By Bruce Neyers

Thursday 13th February, 2025

Lunch with Gypsy Rose Lee – A Short but Important Yarn

Like most people with a computer and an email account, I’m exposed every day to news of all types, but it’s amusing how I’ve been showered lately by reports on the upcoming Broadway revival of ‘Gypsy’, the 1959 play that became a successful movie in 1962, starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood. ‘Gypsy’ is the story of the famous stripper and actress Gypsy Rose Lee – played by Natalie Wood — and her relationship with her mother Mama Rose – played by Russell. While I never saw the Broadway play — and only saw the movie a decade after it was released — the reports I get on the new ‘Gypsy’ are of interest to me largely because I once spent the better part of a day with Gypsy Rose Lee. In October 1969, I was a lieutenant in the Army, stationed at a guided missile site in a remote part of South Korea near the DMZ. I was the Firing Platoon Leader. Our unit was operational 24/7, so our work transitioned between arduous and tedious. Keeping bored soldiers trained, happy, and productive was much of my job. One morning I was alerted by the regional USO branch to expect a VIP group of entertainers headlined by Gypsy Rose Lee. Few of us recognized the name, but we were enthusiastic about any entertainment. Gypsy showed up at mid-day, accompanied by a troupe of musicians and a car full of military aides. We met for lunch in the tactical site mess hall. Meals for the site were prepared at a distant base camp, then trucked to us in insulated tubs. Food was then spooned on to steel trays. Gypsy took a tray with her meal, then invited a group of bashful soldiers to sit with her. The officers sat off to the side. She finished eating, then moved over to our table, where she looked at my lunch tray and remarked, ‘So you eat the same dreadful stuff.’ I nodded. She was a whirling dervish. I gave her a tour of the site – mountain wilderness, guided missiles, radars, and a kennel of guard dogs. Our operations sergeant was to be promoted that day, and Gypsy pinned on his new stripes. We went back to the mess hall, and the band started playing. Gypsy danced, then picked soldiers from the audience, dancing with each, while flirting with them. She patiently gave instructions to those that didn’t know how to dance. Eventually, one of her organizers looked at me and said it was time to go. They needed to get to the next tactical site before dark. After a similar show and dinner there, they would drive several hours back to their hotel in Seoul. I walked them to their van. Gypsy hugged everyone, then opened the door and extended her hand so I could help her into the front seat. Comfortably settled in, she rolled down the window, threw her arms around my neck, and kissed me. ‘Take care of those boys, Lieutenant,’ she warned, ‘Or I’ll have to come back.’

What a remarkable woman.

I spent 13 months in Korea, and Barbara moved there halfway through my tour. She rented a house an hour or so from my post, so we got together on weekends. We both grew to love Korea — the country, the people, the culture and the food. Barbara still surveys our regional restaurant scene for Korean dining options. It was also the place where I was introduced to fine wine — another story. We brought a fondness for Asian food back to San Francisco with us when I was reassigned. The wines we enjoyed in Korea were French, mostly reds from the southern Rhône, and that interest stayed with us as well. We now devote a portion of our annual production at Neyers to grape varieties historically associated with the south of France — our bottling of Mourvèdre from the Evangelho Vineyard for example. It’s a delicious and complex wine, rounded and plump with an exotic minerality. The attractive combination of ripe, appealing fruits like plums and fresh cherries, along with a blend of aromatic spices like cardamom and nutmeg make it simply irresistible.

Barbara says this Asian Chicken Salad dish is simple to prepare, but it sure tastes complicated. It’s spicy, exotic, and filling, and is an ideal dish to serve with a bottle of Neyers Mourvèdre from the Evangelho Vineyard grapes.

Asian Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• • 4 cups shredded cabbage
  • 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
  • 4 chicken breasts, boned and skinless
  • ¼ cup of peanuts
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and cut into rounds
  • 1 cup crisp wonton strips

Vinaigrette Ingredients

• • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Grill the chicken breasts over mesquite charcoal if possible, or sauté in a cast iron pan.
2. Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and set aside.
3. Use a portion of the vinaigrette to coat the chicken pieces.
4. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, and shred the chicken into ½-inch to ¾ inch pieces.
5. Toss the cabbage and lettuce with the vinaigrette and put the chicken on top.
6. Put the peppers and peanuts on top of the chicken.
7. Season to taste with fresh ground pepper.
8. Add the wonton strips on top before serving.