5 comments about The Brown Derby Restaurant: A Hollywood Legend.

1. A priceless photo collection of Hollywood Stars that have never been released or seen since the 1940's and 1950's. The photos are from the late Sally and Bob Cobb's personal photo collection and some photos were taken by Geroge Hurrell. The stories are captivating, heart warming and a part of Hollywood history that is a must for movie buffs and the novice a like. Clark Gable and Bob Cobb spent many years together, hunting and fishing. One night after the kitchen at the Durby was closed, Bob mixed a salad together made mostly from left overs. Since that night the famous salad has been referred to as the "Cobb Salad". The story that best describes the Cobbs is the one story about the WWII soldier..very touching! A great gift or a nice coffee table conversation item!



2. Anyone who is interested in old Hollywood must read this book.It is not only filled with pictures andrecipes, but nostalgia and history ofbygone days.Robert Cobb, not only owned the BrownDerby, but also owned a baseball team.The Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League was in existence from 1939to 1957. The Los Angeles Dodgers cameWest in 1958 and the Stars were gone.The book was co-written by Sally Cobb,widow of the owner. Her personal thoughts and love are written throughout this book. I personally ama collector of old menu's and a historian regarding the Pacific CoastLeague. I certainly was fascinated andwrapped up in the book.



3. I have a Brown Derby "LIVE AT CHARLEY BROWN'S" ink stamp in good condition from the legendary club.
   This item is circa the 1960's/1970's.
   Anyone interested in this item email me at rxeno@radiox.net.



4. Who today could know anything about the Brown Derby restaurant and not immediately recall what generated its legendary fame? Was it the food? The service? The décor? The clientele? Of course it's a given that all these were truly exceptional, yet none adequately explains how any Tom, Dick, or Harry from Kalamazoo would be so well acquainted with the name of this particular restaurant. After all, they were not patrons. For us non-celebrities, the Brown Derby probably entered our world through the hilarious exploits of Lucille Ball in the television situation comedy "I Love Lucy" in which she starred along with husband Desi Arnaz. Who can forget Lucy's attempts to be "discovered" by a studio executive, or to get a closer look at William Holden, at the Brown Derby?
   
   If you lived in greater Los Angeles at that time, you might have heard live KNX 1070 News Radio broadcasts at noon from the Brown Derby, and the question of the day would always be, "Tell us, George, who's at the Brown Derby today?" That was how Lucy knew which celebrities were at the Brown Derby. And, because Lucy knew, all of America knew: this Brown Derby restaurant was the stars' favorite gathering place.
   
   So, what's the point of this review? Simply the sad fact that "George," the maître d', radio announcer, friend of Robert Cobb, and the central figure to all the famous patrons at the Brown Derby restaurant, is no where to be seen in any of the multitude of celebrity photographs in the book. It had to be the most deliberative, vexing, and laborious part of Mrs. Cobb's work in producing this incomplete book to find enough photographs that somehow did not show a trace of Mr. George Aguilera among the celebrity patrons. It was no oversight. Word is that following Mr. Cobb's death, major differences arose between the Head Waiter and Mrs. Cobb as to business practices, and that Mr. Aguilera took an uncompromising stand in favor of maintaining the renowned level of quality, rather than to expand the tourist element, and in so doing, risk losing the exceptional level of service of which he was justifiably proud to offer his friends. This book is testament to the bitter parting of ways that resulted. How ironic then, that Mr. Aguilera's face, commonly seen on Brown Derby advertising billboards that said, "Go see George...," appears nowhere in this book of photographs. Nor will you find any evidence that the man who announced to the world the presence of his famous dining guests, his friends, was ever there himself. I rate this book as missing at least one star.



