10 Of James Dean's Favorite Foods

James Dean, the 1950s Hollywood icon, made quite a splash with only a few major roles in the film industry. He became famous for his part in "Rebel Without a Cause," garnering a bad boy image and was known for his love of motorcycles, cars, and driving fast. He made such a strong impact in his short time on the big screen that much is still written about him nearly 70 years later.

Dean was born and raised in Indiana and later moved in with his aunt and uncle on their farm after he lost his mother at a young age. His aunt, Ortense Winslow, had a large recipe collection, and Dean grew up enjoying a range of homemade foods. The 1940s and 1950s were filled with comfort foods, and many of Dean's favorites were just that — foods that elicit warmth and are frequently enjoyed with friends and family. (Though we don't have evidence of Dean cooking himself, according to  "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean," he did have a special kitten formula recipe for his cat.)

Perhaps this favorite food should be renamed. If you're not familiar with the southern staple known as banana salad, you might envision James Dean munching on some sliced bananas tossed with leafy greens. And though some folks might serve banana salad on a bed of leaves, we're not talking about that kind of salad. This kind of banana salad — a specialty of his Aunt Ortense — is more apt to land at the end of your meal as a dessert rather than at the beginning as an appetizer.

The traditional Kentucky version of banana salad, also referred to as banana croquettes, has only a few simple ingredients, and those can vary. It's basically bananas rolled in a tangy dressing and then sprinkled with something crunchy that's also maybe sweet. Aunt Ortense's banana salad is sweeter and could be considered more like a classic banana pudding. But instead of sliced bananas and custard being layered with cookies, it's layered with crushed peanuts. We may never know, though, whether banana salad was one of Dean's favorites because of the ingredients or the sentiment of it being his aunt's recipe. Maybe it's both.

James Dean had a love for pizza, even if it was small pizzas made with English muffins, tomato sauce, and cheese, according to the cookbook "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean." He enjoyed salami as a topping for his mini muffin pizzas, though, for Dean, reveling in the saucy, cheesy, meat, and bread combination went beyond the pizza and toppings itself. He often shared his meals with friends, which probably combated the loneliness that Dean previously associated with acting. Food has a way of bringing people together and deepening relationships.

When Dean wasn't popping over to his friend's house for some mini English muffin pizzas, he was regularly visiting Villa Capri, a pizzeria located in Los Angeles that attracted the who's who of Hollywood. The pizzeria was popular for other stars like Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, and Joe DiMaggio. At that time, Italian foods like lasagna, pizza, and ravioli were just finding its way into mainstream American fare with the emergence of Italian immigrant eateries. Dean was among the first young generation to pull up a stool and grab a slice (or a cut of pizza, as referred to back then) for only 20 cents.

It's safe to say Hollywood star James Dean had an affinity for Italian food because it wasn't just pizza he chowed down when he wasn't on set. He regularly enjoyed eating spaghetti and meatballs, specifically from Jerry's Bar in New York.  The proprietor of the bar, Jerry Lucci, gave Dean cooking lessons on spaghetti and let Dean eat at the bar for free. The warm and welcoming environment was exactly what he was searching for, so he must have felt right at home in the Italian eatery.

But surely, the food must've tasted great, too. After all, Italians don't just have a love affair with food; they treat it like delicate art and present it with pride. Creating any type of Italian food requires attention and care for the ingredients. Making classic Italian meatballs to top your spaghetti isn't a difficult endeavor. Using oregano, Parmesan cheese, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and red wine (among other ingredients) to make Italian meatballs and sauce gives you a good idea of what Dean loved so much about spaghetti and meatballs.

There is clearly a theme of comfort foods and down-home cozy restaurants when it comes to James Deans' food preferences. And what's more comforting than a bowl of chili? Chili was reportedly an affordable yet delicious meal for Dean. It's unknown exactly where he would have ordered chili from, but given his favorite places to eat, there's a good chance he enjoyed a bowl of classic chili at Barney's Beanery in Hollywood. It advertises its "famous chili" as made with the original all-beef chili recipe that has remained unchanged since 1920. The beef chili is served with tortilla chips, multiple cheeses, onions, and sour cream.

Barney's Beanery is a family-style restaurant and bar where many Hollywood stars liked to gather back in the day. Dean, in his search for friendly faces and places, frequented this restaurant, which still serves up some of Dean's all-time favorite foods. It's no wonder Dean liked it there. But he also frequented Hamburger Hamlet, which also had chili on its menu, so it's entirely possible Dean taste-tested that chili, too.

Nothing says comfort and home like meatloaf. According to the cookbook "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean," Dean went home again and again to partake in his aunt's homemade meatloaf. Her meatloaf was a personal recipe and a simple, classic version, which included onions and tomatoes mixed right in with the ground meat and cracker and egg binder. The addition of the tomatoes helped keep the loaf moist while contributing a bit of flavor. Though there are seemingly endless variations of classic meatloaf, it typically involves a couple of pounds of beef (or a mix of beef and pork), a binder made with breadcrumbs or crushed crackers and egg, and seasoning.

