Post by: Sindawe on May 15, 2007, 06:49:27 AM
Quote
Burger's name stirs a beef
Wopburger tasty but not tasteful, critics complain
By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News
May 12, 2007
As controversies go, this one isn't exactly a whopper. It's more of a - well, let's just say it's about a wopburger and what happens when the menu at an iconic Louisville restaurant collides with ethnic sensibilities and political correctness in the 21st century.
And, essentially, what happens is the icon blinks first. Which is why the menu at the Blue Parrot restaurant will soon offer an "Italian burger" instead of a you-know-what burger.
How, you ask, could something as benign - to say nothing of tasty - as a "sausage patty with melted cheese served with sauce" ignite an ethnic flap? Well . . .
It all began about 1919, when Michael and Emira Colacci, fresh from Campobasso, Italy, decided that opening a restaurant in Louisville made sense. A place for coal miners - of which Michael was one - to eat, to be comfortable around fellow paisanos.
The you-know-what burger's name wasn't an ethnic slur. It was, Michael and Emira's granddaughter would insist 88 years later, "A nickname. It just meant they were Italian, proud to be Italian."
At least that's what Michael and Emira thought. At least that's what their son Joe and their grandchildren Joan and Richard thought. And, apparently, it's what generations of locals like Chuck Scarpella thought.
Scarpella, former head of the Louisville Society of Italian Americans, says the you-know- what burger had "been there all my life. My grandma worked in the Blue Parrot. My mom worked there, I worked there, my kids worked there. It's never been offensive."
OK, so maybe over the years, a few eyebrows had been raised, concedes State Rep. Paul Weissman, a Blue Parrot bartender for 18 years. "But after it was explained that it had been on the menu for 88 years and the tradition behind it, people were fine."
Until about a month ago.
A transplanted East Coast Italian-American named James Gambino came in, saw the item on the menu and, says Joan Riggins (nee Colacci), "really raised a stink. He said he was offended and demanded we take it off the menu."
Gambino admits he was "shocked," but remembers "politely" speaking to the Blue Parrot. "They basically laughed at us."
Then the April 13 letter from the Washington, D.C.-based National Italian American Foundation arrived. The one in which NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli wrote he was "alarmed to learn" of the you-know-what burger being on the menu. "Perhaps you are not aware that this is a pejorative term that insults the Italian American community," he added.
No way, thought Riggins, to Ciongoli's renaming suggestion. "This is our business." Apparently, the Boulder Valley School District didn't agree.
Gambino, who complained to the NIAF, also took his case to the school district, which, it seems, had been happily buying Blue Parrot sauce for 10 years and using it in its lunch program.
"We love using the product," says Linda Stoll, director of food services for the school district. "It's 100 percent natural, exactly the kind of product we want."
When Stoll learned the Blue Parrot had a you-know-what burger on its menu, she called Richard Colacci, a restaurant owner and boss of the sauce operation.
"I explained that the district is very proud of our stance on ethnic equity issues," recalls Stoll, adding that the you-know-what burger "didn't conform to the way we felt about those issues."
Then, "I asked if they would consider renaming the item."
Although Colacci admits, "I was kinda shocked" that "someone was so upset," he adds, "I understood her point of view 100 percent if they were getting that much heat."
Stoll says she never threatened to terminate the contract, which accounts for about 4 percent of the Blue Parrot sauce operations. Any sauce cessation "would have been a decision requiring more people than me."
Although he takes pains to praise Stoll's cordial tone, Colacci said, "She presented it to me in a very straightforward manner. We had to make the move on the menu or possibly lose their business."
Colacci spoke with his sister and nephew. The next day he called Stoll back. The Blue Parrot would have new menus as soon as they could be printed. Commerce had trumped a menu tradition.
And about time, says Gambino.
And yet, for some there is sadness. " . . . It's hard to take," says Colacci. "But it'll still be part of our history."
Try telling that to his sister.
"I'm so angry," says Riggins. "I feel like there's been a death in the family."
And so, perhaps the best way to end this tale is with a bowing of heads, a moment of silence, a gentle sigh and a slow exit, leaving behind just this menu epitaph:
The Wopburger
1919-2007
R.I.P.
