Vincent Price's Favorite Asparagus Dish Was From An Iconic NYC Spot
When two icons come together, you know you're getting something special, but with someone like Vincent Price, you might be surprised to realize that thing is a great asparagus recipe. Price is a legendary figure in American culture, an actor with suave looks and a memorable voice who became most famous for starring in early horror classics like "House of Wax," and "The Fly." Price was also a lover of great food. He and his wife Mary even published a massive 500-page tome of a cookbook in 1965 called "A Treasury of Great Recipes," which has endured as a classic in its own right and was republished in 2015.
The cookbook included some of Price's favorite dishes from restaurants around the world like La Boule d'Or in Paris or the L.A. Dodgers' famous Dodger Dog. Within that cookbook was a recipe for his favorite asparagus dish from the legendary Sardi's, which rivals the best NYC restaurants. Sardi's is on a short list of restaurants that's probably more known for its famous clientele than its food. Located on West 44th Street amid the famous Broadway theater district, it has been a favorite of both stage and screen actors for almost 100 years. It's perhaps best known for its tradition of lining the walls with caricatures of its memorable patrons from Paul Newman and Lucille Ball to modern stars like Hugh Jackman and Lupita Nyong'o. But, Price didn't go there for the drawings, he went for the asparagus.
Vincent Price loved the asparagus Milanese at Sardi's in New York
According to Price's recipe in the cookbook, one of his favorite meals when he was on Broadway was Sardi's asparagus Milanese, which he claimed he had never seen anywhere else. Price says he would pop in and get the dish (which topped asparagus with fried eggs) as a kind of brunch dish that was satisfying enough to carry him through his work that day.
As much as Price loved the dish, and as much as Sardi's probably did a great version of it, it's also a pretty simple recipe you can make yourself at home. Price's cookbook simply peels the asparagus and blanches it in boiling water until cooked through. Then, the asparagus is topped with a sauce of melted brown butter and grated parmesan cheese before being finished off with the two fried eggs.
It certainly sounds like a well-balanced meal, and given how straightforward the recipe is, it's kind of a surprise we don't see it more often. The only thing we might tell Price to add is a little squeeze of lemon or some zest. The dish doesn't appear to be on Sardi's menu anymore — this was the 1960s after all — but compared to a lot of other dishes from that era, this looks like a favorite that would stand the test of time, much like the work of Price himself.