5. I have been intrigued with the idea of having a meal at The Brown Derby since the first time I saw Lucille Ball dump a plate of spaghetti (a classic Derby dish, as it turns out) on William Holden's head. Alas, the era of The Derby is long gone, but this book, Brown Derby Restaurant takes you on a journey back in time when stars table hopped and coveted having their famous faces caricatured to grace the walls of these distinctive restaurants. That's right, there wasn't just one "Derby" but many different versions of the original, which is something I did not know until I read this book. I'll let the next reader of this book discover for themselves all the different incarnations of "The Derby." That was quite interesting, because they were all so different from one another and completely different from the original. The photographs of the celebrity patrons are wonderful and its fun to see them out socializing and not in character.
   In the text recipes from the restaurants are included. I found these recipes to be quite ordinary and not very imaginative, but then you have to realize the era and the clientle. Just because Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy (Native Montanians), Carole Lombard, (Indiana), Clark Gable, (O-o-o-ohio!), and Robert Mitchum (Connecticut), were glamorous moviestars, in the end they were simple folk who probably just wanted a decent pork chop. At the Derby restaurants, they could do that. I wouldn't go out of my way to reinact any of these recipes unless I was babysitting a finicky toddler. All in all, this was a real page turner though and my husband enjoyed it as well.

3 comments about New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff.

1. I suppose the oxymoron in the title reflects Heimoff's inspiration, Great Winemakers of California: Conversations with Robert Benson (Interviews with 28 California Winemakers) (1977). And Heimoff's book is a wonderful modern day realization of that template.
   
   Heimoff is the West Coast editor for "Wine Enthusiast" magazine and the author of A Wine Journey along the Russian River, another excellent book on California wine.
   
   A few highlights: Dan Morgan Lee describes the benefits of using clones of Dijon 115, 667 and 777 with Wadenswil 2A, clone 12, clone 23 and Pommard, a little bit of geek talk, but Lee's personality and commitment shine through.
   
   Greg La Follette of De Loach Vineyards and Tandem Winery: "Vladimir Nabokov ... said, 'There is no art without science or fact without fancy,' [and] I'm a believer that the language of wine is actually the language of yeast biology, of vine physiology, of chemistry."
   
   Gina Gallo: "I sometimes think that being able to touch more people with your family's wines is a greater value than making the most iconic wine that only three people in the world can have."
   
   For anyone who likes oral history, this book contains a well edited collection of interviews with winemakers currently making wine. The California University system has been collecting these histories for a number of years; there is an excellent index available free and online through their website: lib.berkeley.edu/
   
   Eric Asimov fairly summarizes the joys of this book on his blog on "The New York Times": "Though he occasionally descends into the winespeak of Brix, malolactic and trellising, Mr. Heimoff stands back as his subjects reveal their industry and themselves. Some seem to be thoughtful and well-rounded, others are fun-loving and down to earth, and a few come across as rampaging egotists. Ego in the wine business? I'm shocked."
   
   Heimoff does provide a good glossary at the end of the book to help with any unfamiliar terms, but it's quite amazing how he captures the personality of each interviewee in a simple Q & A format.
   
   
   Robert C. Ross 2007 2008



2. Robert Benson's 1977 book that interviewed California winemakers was one of the most important wine books "early in the game", that is the 1970s when California wine was coming into the mainstream of respectability. Those of us who were trying to learn more really wanted to have "conversations with the winemakers" to understand how they achieved quality and greatness in their wines.
   I have been hoping for a modern version of Benson's book for 30 years now. So, congratulations to Steve for finally fulfilling this long-lived desire.
   Steve is a penetrating journalist in addition to being very readable. He avoids the cliches and all the cuteness, we see too much of in wine writing today. He goes for the facts as well as the feelings. Here he provides a book that can sit on your desk to be dipped into from time to time, particularly after you have enjoyed wine from one of the subject wine makers. There is almost too much information to absorb in one reading, but in my case I did it, as I could not stop learning more.But here is a book that will last as long as Benson's and will become an essential classic of California wine literature. Glad Steve seized the opportunity to reinvent this good book idea. No one else seemed to have the courage or the initiative.



3. What a fun and informative book! When one starts reading Heimoff's interviews, they seem a bit slight and unfocused. But as one builds up momentum through the collection, the picture changes. Taken together, the interviews shine a steady beam of light on current winemaking personalities and trends. Heimoff manages to ask numerous winemakers the same sorts of questions (e.g., "What do you make of the recent higher alcohol levels in California wines?"), and the answers are interesting to compare. What comes across in the portraits of the various winemakers is their many interconnections in the world of wine, and their unyielding commitment to quality.
   
