Lawry's Is Known For Its Iconic Seasoning And This Special Cut Of Beef
Of all of the spice blends found in a kitchen cabinet, one of the most common is Lawry's Seasoning, a multipurpose seasoning salt blend. Still bearing the design created in 1959, according to Discover Los Angeles, jars of Lawry's Seasoning look the same as they did when Grandma sprinkled it on steak or when Dad put it on the burgers.
Lawry's Seasoning contains salt, sugar, spices (turmeric and paprika), and onion, according to The Takeout, and was made famous by the restaurant of the same name. Lawry's opened in Beverly Hills in 1938, per Discover Los Angeles, and only had one entree on its menu. The spice blend bearing the restaurant's name was invented before it even opened. Lawry's restaurant owner Lawrence Frank first created the seasoning, called Seazn-all at the time, and used it as his earlier restaurant Tam O'Shanter, per Discover Los Angeles.
Through the years, Lawry's gained many fans, even President Richard Nixon, who would put it on his cottage cheese, according to The Takeout. Many other products have joined Lawry's Seasoning, which is now manufactured by McCormick, including a Mesquite with Lime Marinade, Fajitas Spices & Seasonings, and a variety of spice blends.ƒ
The meat behind the seasoning
The only entree that Lawry's sold when it opened was prime rib, which was carved table side for patrons (via Discover Los Angeles). The vision behind the prime rib was to recreate what founder Lawrence Frank would eat for his family Sunday dinner, according to the restaurant's website.
Sides of creamed spinach, a baked potato, and whipped cream horseradish were served with the entrée, which was brought to customers via a custom-made metal cart. To this day, employees are still trained at Lawry's to hand-carve the prime rib tableside, which takes six months of instruction, according to Discover Los Angeles. After the training is completed, the employee becomes a member of the Royal Order of Carvers and they are adorned with a special medal to show their status. Both the prime rib and its seasoning salt became so famous that people wanted to purchase Lawry's Seasoning for home use and it began to be sold in grocery stores in 1938. Up until 1993, prime rib remained the only entree on Lawry's menu, at which time lobster and fresh fin found a place along the beef, according to Discover Los Angeles.
Wanting to try Lawry's prime rib but not making it out to California any time soon? The restaurant now sells its famous prime rib online and will mail it frozen with all of the classic sides to your doorstep.