I STILL LOVE LUCY

Who doesn’t remember watching Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel when they made their historic trip to Hollywood?  Or when Lucy and the Mertzes ate at The Brown Derby and humiliated herself in front of William Holden?  The background of that particular episode was as much a star as any of the actors.  It was Hollywood’s famed Brown Derby Restaurant, a celebrity luncheon hangout for some of the biggest and brightest stars.

  

 The Brown Derby became a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, but the first and most famous of these was shaped like a man's derby hat on Wilshire Boulevard. The chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson) in 1926.  The original restaurant at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard remains the most famous due to its distinctive shape. It stood across the street from the popular Hollywood hot spot the Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel. 

 It became the place to do deals and be seen.  Clark Gable proposed to Carole Lombard there. Rival gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper were regular patrons.

The Hollywood Brown Derby is the birthplace of the Cobb Salad, which was hastily arranged from leftovers by owner Bob Cobb for showman and theater owner Sid Grauman in 1937.

After the Hollywood Brown Derby was largely destroyed by fire in 1987, the restaurant was closed. Only a small fragment of its facade remained after a renovation in the early 1990s.

And now, the world famous Cobb Salad with the Brown Derby’s Original Old-Fashioned French Dressing!

The Original Brown Derby’s Cobb Salad

1/2 head of lettuce

1/2 bunch watercress

1 small bunch chicory

1/2 head romaine

2 medium tomatoes, peeled

2 breasts of boiled roasting chicken

6 strips crisp bacon

1 avocado

3 hard-cooked eggs

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1/2 cup crumbled imported Roquefort cheese

1 cup Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing

Cut finely lettuce, watercress, chicory and romaine and arrange in salad bowl.

Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds, dice finely, and arrange over top of chopped greens.

Dice breasts of chicken and arrange over top of chopped greens.

Chop bacon finely and sprinkle over the salad.

Cut avocado in small pieces and arrange around the edge of the salad.

Decorate the salad by sprinkling over the top the chopped eggs, chopped chives, and grated cheese.

Just before serving mix the salad thoroughly with French Dressing.

Brown Derby’s Old-Fashioned French Dressing

1 cup water

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon English mustard

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 cup olive oil

3 cups salad (vegetable) oil

Blend together all ingredients except oils.   Then add olive and salad oils and mix well again.   Chill.   Shake before serving.  This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator. Can be made and stored in a mason jar.