Elizabeth Taylor's Favorite Food Is An All-American Classic

Elizabeth Taylor's illustrious acting career began in 1942 with her first role at only 10 years old. Over the course of making 64 films, winning two Oscars, and becoming an outspoken AIDS activist and philanthropist, she lived her life in the public eye. Her most personal details were out there for all to see, from her private love affairs and eight marriages to the minutiae of her eating habits and diets. Thanks to this unfettered access, we know that Taylor's favorite food is one of the under-the-radar dishes that define American cuisine: fried chicken.

In her book, "Elizabeth Takes Off," she wrote, "I'm a lady who believes a good meal is up there with priceless art." As such, her typical dinner would entail such pleasures as crispy fried chicken with mashed potatoes, cornbread, biscuits and gravy, green peas, and trifle. These and more of Taylor's dining proclivities are detailed in the book "It's All About the Dress" by fashion designer Vicky Tiel. The book also mentions that Taylor loved hosting "eating marathons often lasting three to four hours" for her friends, who included luminaries such as Rudolph Valentino, Yul Brynner, Maria Callas, Gianni Bulgari, Tom Jones, and Gore Vidal.

One of Taylor's favorite places to dine and hobnob was the Polo Lounge at the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, where she stayed on more than one honeymoon. Her go-to order there was fried chicken and mashed potatoes "drenched" in gravy (via Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce).

Musician Lionel Richie shared a story with ABC News about the time Taylor and actor George Hamilton invited themselves to dinner at his house. When Richie asked her what he should serve them, she told him to phone Maurice's Snack 'N Chat and "Tell them to bring me my usual." As it turns out, her usual was what the Los Angeles soul food restaurant was famous for — fried chicken with collard greens, candied yams, cornbread, and mac and cheese.

Maurice Prince ran the Snack 'N Chat for 26 years until it closed in 2004. Her famous fried chicken recipe always remained a secret, but she told the L.A. Times it wasn't greasy because she didn't deep fry it, but rather cooked it in an iron skillet. Taylor, so fond of the eatery, was even said to have been found in the restaurant's kitchen once eating straight from a pot. Caught red-handed, the actress conspiratorially remarked, "You didn't see that."

In 1978, Taylor ran into far more serious trouble due to her love of fried chicken. While dining at a restaurant with her then-husband, Senator John W. Warner, Taylor unintentionally ate a piece of bone that got stuck in her throat. Choking on the obstruction and unable to breathe, she was rushed to the hospital. The bone had lodged in her esophagus and a tube had to be inserted to push it down. Thankfully, the incident didn't cause any permanent damage, and she recovered.

Taylor also had quite a hankering for chili. Specifically, she adored the chili from Chasen's, another iconic L.A. restaurant that was located on the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood border. During the filming of "Cleopatra," Taylor's craving for the restaurant's chili was so intense that she had it mailed to her ... all the way over in Rome. According to Soy Yummy, she requested that 10 quarts of chili be sent to her, for which she had to pay $200 to ship. Considering that she had just signed the first-ever million-dollar film contract, the price was apparently no object.

Taylor can also be credited, along with Rock Hudson, for having invented the chocolate martini. The duo mixed up the drink while working on the film "Giant" using vodka, Kahlua, and Hershey's chocolate syrup. Coincidentally, the key to making extra crispy fried chicken at home is vodka in the batter.

In the late '70s, drugs, alcohol, and food addiction had caught up with Taylor, and in 1983 she entered the Betty Ford Center for rehabilitation. By 1988, she released "Elizabeth Takes Off," part memoir, part weight loss cookbook. Along with the calorie-conscious recipes, the book espoused what Taylor dubbed as a day to "pig out" where going off the diet once a week was allowed. For this day, Taylor told the New York Times that she opted for chocolate cake, among other things, and of course, fried chicken.