Cole Slaw (previously gilded inlay)

[Joshua Horowitz <horowitz...>]

The other night I had an urge to get a nice juicy (pronounce with hard "c"
please) medium burger and a side of coleslaw. Any of you who know the
Peoples Republic of Berkeley here in California know that it is easier to
get a soy protein patty with gluten-free bread, a side order order of sour
cream flavored fat-free potato chips and goat-milk yogurt shakes than it is
to get a genuine old fashioned red-meat heartmasher on a bun. Well, the
waitress came round ...

"Hi, I'm Theresa. I'm your waitress tonight. Can I take your order now?"

"Hi, Theresa, um, yeah, I'll have a Hamburger, medium, and a side order o'
slaw."

"Ginger vinaigrette or soy-peanut dressing?"

"Huh?"

"We have two dressings on the red cabbage cole slaw -  ginger vinaigrette or
soy-peanut dressing. Which would you like?"

"Uh, I wanted plain ole cole slaw."

"Well we have cole slaw, but its made with red cabbage and a choice of our
original dressings."

"What about just a plain old side of coleslaw? You know, the traditional
kind."

"You mean, like, with sweet watery mayonnaise dripping off of wilted
shredded white cabbage?" For a split second I could see the left corner of
her upper lip go up in a snarl, returning ever-so-quickly to her polite
smile.

"Yeah, that's what I mean. Coleslaw. That's what I know as coleslaw."

"We've improved it."

"Well, can they just make an old-style cole slaw? You know, like for people
who aren't interested in new developments in the field?"

"I don't think anyone here knows how. Why not try the new one. It's
actually, like, I mean, its like, really good."

Now, the normal course of behavior here in Berkeley would be to found a
Coalition for Lactose-Based Secondary Foods and get a court order to
prohibit the place from soiling the time-honored term and substance of real
coleslaw. We all know that traditional cole slaw consists of soggy shredded
white cabbage in a watery, sweet mayonnaise. There are of course regional
variants, but traditionally these did not include red cabbage nor ginger,nor
soy, peanut or any other non-mayonnaise-based dressings. We all know what
coleslaw is and this restaurant's version was not by any stretch of the
imagination what we all know to be coleslaw.

On the other hand, the variant at this restaurant sounded interesting. It
was not really based on the original coleslaw, but it did carry the same
name, and okay, they did use cabbage as the vegetable base, but not even the
right cabbage! Yet in all fairness, if we look in any lexicon, we will find
that etymologically, cole (cabbage) and sla (salad) merely designates a
salad of cabbage. No dressing is even mentioned. In spite of that, without
knowing the simple time-worn secrets of our traditional
Fourth-of-July-throw-up-after-you've-eaten-too-much coleslaw, this little
corner restaurant had single-handedly redefined the genre. At least for
their local customers.

Did they need an education to do this? Did they go out into the fields of
Kentucky to find regional variants of the dish? Did they seek out the last
acknowledged master of the coleslaw now living in the Appalachians who has
been waiting to pass on the torch before gasping his last breath and passing
on to the next world knowing that he had not lived in vain?

No. they did not. Without prior knowledge, they had forged their own way and
leaned on the term which, traditionally at least, actually defined another
genre altogether, the only connection between the two creations being that
their vegetable bases both hailed from the mustard family. But the key is
the term they used.

And so, in this little town called Berkeley, yet another tradition has been
born. One with only a peripheral lineage to the original, but indeed at
least with a lineage to speak of. And all those 3rd generation intellectuals
sitting with their Communist Manifestos and cafe lattes in hand who sadly
will never know the pleasures of heartburn and indigestion caused by the
coleslaw of old, are now destined to live with their own new and improved
version, radiant with color, but lacking the slothy, sugary delights of the
original. And when yet another generation comes, may they in turn have the
decency to honor the ginger vinaigrette cole slaw before embarking upon
their own new and improved variant, perhaps to be called the chocolate
cinammon crisp cole slaw. Josh

>From: Seth Austen <klezmusic (at) earthlink(dot)net>
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Subject: Re: gilded script on the inlay
>Date: Fri, Jan 18, 2002, 9:26 AM
>

> on 1/16/02 11:17 AM, Joshua Horowitz at horowitz (at) budowitz(dot)com wrote:
>
>> Kick me for saying this, but there may be something to be said for the
>> modern agents of change, which include
>>
>> mis-remembering verses; mis-learning tunes from written rather than sound
>> sources; mis-interpreting texts and generally missing the point.
>>
>> All of these are genuine catalysts of change, and whether we choose to
>> accept them as valid or not, they are an inseparable part of the modern
>> musical landscape. And most of the "mis-whatevers" were probably formerly
>> also catalysts for musical change and variance. Again, kick me for writing
>> this Judith. Really.
>
> Josh,
>
> This is a great point! I think there are many instances where we learn from
> a flawed source. Once people started recording music into a three minute
> medium of 78's for distribution and sale in a commercial marketplace, that
> completely changed the tradition as it had previously existed. And yet we
> all gather around our coveted sound reproduction devices, hanging on every
> note of these reissues as wisdom handed down from on high. As well we
> should, I might add. But our sources are not accurate resprentations of what
> the music sounded like at a Jewish wedding, or a Saturday night house party
> for that matter. They are accurate representations of what it sounded like
> in a recording studio, with a producer telling them, no don't do it that
> way, do it this way instead. No, that song of your repertoire isn't Jewish
> enough, or blues enough...
>
> Many ethnomusicological recordings can also reflect the bias of the
> collector. How many collectors didn't record something because it didn't
> support a point they wished to make?
>
> OK, you can all kick me too.
>
> Seth
>
> --
> Seth Austen
>
> http://www.sethausten.com
> emails: seth (at) sethausten(dot)com
> klezmusic (at) earthlink(dot)net
>
>
> 

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