What Is a Cobb Salad and How Did It Get Its Name? - Balkan Restaurant & Hookah Bar in Miami Beach, FL | Rakija Lounge (2024)

Americans definitely know how to eat well, and the same goes for their own approach to salads. You might think that salads don’t have much to offer flavor-wise, but the Cobb salad that was invented in the US approximately 80-90 years ago is bound to change your mind.

What’s a Cobb Salad?

Cobb salad is not your typical salad side dish. No, this salad is served as a main dish. Namely, what makes this salad so special is the fact that, aside from tomatoes, salad greens, and other veggies, it also features the likes of avocado, Roquefort cheese, hard-boiled eggs as well as crisp bacon and chicken, be it grilled, roasted, or boiled.

There are different variations of this salad which involves using Stilton cheese instead of the Roquefort one (popular in the UK) or using pancetta instead of bacon, but the main ingredients and principles remain the same.

Why Is It Called Cobb Salad?

There are several different stories about this particular matter, but the most popular one tells about Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant and its signature dish around its opening in 1929. There are some differences in terms of who invented salad in the first place. Some people claim that the inventor was the restaurant’s chef Robert Kreis even though the salad got its name after the owner of the restaurant, Robert Cobb. On the other hand, some people believe that it was Cobb himself who came up with the Cobb salad almost a decade after the opening of the restaurant, in 1937.

What Makes a Salad a Cobb Salad?

In order for a salad to become the Cobb salad, it obviously has to contain certain ingredients and follow the rules of the making process.

Salad ingredients:

  • Half a lettuce head (about 4 cups)
  • 1 bunch of watercress
  • 1 smaller bunch of chicory
  • Half a romaine head
  • 2 peeled tomatoes
  • 6 strips of bacon
  • 2 breasts of boiled chicken
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs
  • 1 avocado
  • Half a cup of crumbled Roquefort cheese
  • 2 tbsp of chopped chives
  • Approximately 1 cup of Cobb salad dressing

Start by cutting the lettuce, romaine, chicory, and watercress finely and then arrange the pieces into a large salad bowl. Proceed to cut the tomatoes, chicken, bacon, avocado, and eggs into small pieces and arrange them on top of the greens. Then place the cheese in the strips of greens.

All that’s left to do is to top everything with chopped chives and remaining watercress for garnish. The Cobb salad dressing is added just before the serving.

What Is a Cobb Salad and How Did It Get Its Name? - Balkan Restaurant & Hookah Bar in Miami Beach, FL | Rakija Lounge (1)

What Kind of Dressing Goes on a Cobb Salad?

One of the most important ingredients in the Cobb salad is its dressing. The original dressing recipe is still widely used today in almost everyCobb salad restaurant.

Dressing ingredients for about 1.5 cups:

  • A quarter cup of water
  • A quarter cup of red wine vinegar
  • ¼ tsp of sugar
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • 2 tsp of salt
  • ¾ tsp of ground black pepper
  • ¾ tsp of Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ tsp of dry English mustard
  • 1 finely minced garlic clove
  • A quarter cup ofolive oil
  • ¾ cup of salad oil
  • 1/4 cup full-flavored olive oil

Start by blending all of the above ingredients well except the oils. Once the first set of ingredients is blended, proceed to add the oils and blend again well.

Voilà!

If you’re looking for a way to relax and enjoy some fine cuisine, you won’t regret paying us a visit at Rakija Lounge. We have a killer Cobb Salad, as well as other Balkan delicacies which you absolutely must try. If you’ve never been to our place, we’re confident that our Serbian Miami-located restaurant will soon become your go-to place, for both food and entertainment.

What Is a Cobb Salad and How Did It Get Its Name? - Balkan Restaurant & Hookah Bar in Miami Beach, FL | Rakija Lounge (2024)

FAQs

How did a Cobb salad get its name? ›

Various stories recount how the salad was invented. One says that it came about in 1937 at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish. It is named after the restaurant's owner, Robert Howard Cobb. Stories vary whether the salad was invented by Cobb or by his chef, Paul J.

What is a Cobb salad made of? ›

A Cobb salad is an American dish that consists of lettuce topped with bacon, chicken, boiled eggs, tomatoes, and other ingredients arranged in neat rows. It is traditionally served as a main course.

What makes a Cobb salad different from other salads? ›

Namely, what makes this salad so special is the fact that, aside from tomatoes, salad greens, and other veggies, it also features the likes of avocado, Roquefort cheese, hard-boiled eggs as well as crisp bacon and chicken, be it grilled, roasted, or boiled.