   I have only two criticisms. First (not a major point), it would have been nice to include someone from the Santa Cruz mountains. Second, and more substantively, I wish Heimoff had avoided the subject of "cult wines." Do we really care if a tiny group of consumers can afford to pay $500 per bottle? No, we don't. The cult wine thing doesn't come up often in the book, but when it does the book takes on a pretension that is otherwise refreshingly absent.
   
   On the whole, though, a very enjoyable read. Heimoff deserves our thanks for opening up a new window on California wine.

2 comments about Tadich Grill: The Story of San Francisco's Oldest Restaurant, With Recipes.

1. If you have ever been to this old restaurant near the Financial District of San Francisco, you will like and appreciate this book. The SAS (steak & seafood) here is simply seasoned but very good to eat. The book's old pictures are fascinating. Try the recipes at home and impress your dinner guests. If you have some cooking skills, you will have few problems following the recipes. As Tony Bennett sang, " I left my heart in San Francisco.. or was it the Tadich Grill?" By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet



2. The description makes it sound as though this book is chock full of recipes from this very-old, very-beloved restaurant. But note carefully that it says 30 recipes. These are good recipes, without doubt. While I haven't tried them yet, they seem to be excellent instructions for the most old-standard of established San Francisco cooking, from sand dabs to cioppino. But 30 recipes isn't a lot, and you won't find anything very surprising. Get the best quality stuff and cook it simply -- that seems to be the Tadich Grill's key to success.

   More than making me want to cook, however, this book makes me want to hop on a plane to the coast and rush over to the restaurant. It's more a history of the Tadich Grill, in the context of the history of San Francisco -- a foodie's guide to the City. And in that regard it succeeds very well. If you're curious how San Francisco restaurants came to be dominated by Croats, or you're interested in the culture that creates such a long standing institution, you'll enjoy this book. I'm not sure whether it's worth a full-scale investment to put it on your shelf (I took the book out of the library), but it's certainly an enjoyable read.

   Now, let's see if there are any airline specials for San Francisco right now... I'm hungry!

3 comments about A Companion to California Wine: An Encyclopedia of Wine and Winemaking from the Mission Period to the Present.

1. I am the librarian at the Sonoma County Wine Library, and I have known Charles Sullivan for some years. His newest work will probably be THE one volume reference on California wine from now on. In concise and informative entries, Sullivan encompasses the whole of California's rich wine heritage. He covers all the varietals and most of the wineries A to Z. His writing is insightful, dispassionate and fluid, and his research is superb.



2. This lean volume is everything you'd want in a companion: Lively, intoxicating, and beautiful in appearance; her lean, supple prose swells provocatively beneath the sheer, black jacket that clings suggestively to this tight, curvaceaous body of work. But she is more than a sensual treat! Her wit, though not of the highest order, gives some delight as well and one would be proud to appear with this companion under one's arm even at a Mensa gathering.

   ....




3. The importance of Bo Simmond's praise for this book on Amazon can not be exaggerated; there is no better library of wine books in the United States. Sullivan himself has studied wine and its history in California for over 30 years. He has a clear and concise style, and his text is well documented and reliable.
   
   Sullivan has contributed his California wine history database to winefiles.org. It contains over 30,000 citations to primary sources in California's wine history, including books, newspapers, trade journals and other periodicals.
   
   In addition to "A Companion to California Wine', Sullivan is the author of:
   
   "Napa Wine: A History from Mission Days to Present";
   
   "WINES AND WINEMAKERS OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS" (Los Gatos: D. R. Bennion Trust, 1992);
   
   "Like Modern Edens: Winegrowing in Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains 1798-1981"; and
   
   "Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine" (California Studies in Food and Culture, 10).
   
   Sullivan continues to write about California wine, and has written over a hundred articles on the subject, which have been published in leading wine periodicals. "A Companion" is a great place to explore his work and California wine history in general.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008

5 comments about Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook.

1. Reading Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook is almost like taking a trip to this exceptional restaurant. The photographs and commemorative menus are stunning and the recipes are terrific, but it is the warm, generous personality of the staff, particularly Michael Wild that are expressed in the text that impresses me most of all. You'll want to share this treasure.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated this cookbook. It's a great cookbook for weekend chef's like myself who enjoy good food and entertaining good friends. I appreciated the way the author gave background on the locale and seasons the dishes were inspired from. I now know how to make paella :)



3. I have several criteria when looking for a book on food - and guess what? This one has it all and then some! First, it is an excellent, user friendly cookbook. No sticky-fingered turning of pages - all recipes are complete on facing pages. And it lies flat to preserve the spine. The photos are beautiful and mouth watering. Then ... the fun part. The writer, Adele Novelli Crady, has created great sidebars and editorials about the food, eating, and enjoyment of life in general. These alone make the book worth reading! A great book - make sure to also buy one for a best friend - like the great food, it is best shared.



