L.A.'s Legendary Restaurants by George Geary

Author:George Geary
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781595808011
Publisher: Santa Monica Press
Published: 2016-09-11T16:00:00+00:00

Servers dish out food at the Cock ’n Bull’s buffet table, 1941.

JACK MORGAN, A FORMER WRITER AT MGM, HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO OWN AN ENGLISH PUB AS A HAPPY REMINDER OF HIS DAYS AS A STUDENT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY. In the fall of 1937, his dream became a reality, and by 1968, the Cock ’n Bull reigned as the oldest restaurant on the Sunset Strip.

The Cock ’n Bull’s cozy interior displayed antiques and art that Morgan had collected during his travels. British Empire etchings and polished brass fixtures hung from the walls; pewter and porcelain sat on the tables. Mementoes of royalty, including a portrait of Queen Victoria, were placed throughout the pub, instead of the typical Hollywood celebrity photographs. A plaque also hung on the wall listing the names of deceased regulars, including actor Jack Webb. On the restaurant’s closing day, the plaque was marched down to Scandia (see page 173), which would become its new home.

The Cock ’n Bull was more of a private club than a restaurant. You would see the same people in the same booths on the same nights of the week, year after year. The menu was consistent as well, hardly changing at all over the years. Even the employees seemed to remain there forever. Ralph Olsen was a bartender at the Cock ’n Bull for fourteen years prior to becoming the pub’s manager. Chef Vivian Langford held her position for more than twenty-five years.

Errol Flynn, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, and Somerset Maugham were regulars around the bar, along with industry agents and deal-makers of the day. Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper often came to the Cock ’n Bull to observe its star patrons—what they ate, what they wore, what they said, and, of course, who they dined with. Hopper and her archrival, Louella Parsons, were the only members of the press allowed on the premises. One March night in 1938, Hopper was at the pub entertaining some friends from New York when she spotted a station wagon in front of the Cock ’n Bull packed with everything for a trip, including luggage strapped to the roof. Immediately, she knew exactly who was at the pub, eating dinner before leaving on a hunting trip: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Hopper commented in her column the next day that the two must have been fighting because Lombard was wearing a crazy hat, knowing full well that Gable hated her in hats like that. Further proof of the brouhaha, according to Hopper, was that Gable was overeating, since he usually watched his diet carefully.

The restaurant’s hearty British pub fare was served as a daily buffet: prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, beefsteak and kidney pie, roasted ham, curries, and duck. Friday was fish day. The buffet, which also featured salads, house-made pickled beets, and steamed zucchini, cost $2.50 for lunch and $6.00 for dinner. The Sunday brunch buffet also included eggs, ham, sausages, kippers, and bloaters for $3.25. The Cock ’n Bull also had a pastry

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