The Caesar salad is ubiquitous, a standby for restaurants great and small, but not done correctly it can be the most inane and dull going. Too often the dressing is light and uninspired and I’m not a fan of huge lettuce leaves that can’t hold the sauce or, even worse, croutons that are so large they have to be cut. Accredited to Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who was working in Tijuana in the 1920s, the salad has since become a battleground over the correct way to make it—as well as the whole vs torn leaves debate traditionalists insist that anchovies are not part of the recipe, just the Worcestershire sauce.

Rigid orthodoxy can become tedious—things need to evolve and what’s wrong in having something the way you like it?—so chefs have taken the Caesar and run with it. Alice Waters is happy to add the anchovies as well as wine vinegar, while our own Gabriel Rucker has all sorts of ‘impurities’ in his, such as mustard and Tabasco. I’m in agreement with him that Gino’s serves the best Caesar in town: The portions are hefty and the dressing is robust and savory, with a tangy garlic flavor, the lettuce pieces are the right proportion to hold the dressing, while the croutons are mouth sized and wonderfully crunchy. It’s also served in cold bowls, which helps to keep the salad bright and lively. Just make sure everyone at the table is having it otherwise the bold garlic levels make it extremely antisocial. Gino’s, 8051 SE 13th, ginossellwood.com