Generations before Entertainment Tonight and TMZ, fans of the big and little screen longed to capture the Hollywood glamour of their favorite stars, most notably where they liked to eat and play. Hollywood lore has it that Elizabeth Taylor had chili from Chasen’s flown to the set of Cleopatra in Rome; Howard Hughes and Errol Flynn were regulars at The Coconut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel, and Shirley Temple enjoyed ice cream at the Pig ‘n Whistle.
From Trader Vic’s to Perino’s, there are stories to tell and food to talk about. Best-selling cookbook author and chef, George Geary, takes readers on a journey to where the rich and famous ate in the golden age of Hollywood in his new book, L.A.’S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS (Santa Monica Press/October 2016), an illustrated history Los Angeles’ landmark eateries. The book features over 100 celebrity favorite recipes, from classic eateries such as the Musso & Frank Grill and The Brown Derby in the 1920s, to the see-and-be-seen crowds at Chasen’s, Romanoff’s, and Ciro’s in the mid-twentieth century, to the dawn of California, chef-inspired restaurants Ma Maison and Spago. L.A.’S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS is a celebration of where Hollywood royalty ate, drank, and played.
Geary gives us an insider’s tour of Hollywood through its restaurants, sprinkling in fun facts and trivia such as Bob Hope’s favorite place to enjoy a hot fudge sundae after hosting the Academy Awards, or where a table was sawed off to accommodate a pregnant Lana Turner, to the soda fountain where composer Harold Arlen wrote "Over the Rainbow" for The Wizard of Oz. And what book on L.A.’s restaurants would be complete without tales of ice cream sundaes at C.C. Brown’s, cafeteria-style meals at Clifton’s Cafeteria, late-night breakfasts at Ben Frank’s, or mai tais at Don the Beachcomber?
Some of the restaurants Geary has featured include: Van de Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakery, Formosa Café, Tick Tock Tea Room, Miceli’s, Coconut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel, Cyrano, Chez Jay, Hamptons, L’Orangerie, Tam O’Shanter Inn, Bullock’s Wilshire Tea Room, Zebra Room at the Town House of Lafayette Park, Don the Beachcomber, Cock ‘n Bull, Hollywood Palladium, Scandia, La Scala, Trader Vic’s at the Beverly Hilton, Dan Tana’s, Le Dome, and many more. L.A.’S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS provides an interesting history of each restaurant profiled, from their original address and phone number to who designed it and a few of their famous recipes. Here are just a few of the over 100 iconic recipes included in the book:
Crab Crepes Bengal – Trader Vic’s
Crabmeat Cocktail – Ciro’s
Cobb Salad – The Brown Derby
Maude Salad – Chasen’s
Braised Short Ribs – Musso & Frank Grill
Coq Au Vin – Taix French Restaurant
Quiche a la Ma Maison – Ma Maison
Spaghetti Bolognese – Perinos
Roasted Wild Goose with Apricot Stuffing – Le Dome
Roasted Tenderloin of Pork – Don the Beachcomber
1909 Brownie Sundae – C.C. Brown’s
Cappuccino Souffle – L’Escoffier
Coconut Cream Pie – Bullock’s Wilshire Tea Room
Macadamia Tart – Spago Sunset
There are also some classic cocktail recipes such as:
The Mike Romanoff – Romanoff’s
Irish Coffee – Chez Jay
Moscow Mule – Cock ‘n Bull
Spanish Martini – Carlos ‘n Charlie’s
The Zombie – Don the Beachcomber
Most of the locations chronicled in L.A.’S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS no longer exist, but George Geary has brought their memories and tastes back to life with updated recipes that remind us why customers kept coming back to their favorite haunts time and again.
"George Geary’s book is a retrospective sublimely rich in history and flavor. It is a testament to L.A.’s diverse
cornucopia of cuisine."
Suzanne Tracht, executive chef and owner of Jar
George Geary is an award-winning chef, best-selling author, and renowned educator. A former pastry chef for the Walt Disney Company, Geary is a Certified Culinary Professional and was recently named Culinary Educator of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). He is perhaps best known for creating all the cheesecakes used on The Golden Girls television series and other top-rated television shows. George has worked as a casting judge and critic for ABC’s The Taste with Anthony Bourdain, The American Baking Competition with Jeff Foxworthy, Hell’s Kitchen, Supermarket Superstar, and many other popular cooking shows. He also teaches popular cooking classes aboard Holland America Line’s cruise ships as well as cooking schools across the country. George is the author of nine cookbooks including The Cheesecake Bible, The Complete Baking Cookbook, and 125 Best Cheesecake Recipes. George is a regular on San Diego Living on the CW Network. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Recreate these Hollywood favorites in your own kitchen.
Recipe reprinted with permision:
L.A.’S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS by George Geary
Santa Monica Press / October 2016
Photos courtesy of Marc Wanamaker/Bison Archives
Lentil Soup with Roasted Pork – Pig ‘n Whistle
Serves 8
This hearty broth was the Pig ‘n Whistle’s signature soup, selling for just five cents a bowl. Lentils were inexpensive, and the pork added a lot of flavor without the high cost.
8 strips Applewood-smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
46 oz. chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 ½ tbsp. red wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a Dutch oven (or other 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid) cook the bacon over medium-low heat until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tbsp. of the fat.
Add the onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add the lentils, thyme, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes, added more water if needed.
Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Hobo Steak – Chasen’s
Serves 2
Dave Chasen developed this unusual treatment for New York steak, which produces a rich, tender, and memorable dish.
1 large New York steak, cut 3 inches thick
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pieces Applewood-smoked bacon
1 cup sea salt
2 tbsp. water
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 lb. loaf sourdough French bread, sliced ¼ inch thick and toasted
Season the steak with pepper. Wrap the sides with the bacon and secure with kitchen string. Place in a baking pan.
In a bowl, combine salt and water to make a paste. Mound about three-fourths of the mixture on top of the steak, covering the meat completely. Place the steak under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the salt crust; try to keep it in one piece. Turn the steak over and place the crust on top. (if the crust breaks, mend it with the remaining one-fourth of the salt mixture.) Broil the steak again for another 8 to 10 minutes; the salt crust will become dark and dry-looking.
Discard the bacon and the salt crust. Let the meat stand for 15 minutes, then slice on the diagonal.
In a large skillet, melt the butter until foamy and lightly browned. Place a few pieces of the meat in the butter and cook to desired doneness, about 1 minute on each side. Place each slice of meat on a piece of toast and spoon some of the hot butter over it.
