How Florida's Signature 1905 Salad Came To Be

There are many things one could say about the state of Florida, but "possessing a sense of restraint" is not necessarily among them. Alligators, plastic flamingos, everything about Miami — it's just a lot, all the time. So it may come as a surprise that one of the state's best-loved dishes is a sensible salad. Perhaps you haven't even heard of it before. But before you polish off your Cuban sandwich and your key lime pie (which is weirdly not Florida's state dessert), why not whet your appetite with a 1905 salad, which was invented in a Florida restaurant in the 1940s?

If you've never had it before, a 1905 salad is a tremendously flavorful salad made from a whole host of different ingredients. There's lettuce, of course, and tomatoes, but there are also olives, Swiss cheese, and cubed pieces of ham. It's all topped off by a delicious dressing made in part from garlic, vinegar, and olive oil, with a healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce. (Just make sure to avoid Heinz's.) It's not as heavy as, say, a Cobb salad, but there's still a whole lot going on — which is far from a bad thing when you're talking about something as tasty as this.

Despite the name, the 1905 salad is not actually as old as (quickly looks up things that happened in 1905) Ayn Rand or Einstein's theory of special relativity. The salad was actually first developed in the 1940s by a waiter named Tony Noriega. His original version had a few different ingredients that are no longer used (most notably celery), and was initially made just for him to satisfy his hunger after a long shift.

Although Tony Noriega went on to open his own restaurant (where he also served his salad, called "Tony Salad"), his creation was served in some form or another all across town, including by Columbia. It received its new (and more famous) name in the 1970s as part of a celebration of Columbia's 75th anniversary. (Never mind that, as it turns out, the restaurant actually opened in 1903 — in some places, you can get a 1905 salad without tomatoes by asking for a 1903 salad.)

If you want to give it a try, you can follow any number of recipes online, visit the Columbia in its several different locations (including one in the Tampa International Airport), or just check out other menus in southern Florida — you'll probably find it!