Source: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0%2C1299%2CDRMN_15_5533877%2C00.html
Wopburger tasty but not tasteful, critics complain
By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News
May 12, 2007
As controversies go, this one isn't exactly a whopper. It's more of a - well, let's just say it's about a wopburger and what happens when the menu at an iconic Louisville restaurant collides with ethnic sensibilities and political correctness in the 21st century.
And, essentially, what happens is the icon blinks first. Which is why the menu at the Blue Parrot restaurant will soon offer an "Italian burger" instead of a you-know-what burger.
How, you ask, could something as benign - to say nothing of tasty - as a "sausage patty with melted cheese served with sauce" ignite an ethnic flap? Well . . .
It all began about 1919, when Michael and Emira Colacci, fresh from Campobasso, Italy, decided that opening a restaurant in Louisville made sense. A place for coal miners - of which Michael was one - to eat, to be comfortable around fellow paisanos.
The you-know-what burger's name wasn't an ethnic slur. It was, Michael and Emira's granddaughter would insist 88 years later, "A nickname. It just meant they were Italian, proud to be Italian."
At least that's what Michael and Emira thought. At least that's what their son Joe and their grandchildren Joan and Richard thought. And, apparently, it's what generations of locals like Chuck Scarpella thought.
Scarpella, former head of the Louisville Society of Italian Americans, says the you-know- what burger had "been there all my life. My grandma worked in the Blue Parrot. My mom worked there, I worked there, my kids worked there. It's never been offensive."
OK, so maybe over the years, a few eyebrows had been raised, concedes State Rep. Paul Weissman, a Blue Parrot bartender for 18 years. "But after it was explained that it had been on the menu for 88 years and the tradition behind it, people were fine."
Until about a month ago.
A transplanted East Coast Italian-American named James Gambino came in, saw the item on the menu and, says Joan Riggins (nee Colacci), "really raised a stink. He said he was offended and demanded we take it off the menu."
Gambino admits he was "shocked," but remembers "politely" speaking to the Blue Parrot. "They basically laughed at us."
Then the April 13 letter from the Washington, D.C.-based National Italian American Foundation arrived. The one in which NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli wrote he was "alarmed to learn" of the you-know-what burger being on the menu. "Perhaps you are not aware that this is a pejorative term that insults the Italian American community," he added.
No way, thought Riggins, to Ciongoli's renaming suggestion. "This is our business." Apparently, the Boulder Valley School District didn't agree.
Gambino, who complained to the NIAF, also took his case to the school district, which, it seems, had been happily buying Blue Parrot sauce for 10 years and using it in its lunch program.
"We love using the product," says Linda Stoll, director of food services for the school district. "It's 100 percent natural, exactly the kind of product we want."
When Stoll learned the Blue Parrot had a you-know-what burger on its menu, she called Richard Colacci, a restaurant owner and boss of the sauce operation.
"I explained that the district is very proud of our stance on ethnic equity issues," recalls Stoll, adding that the you-know-what burger "didn't conform to the way we felt about those issues."
Then, "I asked if they would consider renaming the item."
Although Colacci admits, "I was kinda shocked" that "someone was so upset," he adds, "I understood her point of view 100 percent if they were getting that much heat."
Stoll says she never threatened to terminate the contract, which accounts for about 4 percent of the Blue Parrot sauce operations. Any sauce cessation "would have been a decision requiring more people than me."
Although he takes pains to praise Stoll's cordial tone, Colacci said, "She presented it to me in a very straightforward manner. We had to make the move on the menu or possibly lose their business."
Colacci spoke with his sister and nephew. The next day he called Stoll back. The Blue Parrot would have new menus as soon as they could be printed. Commerce had trumped a menu tradition.
And about time, says Gambino.
And yet, for some there is sadness. " . . . It's hard to take," says Colacci. "But it'll still be part of our history."
Try telling that to his sister.
"I'm so angry," says Riggins. "I feel like there's been a death in the family."
