When Don Draper and Bobbi Barrett meet for dinner at Sardi’s, Don orders for them both: steak tartare (see Sardi’s Steak Tartar) and a hearts of palm salad, another classic from Curtain Up at Sardi’s (1967), which still makes appearances on Sardi’s menu as a special from time to time.
Hearts of palm were once a high-end delicacy popular in the early 1900s at some of Florida’s more luxurious hotel restaurants. During the Great Depression, however, widespread consumption threatened to wipe out the state’s palmetto trees, also known as swamp cabbage, from which hearts of palm are harvested. Today, palmettos are grown as a cash crop and the hearts harvested when the trees reach a height of five feet. Only in Florida can you find fresh hearts of palm; elsewhere they are sold canned and packed in water.
FROM CURTAIN UP AT SARDI’S BY VINCENT SARDI, JR. (RANDOM HOUSE, 1957)
6 lettuce leaves
6 whole pieces canned hearts of palm, drained (about 21 ounces)
6 thin slices pimiento
6 sprigs watercress
4 tablespoons Vinaigrette Dressing (see recipe below)
Place lettuce flat on dish. Arrange hearts of palm in a row. Arrange pimiento slices across lettuce and decorate at side with watercress. Serve with Vinaigrette Dressing.
YIELD: 2 SERVINGS
1⁄2 dill pickle, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon capers, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped pimiento
1 teaspoon finely chopped hard-boiled egg white
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup olive oil
1⁄4 cup white vinegar
Place the finely chopped ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt and add olive oil. Stir thoroughly while adding vinegar. Keep in refrigerator. Always stir before using.
YIELD: ¾ CUP