An imagined gathering
1968 · Dallas, Texas
Corbitt serves her famous Zodiac Room lunch to Beard and Claiborne, who have come to see what Texas is doing.
Corbitt is near the end of her long run at Neiman Marcus, and the Zodiac Room has become a Dallas institution. James Beard, who had been telling Americans for years that their own regional cooking was worth taking seriously, has come to see it for himself; Craig Claiborne has come from New York with a notebook.
The lunch is Corbitt's: popovers and poppy seed dressing, a frozen lemon soufflé, cheese wafers, and a crab dish that Claiborne approves of. Beard, who is not well, eats more than anyone expected. The conversation is about how a department store in Texas came to serve some of the best food in the country, and Corbitt is happy to explain.
Host: Helen Corbitt
James Beard — The dean of American cooking, in Texas to see the Zodiac Room for himself.
Craig Claiborne — New York Times food editor, always looking for a story worth printing.
Dessert
First course
This gathering is an editorial recreation grounded in the biographies of those present; it did not necessarily take place as described.