The vintage salad has endured all manner of permutations since its birth in the ’20s, but none as luxe, light and irreverent as the versions currently on Toronto menus By Emily Landau | Photography by Michael Graydon | Styling by Linsey Bell
<strong>Caesar Soldiers</strong><br /><br />
Breakfast at Marben brings a grilled sandwich made with Spanish flatbread, lemon-Parmesan cream, wild boar pancetta and compressed romaine alongside a duck eggshell filled with whipped yolk for dipping. (The pine fronds and wood chips are strictly decorative.) $9. <em>488 Wellington St. W., 416-979-1990.</em>
<strong>Hold the Anchovies</strong><br /><br />
Lavish ingredients elevate Canoe’s otherwise faithful salad: baby romaine, buttery brioche croutons, a light garlic emulsion and luscious hunks of maple-chili-marinated grilled eel in lieu of anchovies. $18. <em>66 Wellington St. W., 416-364-0054.</em><br />
<strong>Breakfast of Emperors</strong><br /><br />
For brunch, The Gabardine serves romaine hearts with rosemary-flecked croutons and brittle strips of double-smoked bacon. The runny yolk of a soft-boiled egg adds extra heft to the light garlic dressing. $11. <em>372 Bay St., 647-352-3211.</em>
<strong>Absurdly Complicated Caesar</strong><br /><br />
For Colborne Lane’s salad, briny pickled romaine sits in a pool of fresh-squeezed parsley juice and garlic milk (made from toasted garlic that’s cooked sous-vide with thyme and black pepper). It’s topped with crispy pork belly, crunchy rye croutons, a bit of roe for salty pop, and gauzy Parmesan tuille. $16. <em>45 Colborne St., 416-368-9009.</em>
<strong>Cheese Pairing</strong><br /><br />
Stock replaces the usual Parmesan with five-year-old Neapolitan provolone and springy grilled halloumi. They’re tossed with romaine, peppery du Puy lentils and shards of Red Fife toast. $16. <em>325 Bay St., 416-637-5550.</em>
<strong>Zen Garden</strong><br /><br />
Don Don Izakaya’s iteration tops a lemony romaine base with flower petals and delicate wisps of Parmesan. A hoop of puff pastry stands in for croutons and <br />
a poached duck egg releases a flood of yolky richness. $7.50. <em>130 Dundas St. W., 416-492-5292.</em>
<strong>Liquid Lunch</strong><br /><br />
Farmhouse Tavern turns the salad into a soup with Parmesan rind–infused broth, smoked trout, garlic croutons and crispy fried pigs’ ears. It’s garnished with two dressing-tipped romaine leaves for a hit of freshness. $10. <em>1627 Dupont St., 416-561-9114.</em>