Thousand Island Dressing

The origins of Thousand Island dressing are disputed. Some tales stem from the Waldorf Astoria in New York; others from Chicago’s Blackstone hotel. The most common version of the story credits Sophia LaLonde, a fisherman’s wife native to the Thousand Island region between New York and Canada. In the first decades of the 20th century, LaLonde reportedly served a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise, and chopped pickles over a salad for shore lunch. The names Russian dressing and Thousand Island are often used interchangeably. They start with the same ingredients, although foodlore has it that Russian dressing once contained caviar and aspic (jellied consomme). While Thousand Island commonly partners with iceberg, Russian dressing is schmeared on rye as part of the famed Reuben sandwich. Put it on a double stacked burger, and it becomes a condiment not unlike Special Sauce.