…the hideous “chop…chop…chop…” of a knife against a cutting board, and the ghastly scent of garlic powder… What horrors are taking place in the Midnight Kitchen of Doom?
It goes back to the origins of the Cobb. Basically, some Hollywood studio execs (friends with a popular restaurateur and his chef) were looking for some late-night munchies, the chef chucked what he had into a salad, and voila!
(Probably. As with most dishes, there’s some disagreement over the actual origin.)
I wonder how many of these origin stories are actually true. It seems I’ve heard this “late night guests arrive at restaurant, cook throws leftovers together and voila! a dish is born” story attributed to at least a dozen different dishes. I mean, yeah, it’s absolutely plausible, but I get suspicious when I hear the origin story applied to everything from Buffalo wings to Cobb salad to – I’m blanking, but I know there’s a bunch more.
I had to skip dinner, so my Midnight Kitchen of Doom just yielded two slices of four-cheese bread popped into the oven with two slices of Black Forest ham and one slice of Emmenthaler heated to the melting point, then topped with a scrambled egg and two thick slices of August tomato, a thick lashing of mayo, salt and pepper, then slammed together into a sandwich and consumed with a bourbon and soda.
The egg will give me heartburn about three AM, but it was worth it.
THERE’S a Chef’s Surprise for you.
You can still get the original at the Brown Derby. It’s delicious.
I once ordered cheese sticks (mozzarella sticks) at my regular bar. I was brought a piece of cheese cake. Also on the menu, but not served that day, was cheese steak.
I did this once. 7 courses. The waiter asked if any of us had food allergies. We were then served seven delicious courses.
…and we paid for the wine pairing too. I’m not a foodie and I certainly don’t know my wines. But wow…having the right drink with each course was pretty amazing. I remember one that we got to try before the food arrived, and it was too sweet for my taste. And then the course was served, and the wine was just perfect.
A family style meal with friends was a popular outing for us. Our favorite was at this little Italian place in a small town a short drive from Madison, WI.
The order was simple. “Hey Sal! Feed us. 12 of us today. About $x each.”
It was always a surprise, and always delicious.
A local taco stand does the 5th Amendment as a daily surprise special. Nice sign on the board saying no food allergies or picky eaters allowed.
I’ve never gotten anything bad that I wouldn’t finish, though I’ve gotten stuff I wouldn’t reorder.
Had everything from cajun sausage to tongue to steak fingers, potatoes, and gravy to what was essentially an orange chicken taco.
Never gotten it on the day they do calf fries though.
Growing up, there was a nice restaurant that my family frequented. It was one of several owned by a regionally well-known chef. One night, the waiter approached us and said “The chef is here tonight cooking. He’s trying out some new menu possibilities, and if you’re feeling adventurous, he will cook something unique for you.” We were all adventurous eaters, so we agreed. The waiter asked us if there was anything we were allergic to or simply wouldn’t eat, then took our order to the kitchen.
When our meal arrived, we received six courses and everything we were served was good.
So based on that experience, yes, I would definitely take a flyer on a chef’s surprise if the restaurant/chef’s reputation was good.
The culinary school at my university offers four-course lunches two or three times a semester, $25 per person, no menus announced ahead of time (although there’s usually a theme, like “local harvest,” or a specific ethnic cuisine). It’s pretty much always awesome. I would never think to ask someone to surprise me at a real restaurant, though.