Bullocks Tea Room, the Bombay Salad

This salad with its sweet, pink tinted poppy-seed dressing was a favorite with clients at the 1929 Art Deco Wilshire Store Tea Room. The store closed in the '90's and is now the home of the Southwest Law School. It's art deco decor has been preserved and the building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. This had been the most famous and expensive of the Bullocks stores, and had a clientel that included the rich and famous. The recipe had been published in the Los Angeles Times food section when the tea room was closed.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 salads

Ingredients

• 2  cups small shrimp
• 2  cups  crabmeat, in chunks
• 2  cups celery, thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup mayonnaise
• 2  teaspoons soy sauce
•  shredded lettuce (to line plates)

• POPPY-SEED DRESSING

• 1⁄2 cup  oil
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup vinegar, white
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3 -4  drops  red food coloring (optional)
• 1  tablespoon poppy seed

Directions

1. To make the dressing, set the poppy seeds aside and combine remaining dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth.
2. Turn dressing into a bowl, add the poppy seeds and mix.
3. Shred the lettuce and line 4 salad plates with the lettuce to make a base for the salad.
4. Gently, mix the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl and serve 1/4 of the salad over each of the 4 salad plates lined with shredded lettuce.
5. Serve the salad with the poppy seed dressing on the side.