Welcome To Beverly Hills California!

Beverly Hills, along with Hollywood, is known for classic restaurants frequented by some of entertainment’s biggest stars – in front of as well as behind the camera…and this restaurant has an iconic dish they’ve been serving for decades:

The Creation Of A “Non Messy” Celebrity Meal!

The famous “chopped salad” is shown in this classic shot in the middle of the table – oh yes, they are red leather banquettes as well! The dish was created at the La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills by the restaurateur Jean Leon in the 1950s. 

The salad was an off-menu item originally called the “gourmet salad” and contained the same ingredients, but in larger pieces. Celebrities found the large pieces messy and difficult to eat without a knife, so they requested a version that was easier to manage. So Leon instructed his Chefs to finely chop all the ingredients so that the salad could be eaten easily with a fork or spoon!

My wife Alex loves the salad and we get it every time we go there…So of course, I had to make it at home and here’s how it turned out!

First, here are the ingredients for the marinade / dressing that is a key part of the dish:

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 tbs red wine vinegar

2 tbs Dijon mustard

1 tbs honey ( I left this out but feel free to add some sweetness)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

15 oz chickpeas

Here is what you do next:

As you saw, combine all of the ingredients and mix well – then refrigerate your Chickpeas for later.

Next up, here are ingredients for the chopped salad:

1 small head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped

1 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped

4 oz salami slices, cut into small strips (I didn’t use these)

8 oz marinated artichoke hearts, halved (I didn’t use for this preparation)

½ cucumber finely diced

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced (we don’t use these)

1 cup finely diced tomato

1½ cups shredded mozzarella

1 avocado diced thin

Chop everything before you begin, then this happens:

In a large bowl, I added the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and avocado. 

Grab a small bowl and drop 1/4 of the chickpeas on the bottom. Top it with salad and pack it down tight. Then the fun part – watch what you do for serving – here’s the entire sequence:

I have done the “salad flip” many times but still am terrified doing it! But it turned out great!

As the video showed, I sprinkled the mozzarella over the top as well as basil, and it can be eaten with a fork or spoon – and the “dressing” comes from the marinated chickpeas, which for a beautiful dome on top!

the marinated chickpeas create a delicious “dressing” for the salad…you can always drizzle a bit more of the marinate over it as well…

La Scala is a Beverly Hills institution, so when you are ever in the 90210 zip code, stop by!

And since you are in Tinseltown, if you want to eat like a Movie Star, then you have to go to Hollywood’s oldest restaurant:

The 100+ year old Musso & Frank Grill is located on Hollywood Boulevard and is better than ever!

Terrific food and, oh wow, those Martinis…

Musso & Frank has fed Hollywood royalty for more than a century, and they are still going strong!

See my review here:

Sadly, some of the greats are now gone – I’ve shared stories about their history – like the legendary Romanoff’s in Beverly Hills:

Romanoff’s was THE hangout in Beverly Hills for the world’s biggest stars…here’s a look at their classic menu and more:

There is a new modern-day classic in Beverly Hills, and they serve a “Lemon Pizza!”

Click here to see why it’s even better than you imagine!

Finally, Chasen’s was also a Hollywood hangout:

Elizabeth Taylor loved Chasen’s Chili so much she had it flown to her weekly on location around the world when she was filming!

Click here for the recipe!

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