4. The book is informative as well as easy reading and, even at age 82, I am interested in trying the recipes because they look and sound so good and emphasize fresh ingredients such as the fruits and vegetables (tomatoes, quince, figs, beets and fava beans) that we grow in our own Bay Area backyard.



5. I am not an advanced cook, and found most, if not all, of the recipes to be manageable. And the best part is that there are numerous pictures which will help you visualize the dish (important for plating). I compared this with my chez panisse book and found that I consulted the Bay Wolf recipe book again and again. I love Alice Waters and Chez Panisse but her book is just too hard to use (not enough photographs, recipes run over onto the next page, directions not clear or allow for multiple interpretations - very scary for a novice cook). I got the Bay Wolf recipe book from my Mother in Law and I love it! It is a great find and I highly recommend it. All the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket, so even though the end product may look exotic, the recipes are not too difficult. This book is very meat-driven (pork, fish, poultry), so I wouldn't get this for the vegetarian. Over all, though, well done! One of my favorite cookbooks to date.

4 comments about The Mansion on Turtle Creek Cookbook.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this cookbook chef fearing a grad of cia is a wonderfully talented and inventive chef who cuisine should not be missed when in dallas . If you can't go there personally he has given every detail on how to prepare his heavenly dishes at home



2. Best known as the executive chef of Dallas' Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dean Fearing soars above Texas and, indeed Southern Regional Cooking. This book is a must for anyone interested in the subtlties of taste combinations. While many of the ingredients are not easy to find in much of America's hinterland, those on either coast should have no problem in achieving Fearing's direction. Additionally, to those fearful of the small portions usually associated with today's fashion cuisine, Fearing's quantity of hearty food matches a True Texan's appitite.



3. For those who have dined at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, or for anyone who is deeply involved in the craft of gourmet cooking, this book is culinary heaven. The photographs of some of the dishes in the book are indeed fine art, and they entice the reader to make permanent residence in the kitchen studio, with spatula-paintbrush in hand, and mimic or alter at will the recipes in the book. Having cooked all the main dishes in the book, with varying degress of success, I can vouch for the idea that one must depart frequently from strict adherence to the recipes. Definitely try the creme brulee, but use a cooking torch instead of broiling. Can't find quail? Use Cornish hens instead of course.



4. Chef Fearing's food at The Mansion has been a legend for over 20 years, with fresh ingredients that look as good as they taste, with his use of generally local Texan ingredients.
   
   I've dined at The Mansion years ago, and would give it a true Michelin star for the service and quality then, and would only hope it earned two Michelin stars (out of 3) today.
   
   This cookbook is from 1987, and with it's easy to follow recipes, fairly easy to get (or substitute) ingredients, and few well chosen color pictures, I give it 5 Amazon stars today. (I like it much better than it's sequel that purports to mix Asian with Sowthwestern cuisine.)
   
   Recipes include: Chilled avocado soup with Tangerine-lime sorbet, Lobster and apple bisque, Southwest corn chowder. More involved recipes include fried oysters stuffed with crabmeat, stir-fried shrimp with spicy peanut sauce (16 ingredients, including brown veal demi-glace) and pineapple chutney (13 ingredients).
   
   I like the look of Oven baked chicken with maple pecan crust and pan sauce, roasted garlic potatoes, and cranberry-orange relish in sweet potato cups.
   
   He gives delicious tricks of the trade, with information on cold smoking of meats and vegetables, to give his flair and signature to some dishes.
   
   He gives instructions on making the brown veal stock, with pretty standard instructions that are clearly written, and his fish stock simmers for 20-25 minutes, also standard. Thus, one needn't buy prepared stock, or go to other books for recipes.
   
