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Where Are The Best Caesar Salads In Chicago?

By Anthony Todd in Food on Feb 5, 2013 6:40PM

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The Caesar at BellyQ. Photo by Huge Galdones/Serious Eats.

Caesar salad is one of those things that can send us into a long, obscure debate/rant. We love them, we order them all the time, and there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to do them. In fact, ordering a casear is a great way to figure out if a restaurant is taking itself seriously. Do they toss some glop on some browning lettuce or do they have an interesting, fresh take on the classic dish?

Serious Eats Chicago has rounded up 8 of their favorite caesars. We are totally in agreement on all the ones we've tried: The grilled caesar at GT Fish and Oyster is awesome, the celery caesar at Old Town Social has a unique crunch and the Kale Caesar at The Boarding House made us swoon. They also include salads from Masa Azul, Hot Chocolate, Bistronomic and more - check out the whole list.

We'd humbly add a couple. The Caesar with pickled onions at Lula Cafe has long been a favorite of ours, David Burke's tableside caesar captured our hearts a few months ago and, at the top of them all, the dearly departed Caesar from Bin 36. It's no longer on the menu (and Bin 36 is no longer on our menu all that often) but it remains the ideal that all other restaurants must shoot for.

If you're looking for a great home recipe, we've got two. First, watch Alton Brown cook through a classic Caesar below in one of the videos that inspired us to try it at home. Second, check out this amazing Kale Caesar from Tasting Table.

Do you have any favorites?