Thanks to Julius Caesar, we have leap year. Back in 45 B.C., he established it as part of his Julian calendar. In 1582, Pope Gregory XII fine-tuned it.

In tribute to the leap year and the extra day of February it brings us this week, I ate Caesar salads. The original salad - a mixture of romaine lettuce, croutons, garlic, parmesan, a few drops of Worcestershire, olive oil, lemon juice and a raw egg - is said to be the creation of another guy named Caesar. That would be Caesar Cardini, a restaurateur who lived in San Diego and operated a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico, and claimed to create the dish in the 1920s. The recipe has changed over the years. The raw egg, for instance, is gone.

The Desert Cafe

Address --1605 Sulgrave Ave.

Phone --410-367-5808

Hours --11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday

There was plentiful lettuce but little excitement in this 1/2 pound, $9.49 salad that had a tangy dressing and few pita croutons.

Know of a good carryout place? Let us hear about it. Write to rob.kasper@baltsun.com.