Monday, March 2, 2020
US Routes. Roadhouse. Texas. Bananas Cream Pie. War Of The Oranges. Orange, California. Mel Ott. To Serve Man.
Food On The Road
Today in 1925, the national highway numbering system came into being. Three major U.S. routes issue originate in New Orleans: 11, 61, and 90. I'd say that US 90 is the most delicious of the old routes, beginning in Jacksonville, running along the Gulf Coast to New Orleans, past Mosca's, along several bayous through the heart of Cajun country, then to the Tex-Mex capitals of Houston and San Antonio, touching Mexico in Del Rio, and ending in the Big Bend country of West Texas at Van Horn. If you make it there, go to the Smokehouse for some very good Texas barbecue. Another strong candidate for Tastiest US Highway is US 1, which starts in Maine and runs through all the major Eastern cities, ending in Key West.
Edible Dictionary
roadhouse, n.--Originally, a combination restaurant, bar, and small hotel, located on a highway well away from a large town. They served the same function that inns have since medieval times, long before the restaurant as we know it came to be. Roadhouses are found all over America, but the best examples from the heyday of such establishments is found on the original US highway routes, most famously Route 66. The advent of motels and fast-food restaurants drew away customers from both sides of the classic roadhouses' business. Few have rooms any more. Real roadhouses (as opposed to chains claiming the name for atmospheric purposes) are usually old and a bit raffish, with homestyle, inexpensive food and a dubious clientele in the bar. But that's what makes them worthy of interest. Click here to ask about a food word you've wondered about.
Deft Dining Rule #369: If you feel comfortable drinking anything but whiskey, beer, or iced tea in a restaurant out on the highway, you are not in a real roadhouse.
Eating Across America
Speaking of Texas, this is Texas Independence Day, noting the territory's separation from Mexico in 1836. This is also the birthday of Sam Houston, for whom the biggest Texas city (and fourth biggest city in the United States) is names. Houston has become a very good eating town. The restaurant population there is riddled with awful places and chains, but if you do even a little bit of searching you'll turn up a great wealth of ethnic food (not just the expected Mexican but also many Asian cuisines) and top-end restaurants that stand with the best in the country. Our favorite source of information about Houston restaurants is Texas Monthly magazine, which covers food very well and has restaurant listings with very tough standards.
Food Calendar
It is National Banana Cream Pie Day. The most famous local banana cream pie is served at Emeril's. As a good banana cream pie should be, it is almost criminally rich. Each pie contains about a quart of whipping cream. The recipe appears in Emeril's first cookbook, and has a problem: for lots of people, it doesn't ever set. But that's baking for you.
Food At War
In 1801 on this day, the War of the Oranges began when Napoleon sent troops to invade Portugal. The emperor wanted a big piece of their land. The war entangled Spain and England, too. The Queen of Spain received a shipment of oranges from her general as he prepared to storm Lisbon, hence the name. Let's now forget the war and turn to oranges. This is usually the best time of year for them, but the painful times continue for those of us who enjoy fresh oranges and their juice. The Florida groves have not resumed shipping fresh fruit here since the terrible hurricanes of 2004-2005. The California crop was hit hard by a long freeze that did in a lot of fruit (although not many trees, we hear). And the Louisiana navels are already about gone for the year.
Delicious-Sounding Places
Orange, California 92856 is now a suburb of Los Angeles, between Anaheim and Santa Ana. It grew up around a central plaza, which is still there. Also in place are many houses that predate the suburban sameness that dominate the L.A. area. Orange is distinctive. It was founded as Richland in 1869 but got its current name as the result of a card game among four men, each of whom wanted to name the town. Interestingly, all the names were of foods: Lemon, Walnut, Olive, and (winning the hand) Orange. Oranges indeed were grown in profusion in Orange decades ago, but the groves have moved out. In their place are about 129,000 people. And dozens of restaurants--including no fewer than ten on the central plaza.
The Old Kitchen Sage Sez: Next time you make any dish with lemon juice, think about using orange juice instead. Use three times as much as the recipe calls for in lemon juice.
Food In Sports
New Orleans baseball hero Mel Ott was born today in 1909. It seems to us the way to celebrate this Hall of Famer would be to have a great hot dog. Why do hot dogs at a baseball stadium taste better? The ones at Zephyr Field are excellent. The best we ever had were at Wrigley Field. . . This is also the birthday of current sports hero Reggie Bush. But nothing about the Saints brings up images of good food.
Food On Television
On this day in 1962, one of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone showed on television for the first time. In it, visiting aliens leave behind a book entitled To Serve Man. After translating it (with great difficulty), the earthlings discover that the tome is a cookbook.
Food In Children's Literature
Today is the birthday (1904) of Theodor S. Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, who is almost certainly the greatest author of books for kids in history. His book Green Eggs and Ham is so well known that Chef Kevin Vizard knew he'd strike a chord with his dish Greens, Eggs, and Ham at his Uptown bistro.
Words To Eat By
"Texas does not, like any other region, simply have indigenous dishes. It proclaims them. It congratulates you, on your arrival, at having escaped from the slop pails of the other 49 states."--Alistair Cooke.
Words To Drink By
"[President James K. Polk was] a victim of the use of water as a Houston, born today in 1793.