What is a Cobb? ›

cobb (plural cobbs) A sea-cob or gull. A pier made from cobblestones. A hand-basket, especially made from wicker. A building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe.

Did Jennifer Aniston eat Cobb salad? ›

Yup, that's right! She shared that the actual salad she ate every day was basically a spruced up protein Cobb salad with grilled chicken, turkey bacon, chickpeas and salami.

How did salad get its name? ›

"Salad, a term derived from the Latin sal (salt), which yielded the form salata, 'salted things' such as the raw vegetables eaen in classical times with a dressing of oil, vinegar or salt. The word turns up in Old French as salade and then in late 14th century English as salad or sallet."

Why is Cobb salad good for you? ›

It's loaded with protein thanks to the chicken, bacon, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. Light, Zippy Dressing. Because the cheese, avocado, and eggs add creaminess and richness, a buttermilk or blue cheese dressing is not necessary.

What is Chick Fil A Cobb salad made of? ›

Chick-fil-A® Nuggets, freshly breaded and pressure-cooked, sliced and served on a fresh bed of mixed greens, topped with roasted corn kernels, a blend of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, crumbled bacon, sliced hard-boiled egg and grape tomatoes.

What are the healthiest salads? ›

10 Nutrient-Dense Salad Recipes
  • Un-Cobb Salad.
  • Arugula Salad with Tomatoes, Corn, and Burrata.
  • Low-Carb Asian Chopped Salad.
  • Spicy Shrimp, Avocado, and Arugula Salad.
  • Tofu and Kale Salad.
  • Pear, Grape, and Feta Salad.
  • Mediterranean Chicken Salad.
  • Blood Orange and Quinoa Kale Salad.
Jul 20, 2021

What restaurant invented the Cobb salad? ›

The invention of the Cobb Salad is generally attributed to Robert Howard Cobb who co-owned The Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles. The year was 1937. The story goes that Cobb created the first Cobb Salad at the end of a long day after realizing he hadn't eaten for awhile.

What's in Wendy's cobb salad? ›

On the Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad, customers will enjoy our fresh-cooked Applewood Smoked Bacon, chopped tomatoes, grilled chicken, crispy fried onions, diced egg and creamy ranch dressing, all on top of Wendy's signature lettuce blend.

What are the 3 types of salad according to how you will serve it? ›

Appetizer salads – light, smaller-portion salads served as the first course of the meal. Side salads – to accompany the main course as a side dish; examples include potato salad and coleslaw. Main course salads – usually containing a portion of one or more high-protein foods, such as eggs, legumes, or cheese.

Why do they call it a Cobb salad? ›

The Cobb salad was born in the wee hours of a Hollywood, California, morning in 1937 at the Brown Derby restaurant. The owner, Bob Cobb, was ruffling through the kitchen's refrigerator, pulling out various remnants including lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, chives and avocado.

What are the traditional ingredients in a Cobb salad? ›

Season the tomatoes with salt. Add the Bibb and romaine lettuce to the serving bowl on top of the dressing. Arrange the bacon, hard-cooked eggs, chicken, avocados, tomatoes and blue cheese in rows on top of the lettuce. When ready to serve, toss the salad and season with salt and pepper.

What is a Cobb slang? ›

In British slang, "having a cob on" or "having a cob on with someone" means being in a bad mood or upset with someone. It's a colloquial way of saying that someone is annoyed, irritated, or angry.

Was the Cobb salad invented at the Drake Hotel? ›

Cobb salad

Robert Cobb, the famous San Francisco Brown Derby restaurant owner, created this salad in 1937 as a late-night snack by finely chopping leftovers from the restaurant kitchen's refrigerator. (It was not, as some claim, created at the Drake Hotel in Chicago…)

Who was Bob Cobb? ›

Between 1969 and 1984, Cobb edited more than 150 issues of Bassmaster — some swelling to more than 200 pages — as well as numerous how-to books and special magazine issues. His magazine so dominated the world of fishing journalism that Time Magazine labeled Bassmaster “the Bible of Bass Fishing.”

What salad is named after Julius Caesar? ›

The Caesar salad is often believed to have been created by Julius Caesar himself. But it wasn't. Caesar salad was invented in the early 1920s by Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef who owned a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico.

What lettuce is named after a Greek island? ›

“Romaine” is the American term for this long-leafed lettuce, also called “cos” lettuce because it is said to have originated on the Greek island of Cos (Kos) off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. This area is also the birthplace of the original physician Hippocrates.

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