“In 1953, Walter and Leaudra Kern and their son, George, came up with the recipe, and started selling pies at an inn in Prospect, Kentucky. In 1969, they registered the name with the state’s patent office, and when it started popping up in imitation recipes in unauthorized cookbooks, they went to court, winning a case against a local author in 1982. There was a setback in 1987, in a case against Bon Appétit, in which the trademark was ruled generic, eventually the verdict was overturned, and the Kerns since then have won several infringement cases. The family still makes it at Kern’s Kitchen, in Louisville.”
—A brief history on Derby Pie from a New Yorker Book review. There’s more info on Derby pie here, here and here. I feel like we’re all learning so much about Louisville and the Kentucky Derby this week.
April 2009
110 posts
Oops. Chuck Terhark at METRO totally scooped me on the mint julep story. →
metromag.com
My condolences Andy. Chuck’s pretty quick on the trigger.
Last week, even. Boy oh boy, am I embarrassed. Pistols at dawn, Chuck?
Mint Juleps and Kentucky
I recently was talking about Mint Juleps with some friends, and in my ignorance, I said, “I bet Andy Sturdevant makes a mean mint julep.” (because I found out that he was from Louisville) I was quickly corrected, I had assumed that Kentuckians drank them like Milwaukeeians drink brandy old-fashioneds. After some research, I found some quotes to back up the julep-less city of Louisville:
“I don’t know if I can make a julep, hon,” she says, slight panic in her eyes. “We don’t have any fresh mint.” “Hope this is OK,” she says. “Don’t really know what they’re supposed to taste like. I don’t drink ‘em.” -A bartender at John E.’s
“I tried one once,” he says. “But it was way too sweet. And if it was so good, why don’t we drink them year-round?” -bartender Tom Curley of the Pendennis Club
“I don’t drink ‘em unless I have to ” -Julian Van Winkle, a third-generation bourbon maker, president of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery.
“You can tell the people from out of town at Derby parties,” says Kimberly Jones, a chef-instructor at Sullivan University in Louisville and director of the culinary school’s Juleps Catering. “They get all excited because they feel like a julep is the thing they have to drink.”
(all quotes from here)
So I apologize to Louisville. I shouldn’t have assumed that your city drinks juleps year-round, or even at derby time. Maybe you should try an old fashioned sweet. They’re delicious.
“But just to be absolutely clear about this, let me say, in bold capitals: I LOVE VEGETABLES. And I really want you to love them, too.”
—Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall wants you to love vegetables and grow them yourself.
Geoff @ shefzilla.com does a nice round up of Portland eateries. →
shefzilla.com
He hit some of the highlights (Clyde, Pok Pok, Toro Bravo), but there’s too much eating to be done in that city. Although, having lived in Portland for a while, I can see a lot of what’s going on there starting to show up in the Twin Cities.
Grocery Delivery
So, I’ve been thinking of becoming a shut-in. I like my apartment, I can make some money off the internet, and liquor stores deliver. “But hang on a minute Chris, how will you eat?” I ask myself. Not to worry, the good people at cnet.com have set me up with five websites to get my groceries from.
via lifehacker.com
Circuitry made from candy!
I’m not super tech-y, so I can’t tell you how accurate this candy representation of a circuit is, but I can tell you how delicious it looks. Very.
via boingboing.net
“The dining experience can be viewed in many ways. Some tend to think of the dining out experience others like to lean towards the comforting feeling of dining at home. This series of salt and pepper shakers pulls from the natural aspects of dining and visualizes them in a sophisticated yet friendly way.”
—
-Lucas Saule Design on their salt and pepper shakers. Maybe they’re a little to conceptual for some S & P, but the thought behind the design is more interesting than the product (remember, I’m just a line cook, so don’t take my advice on design).
via notcot.org
Play
Yikes! Better lay off the bacon for a while. →
startribune.com
Update: Swine flu has shown up in a NYC high school. Some of the students went to Mexico for spring break, and possibly spread the flu to their classmates.
More Update: US health authorities declare a public health emergency. I don’t know what this means, but EVERYBODY GET SCARED!
Even more Update: The E.U.’s health advisor urges Europeans to cancel any non-essential travel to the US or Mexico.
“For I eat with gusto damn you bet
For gusto I’m the boss
For yay my nose it is in the salad
And lo my chin it is in the sauce” —Jonathan Richman from the poem “I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet.” A great piece of eating literature. Watch out James Beard. Listen here.
For gusto I’m the boss
For yay my nose it is in the salad
And lo my chin it is in the sauce” —Jonathan Richman from the poem “I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet.” A great piece of eating literature. Watch out James Beard. Listen here.
