The King Of Hollywood, Clark Gable, Actually Enjoyed Simple And Humble Meals The Most

Clark Gable, the Hollywood icon known for his 20th century roles in movies such as "Gone With the Wind" and "It Happened One Night," might have made good money from acting, but that doesn't mean he was always dining on fancy meals. Rather, the actor preferred to keep things simple at meal time, enjoying more modest meals such as easy baked beans and potato salad.

Gable died in 1960, but in 1934, his then-wife, Ria Gable, revealed that he wasn't a picky eater. "If you expect me to tell you that Clark likes truffles and caviar you are going to be disappointed," Ria said in a The Modern Hostess article (via Dear Mr. Gable). She went on to list her husband's favorite meals at each time of day. "Golden pancakes with little pig sausages for breakfast, stuffed pear salad and lots of sandwiches for luncheon, pot roast with rich brown gravy for dinner, followed by a great big homemade cake." Gable also preferred an onion sandwich for a late-night snack; they're traditionally made with onions, mayonnaise, and parsley on a roll, but he preferred mustard on his.

Even when Clark Gable was out to dinner, he still preferred relaxed, no-frills food. He was reportedly a fan of a once-popular buttered noodle dish from Romanoff's on Rodeo Drive. His favorite restaurant was reportedly the Brown Derby Restaurant in Los Angeles; rumor has it it's where he proposed to his first wife, Carole Lombard. His favorite meal there was corned beef hash, which is a simple breakfast dish made mostly from corned beef and potatoes. For dessert, it wasn't unusual to find him at Wil Wright's ice cream shop.

Though Gable wasn't known to cook his own meals, he did have one signature, simple recipe, which he called "hunter's breakfast." He made it when he caught his own doves, which he boiled and paired with macaroni, plus a sauce made from milk, flour, mushrooms, and sliced hard-boiled eggs. While the ingredients are a bit unusual today, Gable liked how easy the recipe was, and it clearly shows his lack of interest in overly fancy cuisine.