Cobb Salad

Cobb salad is a composed American salad — chopped lettuce topped with rows of grilled chicken, crisp bacon, hard-boiled egg, avocado, tomato and blue cheese, dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. It was created at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood in the 1930s, credited to owner Robert Cobb, and has stayed a fixture of American diners and lunch counters since.

What it really is

The base is chopped lettuce — usually a mix of romaine and iceberg, sometimes watercress or endive. Everything else is arranged on top in distinct rows, not tossed together: sliced grilled chicken breast, crumbled bacon, hard-boiled egg, avocado, diced tomato and crumbled blue cheese, classically Roquefort. A sharp red wine vinaigrette goes over the top, or on the side.

The rows are the point. A guest can see every component before the fork mixes them, and the salad is usually tossed at the table or in the kitchen just before serving, once the rows have done their job of showing off the ingredients.

How it's served

• Composed in rows, tossed just before eating.
• Cold, as a full lunch or light dinner on its own.
• With the vinaigrette on the side so the rows stay crisp until ordered.

How to write it on the menu

• Say the cheese — blue cheese or Roquefort changes the dish's sharpness.
• Note the dressing is a vinaigrette, not creamy, unless yours is.
• Flag egg and dairy; bacon and chicken make it neither vegetarian nor halal as written.