Friday, November 14, 2008
Beet It
Posted by Noah Bonaparte Pais on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 6:48 PM
He razed the racial barrier for the American presidency, his words inspire millions and bring grown men to tears, and his disciples grew a redwood of a campaign from the most humble grass roots. But one particularly troubling aspect of Barack Obama's character appears to have slipped by censors like a ninja in the night: The man can't stand beets.
From the AP:
Former President George H.W. Bush famously disliked broccoli. His son, the outgoing president, is a Texas meat-eater. President-elect Barack Obama loves chili and shuns beets.
Obama's aversion to beets aside - "I always avoid eating them," he says - the new first family are foodies with a wide-ranging palate. … "They are totally adventurous people ... they enjoy food," said chef Rick Bayless of Topolobampo, an upscale contemporary Mexican restaurant in downtown Chicago that's a favorite of the Obamas.
Apparently I’m not the only one put off by Obama’s prejudicial palate:
At Dooky Chase's Creole restaurant in New Orleans, he offended longtime owner Leah Chase by pouring hot sauce all over the gumbo she offered to fatten him up.
"I hope this isn't insulting," he said. Chase, sitting at his side, stared straight ahead.
Who vetted this guy? Upon loudly proclaiming my long-held belief that beets are the rubies in Mother Nature’s jewelry box, I was shocked to hear that fellow Gambit Weekly staffers David Winkler-Schmit and Alex Woodward are themselves beet haters. (The former even drew up a hasty borscht-communism connection, a tenuous thread I believe the Bullet Steve Schmidt himself would deplore.)
The issue has divided our offices and cubicles like ancient Greek city-states. And so I ask you, BONO reader and American patriot: Will you stand idly by while a wholesome, delectable root vegetable is rooted out of your diet by an arugula sympathizer who pals around with tortillas?
Comments (7)
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I like beets, especially the way the paint your mouth purple when you eat them. Now eggplant on the other hand...ick.
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I hate those people who say "But you just haven't had [Food X] prepared correctly!" That said, there are obviously people in the world who have never had beets prepared correctly. And Obama pouring hot sauce all over Mrs. Chase's food is a protocol faux pas on the level of GWB giving Angela Merkel an unwanted shoulder massage.
Hot sauce all over Leah Chase's gumbo? Philistine! I'm surprised the chef didn't send him out the door and over to Copeland's Cheesy Place to partake of some salt lick dishes there. I concur about eggplant, btw. And brussels sprouts - ecch.
Oh, and borscht? Don't buy that neon magenta Gold's crap that comes in a jar. Make it yourself and see how good it can be. Even Barack'll slurp that stuff up.
Hey, if people don't like a certain food, they don't like a certain food. Taste buds, scent and texture perceptions are very powerful and individual. It's not like he listed a laundry list of things and talks about his annoying food phobias/allergies/vegetarian/low carb diet or something. I personally love beets and sometimes I even eat them raw. However, don't be judging me because I dislike uni (sea urchin) and Taro root. Also, maybe Obama thought you were supposed to put hot sauce in gumbo. And why is his palate prejudicial because of it? That makes no sense. I mean, gumbo is so regional and if you don't live in the culture or grow up with the culture, how is he supposed to know what is proper and isn't? That's like when I got in trouble and schooled at a restaurant in France when I was young for putting the Rouille in my Bouillabaisse instead of first putting it on the little pieces of toast provided with it before placing them in the soup bowl. How the hell was I supposed to know? I've been sometimes putting hot sauce in gumbo for years and it is big no no? Good to know. Had no idea.
No, Leigh, he won't slurp it up. For far too long, I listened to the "Oh, but you've never had beets this way" crowd. I've sampled many a Russian Jewish grandmother's borscht -- the recipe smuggled to America from her old country shtetl-- and I loved everything about the dish: the back story, the way Bubbe lovingly spooned out the soup and the obvious pride displayed by the family as I took my first sip.Everything but the main ingredient. I applaud President-Elect Obama for taking a stand on such a vital issue. That's not to say I can't reach across the aisle to those representing the magenta states, but I'll be damned if they're going to force their despicable, root-vegetable ideology down my throat ever again. I believe it was Trotsky who promised a boiled beet in every pot. And I still put hot sauce in gumbo, but only after I've tasted it.
David, my borscht conversion can be traced to a little restaurant on Coney Island's boardwalk with a postage stamp-sized dance floor, a two person band playing all its music in Russian except for those immortal hits such as "Feelings", and vodka being served on every table as though it were water. Try it with loads of vodka... ;-) Also, consult a cookbook by quirky Scandinavian food man Andreas Viestad called "Kitchen of Light".
