Recently, whenever my Dad’s friends are in town, we try to get together for a meal/catch-up. On Saturday, May 13th, we convened at the Enoteca Monza in D.D.O. Among other appetizers, a Caesar salad to share was ordered for the table.

For science’s sake, I also got a small one of my own.

• Serving sizes: Mine was perfect for an appetizer, and the sharing one looked ideal to share. Well done.
• Lettuce: Good mix of crunchy and leafy. (I realize that fork-whetting is an uncontrolled variable affecting lettuce pickupability… To ponder, in future.)
• Dressing: Good.
• Croutons: Good.
• THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Let this be considered a blanket consent, eternal and irrevocable, issued on this day in the 2,023rd year of the Common Era, to all Caesar salad preparers in all venues which I shall ever frequent, THAT THEY MAY USE THEIR SQUIRRELLY LITTLE HANDS, OR WHICHEVER TOOL DEEMED APPROPRIATE, TO CRUMBLE ANY PARMESAN EXTANT IN A SHEET WITH WHICH THEY INTEND TO GARNISH MY PORTION OF SALAD. (I did it myself, on this occasion — yes, full-squirrel mode.)

I realized at some point that I’d finished my Caesar salad, and had already forgotten it.