which is why you never get a true Caesar Salad anymore, and why they quit making it at the table. (Cracking the egg into the bowl and whisking it up would probably cause a riot.)

salmonella anyone? that is why there is no more raw egg! I did love it when they prepared the whole thing table-side.

Several comments:

Caesar Dressing requires the use of only the yolk of the egg. Properly done, the egg is coddled, (lightly or barely cooked) and then the yolk is whisked into the dressing. Addressing your health risk concern, the chances of contracting Salmonella from a coddled egg in Caesar dressing is 1 : 30,000.

This thread has gotten very far off track. My original post addressed the hidden charge of $1.99 for 4 crumby Anchovy filets at Cane Garden. Now we are into sharing Caesar Salad recipes and talking about health risks associated with eating raw eggs. Someone should monitor this stuff and not allow comments that have noting to do with the original subject of the Thread.