   His brining is different, intended for smoking game, meat and fish. It starts with fairly standard salt, onion, celery and carrot, and adds various herbs, chillies and white wine...this is a unique restaurant technique that works well for home smoking of food. (It's easy to adapt one's charcoal or even gas grill for smoking, as one does not need a dedicated smoker ...)
   
   Even Simon David, the upper end Dallas grocery store, is still in business for mail order of some ingredients, so do not worry if there's one choice ingredient missing.
   
   Make some Chocolate Jack Daniel's Ice Cream or Bradley Ogden's Molasses spice cake with lemon curd sauce (don't let the curd sauce boil on it's "medium heat"), look through the recipes, and cook up some great food!

2 comments about The Asparagus Festival Cookbook.

1. This book is really a value for its small size and small price. It was originally sold at the Stockton Asparagus Festival. The book contains many recipies from the Festival's Asparagus Food Alley as well as past winners in the ongoing recipe contast. Recipes range from soups, through main dishes, and on to breads and desserts. I highly recommend it for personal use or a small gift to the cook who has everything. If only it were 100 pages longer...I do love asparagus!!



2. I have owned this book since the second annual Asparagus Festival when I volunteered at a booth in Asparagus Alley. I am constantly being asked for recipes I make from the book. As a parent, it is also nice to have recipes for asparagus that my son will request.

3 comments about Joanne Weir's More Cooking in the Wine Country: 100 New Recipes for Living and Entertaining.

1. I started watching Ms. Weir's show on PBS during our long winters. After seeing the ease with which she prepares a meal I knew I had to have her book. Luckily I was able to immediately secure a copy and start cooking. What an adventure. My first meal was home made pasta and it was a major success. I can't wait to continue exploring this book.



2. I enjoyed watching the cooking show with Joanne Weir, and was very glad to find a used copy of her book. But.... if you live in an area of the country where gourmet items or fresh herbs and other ingredients are scarce you may never be able to duplicate many of the recipes without substitutions. This is a disappointment, and of course not the fault of the book.



3. I thoroughly enjoy all of Joanne Weir's books. She is very knowledgeable about Meditterrean cooking. Her recipes are original, come together very well and many of instructions for making in advance. I place her right up there with Patricia WElls.

5 comments about The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook.

1. A friend gave me this cookbook and it quickly became the source of some family favorites. I lost all of my cookbooks in a house fire in 2002 and this was the one cookbook I missed the most. My family LOVED the Lasagna pg.167 and the Chicken Enchiladas pg.215 and no one was happy with any other recipe I tried. I've already received the replacement I found on Amazon.com and I'm thrilled. For only 85 cents plus shipping my family and I are celebrating!



2. I use the California Cookbook at least once a month, mostly for recipes that are a little too West Coast-centric for Joy and the other oldies, but too old-fashioned or boring for Epicurious. Browsing through this collection of 650+ recipes from the paper's archives, it doesn't take long to stumble across dishes from one-time celebrities -- Mahalia Jackson, Lawrence Welk, Polly Bergen -- and popular restaurants of yore. (Remember The Velvet Turtle? The Hungry Tiger?) Each recipe has a little piece of marginalia that introduces its source, adding a bit of backstory and flair



3. As a mother of four daughters, I would call this a legacy cookbook. My personal favorites are the Ribs Diablo (to die for...sweet and just a little spicy), banana bread recipe, Chicken Dijonnaise...I could go on and on.) I have found copies of this at Orange County swap meets occasionally, and have given them all away. If you have a chance to get a copy of this cookbook, snatch it up. Nothing I have tried in this cookbook has ever been a disappointment.



4. I bought this because I wore out my old copy that I was given when I worked selling the Times door to door in my teens. I was able to check it out at the library from time to time but then it disappeared. What a relief to find it on [...]. I couldn't wait to get to those favorite recipes again! Some of them were so great I had them memorized like the recipe for turkey that I've used every Thanksgiving for the last twenty years, gaining the reputation of having the juciest turkey anyone's ever tasted. I love that some of the recipes came from famous restaurants or even celebrities. My family can now enjoy their old favorites again that I stopped making when my original cookbook fell apart and was lost.



5. This cookbook has some really great recipes. My new daughter-in-law is from California, and I am making a big hit finding recipes she is used to that appeal to our whole family, as well.

No comments about A History of Wine in America, Volume 2: From Prohibition to the Present.