Part of the allure of travel is to sample the cuisine of other cultures.
Except when they involve barbecuing an animal that a short time earlier sported a name, such as Fido.
Another exception for me would be when the meal consists of pieces and parts of the anatomy that are used for higher thinking, licking, or procreation.
But maybe that’s just me.
With my fascination of fanciful and sometimes faraway foods, I was aroused when I found something called a slaw dog, one day while innocently pursuing the Internet, where everyone knows, one click leads to another.
Some states take the slaw dog very seriously, to the point they even undertake mapping projects to quantify whatever it is you would want to know in regard to this sometimes popular meat-like menu item.
Just in the last month or so I have seen two variations in just one city: the slaw burger and slaw pulled pork sandwich.
There are no lack of references (well, at least a third of a million Google hits) to slaw dogs, and their ingredients, in various versions.
Some maybe just a little over the top.
Including some women who may end up losing theirs–top, that is–when they play games in the coleslaw, that is obviously the topping component of the slaw dog.
(READER CAUTION: the pictures in that last link contain women in unnatural positions doing things with coleslaw never intended by Martha Stewart.)
Of course, slaw dogs are by no means the only unusual food item you might encounter while traveling the planet.
Far, far from it.
Hell, just watch an episode an Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations or Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, and you will see that a slaw dog is rather on the tame side of wild foods of the world.
So, what is the weirdest food that you have actually eaten and where was it consumed?
Did it kill you (or make you feel as if you wish it did)???
A plastic bag of ready-to-eat spaghetti and meatballs, heated on the hood of the car, squeezed directly into the mouth astronaut-style accompanied by a Pepper jack Cheez-It and mayo sandwich.
That was the first thing that came to mind, probably because it was only last weekend. And I tell you, it was very satisfying.
And I don’t think Martha should be trusted with that much wiener.
So, which red wine in a box goes best with that culinary masterpiece?
Got me to wondering – maybe I should write a cookbook about carbeque (cooking on an engine block).
Found out someone else been there, done that:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375751408?ie=UTF8&tag=wisebread07-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375751408
You have certainly stepped in it – that’s Tom Chandler’s sacred brunch fare you’ve belittled most shamefully, and I’m telling …
The fact that the sandwich looks like it’s been stepped on is another matter.
“Belittled”
I think not.
I linked twice, count’em, twice to Mr. TC as the source of this sacred supper fare.
And the fact that I chose a variant at a recent S.F. Giants game should pay homage to my good taste.
(Along with a ball cap I bought off a street bum.)
And you worked in the slaw bikini angle that’s – frankly – been sorely missing from the Trout Underground.
Kudos.
Still, until you’ve prepared for (Martha style) and hosted a slaw-dog cookout (prepared with ingredients of the lowest order), you can’t fully understand the fallout from eating such a beast (many such beasts).
Long live the slaw dog.
TC – as usual, you are spot on with your comments.
I will not really understand the Martha-style slaw-dog cookout until having experienced one…
…feel free to PM me anytime with an invite.
I can be there in, oh, about three hours.
And I will come packing with the finest of microbrews.
Needless to say, I will not offer competition in any fishing endeavors and I can almost guarantee to provide some serious entertainment with my fishing “techniques” (and, at a minimum, some decent blog fodder).
frankhg: if you do get that invite, make sure you ask KBarton10 to join you. (Don’t worry. He won’t.)
The latest excuse he gave me was, “Upper Sac at the end of June? Gosh, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I think I might be in… uh… Montana! Yeah, pretty good possibility I’ll be heading to Montana around that time, but let’s try to schedule something for later in the year.”
I need to find out who he’s trying to avoid: me or TC.
He’s not avoiding me – I was hoping to be in Montana at the same time. Still, it’s a big state.
So I guess no one told him they get snow in Montana. Maybe Montana snow is different from Northern California snow. Or maybe it’s me.
I don’t know much but I know that the subject of all this discussion, one Mr. KBarton, avoids me and it hardly ever snows in the Sacramento valley.
Wait…weren’t we talking about slaw dogs and women in bikinis (obviously closely related topics)?
What do you call it when the conversation drifts off topic???