Comments on: Brown Derby, Los Angeles, 1949

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:10:54 +0000

I ate at the Brown Derby on Wilshire in 1963 with my parents on a Sunday afternoon. Admittedly, it was in the coffee shop alongside, and in back of the restaurant proper, but I can say that I had the experience of eating there as a 10 year-old. Think I had some kind of Creamed Chicken and Noodle dish. The “other” place in the area on Wilshire was the Original Ollie Hammond’s Steak House, which deserves more recognition and less obscurity

By: Leslie Belden

Leslie Belden — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:50:04 +0000

How wonderful to find this picture and the memories. I grew up in Hancock Park, and remember how excited I was to go the “real” Brown Derby. When I was a kid my parents would say we were going the Brown Derby, but sometimes I was disappointed to find that they meant the little one in Hollywood instead of the one in the hat. My grandfather used to come to stay at the Ambassador in the late 1940’s. That was when I first went to the the hat. Sometimes after church on Sunday we would go with friends either to Ollie Hammond’s or the Brown Derby. It was wonderful.

By: Eitan Alexander

Eitan Alexander — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:20:51 +0000

I grew up around the corner from here. My friend Monique’s mother was a waitress there. We used to play outside the restaurant, pretending we were in “The Land of the Giants,” which was a popular TV show at the time. I think I was only inside once, and it was talk to Monique’s mother, never dined there. Truly miss this building (don’t think I’ll ever get over the loss of this landmark), but the picture brings back a lot of wonderful memories.

By: Jessica Port

Jessica Port — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 03:07:15 +0000

My grandma always told me (and still does, thinking I haven’t heard it before) that we’re related to the owner of the Brown Derby, who invented the cobb salad. I thought it was kinda neat until I saw it played out on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Now I think nobody believes me.

By: Kevin's mom

Kevin's mom — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:59:57 +0000

I just received an email from Kevin, who is perpetually working past midnight. He included the link to your NPR interview at Clifton’s. Yes, I had Jello with the halibut…..two whole kinds. It was served on a lettuce leaf…Gawd, how fancy was that?? My friend and I were giggly teenage girls then and we sat near the waterfall. But that day we were so sophisticated, It’s easy to be sophisticated when your parents aren’t around.

By: Kevin's mom

Kevin's mom — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:15:50 +0000

When my family first moved to L.A. in the 50’s, I remember driving past the Brown Derby in our black 1951 Mercury and I begged my dad to stop. He replied that we weren’t rich enough or fancy enough to go there. Now that I think I’m rich enough and fancy enough, the bloomin’ place is gone. Thanks for your reference to Clifton’s cafeteria. The first time I went there I had halibut for the first time. Didn’t have a clue what a halibut was, but it was good!

By: Bob B.

Bob B. — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 02:06:30 +0000

The Brown Derby I most remember was the Hollywood Brown Derby located on Vine Street near Hollywood Blvd. I visited the Derby as a kid on my summer and Christmas breaks from school in the early 1970s because my parents had a store nearby. I only ate in the coffee shop but was able to peek into the Restaurant which seemed very nice. The regulars at the coffee shop in the 70’s was a red-haired waitress with an Irish accent who talked about her pet monkey, Hal Smith who played the town drunk on the Andy Griffith show (by the 70’s was playing the part of Pioneer Pete on adds for Pioneer Chicken), and Billy Curtis (High Plains Drifter). My Dad would have a lunch meeting in the Derby coffee shop with a client and I would usually have a club sandwich. It was a pleasant place and it too was eventually torn down after an earthquake and fire.

By: Jim D

Jim D — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 04:40:09 +0000

Hi Charles (and everyone else): When I first saw this Brown Derby
slide I immediately thought of the one that exists now in Florida at
Universal Studios in the public walking/shopping area that repre-
sents Beverly Hills/Hollywood from that era. It’s a full sized brown
derby just like the one in this slide however, I believe what is sold
inside the derby are hats, caps and the like, no food.
When I was a child here in Southern California I heard of “The
Famous Brown Derby” like everyone else and I asked my parents
several times to take us there. We never did go.
P.S. At the Disney MGM Studio theme park in Florida they have a Brown Derby restaurant (not the hat shape) but, a replica of one
of them (picture of real bldg. in waiting area) and this one serves excellent food! Good night and good luck

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:19:49 +0000

Not long ago my fiance and I were digging through his late mother’s hope chest and came across 2 menus and some napkins from the Brown Derby. His parents honeymooned in Hollywood back in 1960 and she had saved them obviously for the sentimental value but I’m sure they considered the Derby to be very glamorous and exciting! Coming from the San Jose area, maybe they hoped to see some movie stars? At any rate, it was wonderful for us to hold a little piece of Los Angeles nostalgia and imagine his parents staring starry-eyed at eachother over the lunch special. Thanks for keeping the memories alive!

By: missy kelliot

missy kelliot — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:14:15 +0000

i agree with judy…i’m still reeling from the chimp story!