"Meet Me At The Derby" - Part 1
On May 1st Hollywood Studios celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Though I had originally planned to be at DHS in time for the special anniversary parade, I decided that morning that I didn't feel like fighting the crowds. So instead I arrived at Hollywood Studios about an hour after the morning festivities. Initially, the stage in front of the hat was the only indication that this was anything other than the usual day at DHS.
To my surprise the park didn't seem particularly busy...or at least not on Hollywood Boulevard. I was then handed this flyer regarding the 25th Anniversary merchandise which was available for purchase...
Since I had some time to kill before my lunch ADR, I decided to check out the temporary shop which had been set up to sell this special merchandise. It was located between the Studio Backlot Tour building and Toy Story Mania...and it was there that I found the crowds!!! Yikes, the line to enter the building was way longer than I had time for. So I promptly did an about face and headed back toward...
I decided to try and check in about a half hour early for my 12:15 lunch reservation and when I entered the lobby I was surprised to discover that they had not opened the dining room and began seating yet. I thought I had read somewhere that they opened at 11:30 but apparently (on this day anyway) they did not open until 12:00. So to pass the time I walked around the lobby and took photos of some of the caricatures which line the walls. Many of these faces look familiar but I can only positively identify a few, so perhaps you can help me "Name the celebrity"??
Starting on the top row and going left to right: Row 1...???, Row 2 - a) Charlton Heston e) FDR, Row 3 - a) Andy Griffith? b) ? c) Bob Hope d) Bing Crosby e) Bob Hope
Row 1 - c) Mickey Rooney, Row 2 - e) Hedda Hopper, Row 3 - a) Johnny Carson d) Rin Tin Tin
Row 1 - c) Yul Brynner d) Sammy Davis Jr., Row 2 - c) Groucho Marx d) Bette Davis, Row 3 - b) Carol Channing
As you can see, I'm not very good at the "Name the Celebrity" game...hopefully you are better.
So anyway, soon it was time for the opening ceremony that they do each day at the Brown Derby. They choose someone who is celebrating a special occasion and make them the Celebrity of the Day. Donning a derby hat and a feather boa, the chosen couple (who I believe were celebrating their anniversary) cut the ribbon at the entrance to the dining room.
Then they began seating all of us regular people.
I was seated at a two-top table in the upper tier of the restaurant. Because I was wearing a Birthday button, a photographer came to the table and took my photo...
This birthday card, which included my photo, was later presented to me...
In addition to tables on the upper level, there were also booths along the wall and many more caricatures to look at...
Oh, and I loved the derby hat light fixtures...
And here is a photo of the main dining area of the restaurant which was on the lower level...
Ok, let's get started on the food and beverages, shall we?
Although they have an extensive cocktail list here, I decided to stick with Iced Tea, which was served with an abundance of lemon slices...
The bread service consisted of warm rolls that were pretty tasty and butter topped with sea salt...
Now for the first course...
I chose the Famous Cobb Salad, which first arrived at my table looking like this...
...but after a quick photo, the ingredients were mixed together by my server.
Appetizer portion of the Cobb Salad made with finely chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, egg, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives, and Cobb dressing. - $9.00
This was absolutely delicious! It was quite difficult to keep myself from eating all of this, but I wanted to save room for my entree plus I was determined to also have dessert.
Now there are many stories regarding the origin of the famous Cobb salad, but one of the most common is that the owner of the original Hollywood Brown Derby, Robert Cobb, was raiding the fridge at the restaurant late one night in order to put together a midnight snack for Sid Grauman (owner of the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater). He mixed together lettuce plus leftovers of bacon, egg, avocado, blue cheese, turkey, and whatever else he could find in the kitchen. The salad ingredients were chopped fine because Grauman had just had dental work done, and couldn't chew well. Grauman loved it and the salad became an overnight sensation.
- Continued in next post -
How's the October trip planning going? Are we still on for La Hacienda on the 27th? 
But we still love her! 
You will have to tell me which one you think is better. 
, and then quickly moved on to the next dessert. 
Hope you have a great stay!
Thanks for sharing the pic with us.
