Chopped Salad (Le Dome)
Cobb Salad (Brown Derby)
Cold Cucumber Mint Soup (Scandia)
Cold Vichyssoise (Cyrano)
Creamy Tomato Soup (Zebra Room at the Town House of Lafayette Park)
Gazpacho with Sour Cream and Dill (Hamptons)
Lentil Soup with Roasted Pork (Pig ’n Whistle)
Leon Chopped Salad (La Scala)
Maude Salad (Chasen’s)
Onion Soup Fondue (Hamburger Hamlet)
Patty Melt (Tiny Naylor’s)
Spicy Corn Chowder (72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill)
The Town House Special (Zebra Room at the Town House of Lafayette Park)
DRESSINGS
1976 House Dressing (Taix)
Caesar Dressing (Scandia)
Curry Dressing (Scandia)
French Dressing (Brown Derby)
French Dressing (Scandia)
Leon Dressing (La Scala)
Mustard Mayonnaise Dressing (Bullocks Wilshire Tea Room)
Thousand Island Dressing (Tam O’Shanter)
Vinaigrette Dressing (Scandia)
BREADS
Buttermilk Biscuits (Clifton’s)
Garlic Butter Cheese Bread Loaves (Miceli’s)
Popovers (Bullocks Wilshire Tea Room)
Pumpernickel Toasts (Perino’s)
Roasted Garlic Bread (Florentine Gardens)
Sour Cream Biscuits (Brown Derby)
ENTRÉES
Beef Short Ribs with Brown Gravy (Cocoanut Grove)
The Best Meatballs (Florentine Gardens)
Braised Short Ribs (Musso & Frank Grill)
Chicken Piccata (Dan Tana’s)
Chicken Roulade (Ma Maison)
Chicken with Garlic (Spago Sunset)
Coq Au Vin (Taix)
Fillet of Sea Bass (Taix)
Fillet of Sole in White Wine with Mushrooms (Musso & Frank Grill)
French Toast Princess Anne (Ben Frank’s)
Goat Cheese Pizza (Spago Sunset)
Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Butter (Michael’s)
Hobo Steak (Chasen’s)
Indonesian Rack of Lamb (Trader Vic’s)
Lamb Shanks (Musso & Frank Grill)
Meat Loaf (72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill)
Mexican Lasagna (Lawry’s California Center)
Paprika Chicken (Brown Derby)
Party Brisket (Hamburger Hamlet)
Quiche à la Ma Maison (Ma Maison)
Roasted Tenderloin of Pork (Don the Beachcomber)
Roasted Wild Goose with Apricot Stuffing (Le Dome)
Spaghetti Bolognese (Perino’s)
Steamed Chicken and Vegetables with Wine Sauce (L’Orangerie)
Virginia Baked Ham with Cherry Sauce (Hollywood Palladium)
Welsh Rarebit (Cock ’n Bull)
Whitefish Italienne (Perino’s)
SAUCES
Brisket Broth (Hamburger Hamlet)
Brown Gravy (Cocoanut Grove)
Cherry Sauce (Hollywood Palladium)
Pungent Sauce (Hamburger Hamlet)
Salsa (Ma Maison)
Sauce Italienne (Perino’s)
Tomato Sauce (L’Ermitage)
White Wine Sauce (Musso & Frank Grill)
Wine Sauce (L’Orangerie)
SIDE DISHES
Apricot Stuffing (Le Dome)
Black Bean Salad (Lawry’s California Center)
Carrot Soufflé (Chasen’s)
Coleslaw with Peanuts (Tam O’Shanter)
Creamed Corn (Lawry’s California Center)
German Red Potato Salad (Hamptons)
La Jolla Potatoes (Chez Jay)
Zucchini Monterey (Clifton’s)
DESSERTS
1909 Brownie Sundae (C. C. Brown’s)
Bread Pudding (Cocoanut Grove)
Cappuccino Soufflé (L’Escoffier)
Charlie’s Freeze (Carlos ’n Charlie’s)
Chocolate Malt (Tiny Naylor’s)
Chocolate Mousse (L’Ermitage)
Coconut Cream Pie (Bullocks Wilshire Tea Room)
Cream Cheese Frosting (Clifton’s)
Cream Cheese Icing (Clifton’s)
Custard Lulu (Hamburger Hamlet)
Date Nut Loaf (Van de Kamp’s)
Heavenly Lemon Pie (Bullocks Wilshire Tea Room)
Holiday Fudge Brownies (Schwab’s Pharmacy)
Holiday Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae (Schwab’s Pharmacy)
Hot Fudge Sauce (Schwab’s Pharmacy)
Macadamia Tart (Spago Sunset)
Marshmallow Cream (C. C. Brown’s)
Milk Chocolate Sauce (C. C. Brown’s)
Pineapple Sheet Cake (Tick Tock Tea Room)
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Clifton’s)
Rice Custard (Clifton’s)
Strawberries Romanoff (Romanoff’s)
Vanilla Sauce (L’Ermitage)
Zucchini Cake (Clifton’s)
OUR FAMILY MOVED FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES WHEN I WAS A KID. My dad was a character actor, and we went where the work was. At the risk of dating myself—and this definitely will—there were great roles to be had for him on TV shows like Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare, Bewitched, The Twilight Zone, and many, many others. In the meantime, my mom also got a job, and my sisters and I went off to school, lost the New Yawk accent, and eased happily into the sunny rhythm of Southern California.
Later on, I also eased into my teen years, including the important milestone of “Sweet Sixteen.” I must have been a budding foodie even then, because to mark the occasion, the farthest thing from my mind was having a big fancy party with a gang of my friends. No, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: go to dinner with my dad and my best friend at Don the Beachcomber, already a Hollywood landmark that somehow seemed both glamorous and decadent. Rumor had it that there was also a rainstorm inside every so often. I just had to check it out.
So began my exploration of the “grown-ups’”