logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
43m 33s

Caesar Salad

Deb Perelman & J. Kenji López-Alt
About this episode

In this episode, Deb and Kenji stop being polite and start getting real. Turns out, they weren’t born with encyclopedic knowledge of food; before each recording session, they consult…Wikipedia. (Stars, they’re just like us.)

You may think of Caesar salad as the most ubiquitous of American salads. In fact, Caesar salad was invented in Mexico. However, it was invented by an American for Americans coming across the border to drink during Prohibition. Come to think of it, that may just be the most American thing ever. Also in this episode: the secret behind Worcestershire sauce and a hack for a quick Caesar dressing. Fax, no printer.


Up next
Jun 23
Mailbag Part 4
In their last episode before book-writing hiatus, Deb and Kenji take your questions, about truly satisfying turkey burgers, no recipe recipes, the correct order of operations for burger, fries, and shake at home, and more. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 
11m 39s
Jun 9
Burgers
Deb has fifteen recipes for meatballs on Smitten Kitchen, and exactly one for a meat burger. That does not mean Deb lacks for opinions about burgers, oh no no — she goes head to head with Mr. Burger Lab himself, who has published dozens of burger recipes and guides. Kenji and Deb ... Show More
39m 42s
May 26
Mailbag Part 3
When is it OK to yuck someone’s yum? Garlic and ginger hacks. How to turn your kid into a lifelong cook. Kenji and Deb answer your questions in another mailbag. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 
15m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.”On this episode, Dr. Junius Johnson and Fr. Wesley Walker sit down with Heidi Whi ... Show More
1h 17m
Sep 2024
499. The Roman Conquest of Britain: Julius Caesar’s Invasion (Part 1)
Julius Caesar saw the Britons as brutal savages. Yet the Romans romanticised their lack of civilisation, deeming them as untainted by Mediterranean luxury. In 55 BC, after sending scouts along the Kentish coast, Caesar launched an invasion of the island as part of his Gallic Wars ... Show More
50m 48s
Apr 2025
Les Romains vomissaient-ils vraiment entre les plats ?
C’est une image bien ancrée dans l’imaginaire collectif : celle du Romain repu, se faisant vomir entre deux plats gargantuesques pour continuer à festoyer. Mais est-ce vraiment historique… ou juste un mythe bien digéré ? Le cliché du "vomitorium"L’une des principales sources de c ... Show More
2m 15s
May 2022
The Automat: The Amazing Story of America's 5-Cent Cafeteria
Before McDonald’s or KFC, there was the Horn and Hardart Automat—a cafeteria-style restaurant where you could buy everything from creamed spinach to lemon meringue. This week, filmmaker Lisa Hurwitz tells us the story of the rise and fall of the Automat—with a little help from Me ... Show More
51 m
Jan 2021
Episode 68: A Tour of the U.S. through Barbecue
While you might think of McDonald's as America's best (or worst) culinary representative, the country's most distinctive food is found in the South and Midwest--barbecue. Originally inspired by native peoples' practices of cooking up whole animals over an open fire, it has evolve ... Show More
15m 46s
Aug 2024
484. The Food that Changed the World
The unexpected evolution of Italian food can serve as a tantalising doorway into some of the greatest moments of Italian history: from medieval monarchs, murdered popes, and the Renaissance, to secret societies, and Mussolini’s fascist propaganda. Yet the history of Italian food ... Show More
48m 33s
Jan 2021
Episode 69: Would most Americans like these foreign dishes?
Have you ever wondered what Americans thought of these foreign and not so foreign foods? Well I hone in on what most of us would think about these cultured foods. Some just sound gross! Some sound yummy! Get an inside scope of what we think of these foods so you won't get caught ... Show More
10m 25s
Dec 2024
Le Ketchup était-il vraiment un médicament ?
Le ketchup, ce condiment si familier aujourd’hui, a connu des débuts surprenants dans l’histoire de la médecine. Au XIXe siècle, il n’était pas seulement un accompagnement pour les frites ou les hamburgers, mais un remède médicinal censé traiter diverses affections. L’histoire co ... Show More
1m 53s
Jun 2024
Popeye Changed America, Part Two: Popeye Ain't Perfect
As Popeye's popularity continued to skyrocket through the Great Depression and the second World War, his pantheon of related characters only grew. And, spoiler: not all of the characters aged well. In the second part of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore how ... Show More
37m 10s