Mexican Salad Recipe

Used to be Espiau's in Pomona

As a kid, our parents took us to Espiau's restaurant in Pomona, California on a regular basis. It was about a 30 minute drive from our home in the San Gabriel Valley, but so worth it. We didn't go there for the entrees or the hot cheese dip that my mother loved. No, we went there for the salad! Espiau's Mexican Salads are incredible. They're really quite simple, iceberg lettuce mix, a vinegar and oil based dressing topped with a lot of finely shredded mild jack cheese. But the tart dressing is one of a kind. In the 80's the Espiau's restaurant in Pomona closed, but fortunately it reappeared a short time later in the form of The Danson/Espiau's in Claremont, California. Shortly after my wife and I moved to Seattle in 1995, I began working on replicating the Mexican Salad dressing that we missed terribly. After years of experimentation with many scores of failed attempts. I think that we have come pretty darn close. Here it is:


Espiau's Style Mexican Salad Dressing

1 1/2 cups......Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup.........Vegetable Oil
6 tablespoons...Sugar
6 teaspoons.....Lawry's Season Salt
2 1/4 teaspoons.Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon....Finely ground black pepper

Apply the dressing liberally over an iceberg lettuce salad mix. Shake the dressing well as it is applied as it separates very quickly. You want all of the lettuce good and wet before topping the salad with a generous helping (heaps) of finely shredded mild jack cheese. Finding a mild jack is critical as it really sets the dressing off. Enjoy!!!