The Fourth of July, 1924: Caesar Cardini’s kitchen was nearly bare, and Americans had been crossing the border from San Diego all weekend into a city where Prohibition held no power, and by nightfall, the pantry was stripped. What remained were romaine, olive oil, a coddled egg, Worcestershire, Parmesan and a heel of bread, and then Cardini carried them into the dining room, tossed them tableside and turned a depleted kitchen into a performance. Few diners thought of it as Italian; few thought of it as Mexican either.
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