Best restaurants for a Caesar salad in New York City 2012

The John Dory Oyster Bar

Seafood
Flatiron
price 2 of 4

This palace of maritime kitsch inside the Ace Hotel deals mostly in seafood and oysters, but chef April Bloomfield’s take on the Caesar salad ($9.50) is a worthy detour. Bitter escarole, tarted up with a lemony dressing, comes festooned with thin and silvery slices of pungent anchovy. A blitz of a finely ground croutons adds crunch to each verdant bite.

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Millesime

French
Flatiron
price 3 of 4

Photograph: Jay Cheshes

The Caesar grillée ($14) at this gorgeous hotel brasserie is a gutsy revision of the classic salad. Three hearts of romaine are lightly charred and served warm, spritzed with bracing lime and dusted in sharp Parmesan cheese. Instead of anchovies, the lettuce is draped with thin slices of smoked cod and crowned with lacy wafers of toasted baguette standing in for traditional croutons.

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Sacred Chow

Vegan
Greenwich Village
price 1 of 4

Photograph: Dominic Perri

This sparse Greenwich Village spot is a vegan mecca, but the pair of Caesar salad adaptations on the menu could fool any dairy obsessive. The traditional version ($8) is made with field greens in a tangy tofu-miso dressing topped with garlic croutons. Or go for the kale variation ($8), which offers garlic-kissed cubes of tofu served over a bed of the spicy-bitter green.

Centrico

Tribeca
price 2 of 4

Photograph: Dominic Perri

Since the Caesar originated in Tijuana, it makes sense that you’d find a version of the salad—called Ensalada Alex-César Cardini ($11) in homage to its creator—on the menu at this Mexican restaurant. Here, a bed of romaine is cloaked in a tangy Parmesan-and-pepper-spiked vinaigrette and crowned with garlicky croutons. Served in a wooden salad bowl, the mix is crisp, light and revitalizing.

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Pietro's

Photograph: Dominic Perri

With its tuxedo-clad waiters and formal white tablecloths, this midtown stalwart feels like it’s out of another era. The stodgy chophouse fare isn’t all that exciting, but the Caesar salad ($12) is still old-school perfection: Romaine is dressed to order in a mix of egg yolk, lemon, Parmesan, black pepper, garlic and finely chopped anchovy, then topped with garlicky croutons. Each bite is a rush of tingling spice and brine. Beware: You’ll be breathing fire for the rest of the day.

Pearl Oyster Bar

Seafood
West Village
price 2 of 4

Photograph: Paul Wagtouicz

The cultish Caesar ($9) at this West Village oyster bar comes by way of owner Rebecca Charles’s mother, who coaxed it out of a California chef 60 years ago. Juicy, crispy romaine leaves are sauced in coddled egg, a healthy dose of anchovy, a splash of lemon juice, good Parmigiano-Reggiano and a blast of garlic. English muffin croutons, baked at a low temperature until they’re as hard as biscotti, punctuate the mix.

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Five Leaves

American
Greenpoint
price 2 of 4

Photograph: Loren Wohl

The Caesar gets a modern makeover at this Greenpoint café-bar. A mountain of finely chopped raw black kale is massaged with a spicy Caesar vinaigrette made with hot sauce, garlic, aged Gouda and two kinds of anchovies: vinegar-brined white and oil-cured black. The hefty portion ($12) comes to the table topped with more shavings of that aged Gouda, plus sweet halved hazelnuts to add a pleasant crunch.

The Redhead

Soul and southern American
East Village
price 2 of 4

Photograph: Paul Wagtouicz

This brick-walled East Village gastropub applies a comfort-food sensibility to its take on the Caesar salad. The One-Eyed Caesar ($10) features a bed of romaine coated in a rich, creamy anchovy-infused dressing and wisps of Parmesan cheese. The greens are showered in crispy fried capers and crowned with a one-eyed Susan—a yolky egg fried into a hollowed-out slice of baguette.

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Aretsky’s Patroon

American
Midtown East
price 3 of 4

Photograph: Dominic Perri

Suits and finance types favor this opulent midtown restaurant during lunch. Nab a spot on the rooftop patio, where you can enjoy the Caesar ($15), prepared tableside, without all the ambient investment chatter. The salad is simple and refreshing: Crisp romaine in a creamy lemon-and-garlic-tinged dressing is sprinkled with sharp Parmesan and golden croutons. Though listed as traditional, the salad features no anchovy, but you can dress up your greens with grilled salmon for an additional $12.

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Il Buco

Italian
Noho
price 3 of 4

Photograph: Paul Wagtouicz

This copper-pot–embellished enoteca offers up an Italianate spin on the Caesar. The Cavolonero salad ($15)—named for the black kale that stands in for romaine in this riff—offers chewy greens doused in a lemon-and-anchovy dressing. Fat, crusty sourdough filone croutons add crunch, and a blizzard of just-shaved sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and fresh cracked pepper lends a funky bite. It’s hearty enough to be a light lunch.