Time to go there, shall we dear worst-reader? Today, as we deal with all things worst, let’s worst-talk about food named after people. Reason? Well, get this, it has been brought to my attention that Russia–that great and vast land full of peoples destined to be ruled by two-bit dictators–has an issue with a non-white POTUS. I suppose that’s nothing new. The ilk between Putin and Obama has slipped past foreign presses of the world. Or has it? What can one do about avoidance of that nature? On the one hand, you have the “mut” president (his words not mine) of the US and on the other hand you have the uniquely mongoloid-dictator of the new & improved & leaner version of the Soviet Union, aka Russia. Obviously worlds separate these two men. But what joins them? Enter the world of food named after (famous) people. Ever considered it?
- Caesar Salad (named after a Lost Wages (Las Vegas) hotel schmuck)
- Eggs Benedict (see below)
- Margarita (ditto)
- Sandwich (some high nosed British earl got lucky with this one)
- Oysters Rockefeller (what a great way to ruin oysters, nuff said)
- Oh Henry! (see below)
- Obamka Ice Cream (ditto and above)
It’s a long list, you know. And, at times, it is a very distinguished list. At other times it’s not so distinguished. For example. Oh Henry! Remember the candy bar? Can you even still buy it? From a company in Chicago, this candy bar was supposedly named after a batboy from Wrigely Field. The legend has it that Henry was a bit slow. Not with his legs, mind you. He was fast as a bullet running after those bats. No. He was slow in the head. I guess some would say he was retarded. No one knew his age or where he came from. Yet when batters threw their bats Henry was sometimes there to catch them in midair. The problem was, his coordination was sometimes off and he would end up catching the bats with his head. The players and the fans loved him for it. Oh Henry!
And what about a tasty Margarita? Any idear where this drink got its name? Well, like many others in the list, there is some confusion as to where this name came from. From my worst-studies, though, I’ve come to like two out of the many stories. The first is the most obvious. The drink was invented by a hotel magnet who was infatuated with Rita Hayworth. Rita Hayworth’s real name is Margarita Carmen Cansino. The other story is that the drink came from a bartender at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1920. The bartender’s name was Margar Insarita. He was so angry at the enactment of prohibition he thought he could invent a way of hiding how alcohol is consumed. For you see, drinking alcohol was not illegal during prohibition but the manufacture and selling of it was. Made right, a margarita looks like a glass of lemonade.
Of course there has been lots of confusion finding out how Eggs Benedict got its name. First, is it Egg’s, the possessive form, or Eggs, the plural form? Second, this single plate meal of salt and fat and butter galore is referred to, in some circles where alcohol consumption determines one’s ability to get up in the morning, as a restorative meal. The idear is, wake up with a hangover and you’re not sure what happened the night before, let Benedict help you remember. Or something like that. (Obviously my days as a advertising texter were short and far between.) As far as the Benedict part of the name, some believe that the dish could just as well be called Traitor’s Meal. Legend has it that when Benedict Arnold defected to the British the last meal he had while still an American was a concoction of fried eggs, fried ham and lots of butter. As usual, #Americants hate the man but love the food!
Which brings me to Obamka Ice Cream. Go ‘head, google it. Then click on the images google finds. What you’ll get are a bunch of pictures of Barry-O eating ice cream. The man loves ice cream. Obviously he loves food, although you couldn’t tell from his waistline. I love all those images of him ordering junk food. On the other hand, if there is any reason to hate Barry-O, it’s because I can’t eat junk food like he can. Other than that there’s not reason to hate this guy. He’s just endearing! Yet, when some Russian company comes up the idear of naming an ice cream bar that is black on the outside and white on the inside… Well, all I can do is wave my hat to the man and say: good job. I’d go to Russia right now if I could just to try this little delicacy of international diplomacy, recognition and all things mutual. And I hate ice cream. On the other hand, I’m sure there are those would think aversely about this gesture from a Russian business man who probably likes Putin (otherwise he couldn’t be a Russian businessman). Which means I’m waiting for who will come up with something to eat named after Putin. Here’s a starter for ya, how ’bout Mongoloidbakpudding.
But I digress.
Rant on.
-Tommi
PS. For non-fictional explanations why some food is named after people see the wiki link below.
Links that motivated this post:
- The K either means something endearing or something small. You choose. | Reuters
- Wiki page with somewhat less stretched versions of who/what/how food is named after people | Wiki
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