Sometimes, meatloaf is topped with a sauce or glaze. Though Dean's aunt's recipe doesn't include a topping for her classic meatloaf, she did have a recipe for her ham loaf — which is also said to have been one of Dean's favorite foods. The ham loaf was topped with a sweet and spicy mix of flavors — brown sugar, cinnamon, mustard, and pineapple. A slightly different variation of meatloaf that Dean enjoyed was made with beer and raisins — a meatloaf created by the scriptwriter, Stewart Stern, for the "Rebel Without a Cause" cast to eat during read-throughs.

Whether it was out of his price range or not, steak was one of James Dean's favorite foods. The epitome of comfort and hearty sustenance, steak was a choice when he was doing well or if someone else was buying. Steakhouses were popular with the Hollywood crowd, including Musso and Frank's Grill and The Smoke House (which was situated across the street from the Warner Bros. Studio) — two of Dean's favorite restaurants to visit regularly. According to the cookbook "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean," Burl Ives usually bought Dean lunch at The Smoke House while they were filming.

We may not know Dean's favorite cut or how he liked his steak done, but Musso and Frank's Grill features a wide range of popular cuts, like filet mignon, New York strip, and ribeye. Or maybe Dean preferred a thick slice of prime rib. The Smoke House features cuts similar to Musso and Frank's but also offers a porterhouse and BBQ tri-tip. Whatever steak dish Dean picked from these restaurants ... he certainly ate well.

When he was feeling more adventurous, one of James Dean's favorite foods was leftover abalone salad sandwiches, according to the cookbook "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean." Let's be real here — we weren't sure what that meant. The word leftover had us puzzled. Was this a complete sandwich someone left in the refrigerator, or did this refer to cooked abalone leftover for the next day? Abalones are prized sea snails, usually eaten raw but may be lightly steamed or sauteed.

Since abalones absorb flavors well, they can be enjoyed in a simple salad that consists of various vegetables and a sweet and tangy marinade. Put that between two pieces of bread, toasted or not, and you've got a sandwich. Abalones can be canned, filleted, or kept whole, which allows for making a salad, and thus a sandwich, in various ways. So, it's hard to say exactly how Dean liked to enjoy leftover abalone salad sandwiches.

One of James Dean's more adventurous food favorites is vichyssoise, which is a little different than many of Dean's other top food choices. Vichyssoise is a soup but not a traditional comfort soup like tomato or chicken. It is a result of pureed potatoes and leeks that have been cooked and softened in cream or stock. The soup is a silky, smooth, thick chowder that can be served hot or cold, but potato leek soup is typically enjoyed after it has chilled in the fridge and the potato base thickens the blend.

Dean wasn't one to cook for himself, but it's likely he indulged in vichyssoise at one of the restaurants he liked to frequent. Of course, with the many friends he visited on a regular basis, it's also possible someone made it for him to share a meal.

A traditional country comfort, baked beans were another favorite of James Dean. According to the cookbook "Recipes for Rebels: In the Kitchen with James Dean," Dean's favorite baked beans were specifically from The Automat by Horn and Hardart. In 1912, The Automat was considered one of America's first fast food chains — a fast food cafeteria that was automated. You dropped your coin in the machine next to your food choice, opened the glass door that displayed the food you wanted, and you got fresh hot or cold food. Workers behind the machines immediately filled the slots with more food for the next customer.

The Automat's baked beans are a classic style that includes Great Northern beans, onion, bacon, and seasoning, such as brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, tomato juice, and apple cider vinegar. Though there are numerous ways to create slow-cooked baked beans, the concept throughout recipes is the same — simmer beans in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy sauce so that while the beans soften, they absorb all the flavors they're being cooked in. It creates a warm, hearty bowl of food with an enticing aroma filling the kitchen.

It's probably not a surprise that one beverage James Dean frequently drank was a cup of hot coffee. Much cheaper in the 1940s and 1950s, coffee wasn't the gourmet concoction it can be today. Back then, you ordered coffee hot and black, and sometimes cream and sugar came with it. Dean was known to hang out at Googie's Coffee Shop with friends after filming. The coffee shop was located near the Schwab's Pharmacy, where he was also seen frequently. In those days, pharmacies and drug stores offered refreshments like a cafe and even had seating available for customers.

Dean was often seen at the Cromwell Drugs in Rockefeller Center, as well, sitting in a booth and enjoying some "cheap coffee," according to the New York Daily News. While we may not know if he liked cream or sugar with his coffee, there's a good chance he drank it black since that was fairly customary at the time.