And so, perhaps the best way to end this tale is with a bowing of heads, a moment of silence, a gentle sigh and a slow exit, leaving behind just this menu epitaph:
The Wopburger
1919-2007
R.I.P.
Source: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0%2C1299%2CDRMN_15_5533877%2C00.html
Post by: Manedwolf on May 15, 2007, 06:57:25 AM
Sad.
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 15, 2007, 07:12:16 AM
Post by: HankB on May 15, 2007, 07:13:23 AM
Post by: The Rabbi on May 15, 2007, 07:35:48 AM
Nothing new . . . when I lived up in the People's Republic of Minnesota, the city of St. Paul was discussing legislation to prohibit calling a sandwich a "Hot Dago."
Boy, I'd love to litigate that under First Amendment rights.
Post by: Paddy on May 15, 2007, 07:43:01 AM
Quote
I'm glad to see this was dealt with in a market-driven fashion.
uhhhh.....economic coercion for the purpose of acheiving a political goal unrelated to the product hardly qualifies as 'market driven'.
Post by: Manedwolf on May 15, 2007, 07:47:33 AM
I'm glad to see this was dealt with in a market-driven fashion. All the same, I'm tired of the whining about Italian stereotypes. If they don't like it, they can put out a hit or something. [Disdainful Sicilian gesture]
Is it market-driven, though?
Quote
Gambino, who complained to the NIAF, also took his case to the school district, which, it seems, had been happily buying Blue Parrot sauce for 10 years and using it in its lunch program.
Quote
"I explained that the district is very proud of our stance on ethnic equity issues," recalls Stoll, adding that the you-know-what burger "didn't conform to the way we felt about those issues."
That's the public school district, is it not? Which is using taxpayer dollars to fund the purchase of the sauce from a local business? If they have a political agenda behind purchasing or not purchasing the sauce to enforce PCness, I'd not call that market-driven, myself. It's a public agency forcing small business to dance to its tune or lose its taxpayer-funded contracts.
Post by: K Frame on May 15, 2007, 07:52:01 AM
This is one kraut who would fight against any such attack.
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 15, 2007, 07:54:55 AM
Quote
economic coercion for the purpose of acheiving a political goal unrelated to the product hardly qualifies as 'market driven'.
No, actually, that is the definition of market-driven, whether it is related or not. And the man went to the school district, just like he could have gone to any other customer. Public or private, that was one of his big customers, and they had influence, as big customers usually do.
Post by: Thor on May 15, 2007, 08:09:28 AM
We, as a society, need to reflect back to the "sticks & stones" adage and grow a thicker skin. It just seems to me that our society has become a bunch of whiney babies.
Post by: client32 on May 15, 2007, 12:12:31 PM
I wonder if Aggie jokes are still in vogue in Texas
An Aggie student, who was in grade trouble, was supposed to meet with the dean on Tuesday and never showed up. The next day as the dean was walking into his office, the student was sitting outside the dean's door waiting. The student explained that he was late for the meeting because while he was at the mall, the escalator broke down. The aggie stood there all night waiting while the repair-man fixed it. After the excalator was fixed, the student went straight to the dean's office. After the dean heard the story he responded, "You idiot, this is why you are having problems keeping your grades up. You could have sat down on the escalator."To answer your question, they are, at least around this part of TX.
Post by: Antibubba on May 16, 2007, 07:28:40 AM
Post by: Eleven Mike on May 16, 2007, 07:37:21 AM
Post by: Hawkmoon on May 16, 2007, 04:43:17 PM
Post by: Antibubba on May 16, 2007, 08:51:58 PM
Post by: Strings on May 16, 2007, 09:25:17 PM
Post by: Eleven Mike on May 17, 2007, 03:42:33 AM
Antibubba: I assume they'd be made with all kosher ingredients?
One would hope so. Otherwise, Jews might be offended.
Post by: roo_ster on May 17, 2007, 05:32:36 AM
Oh, heck, you only live once...
"The k-k-b was a flop in a German restaurant in White Plains, NY, as the bratwurst and weisswurst crowded out the k-k-b for grill space and the k-k-b ended up being pushed into the coals..."
"A 'Mediterranean Bistro' in Miami, FL, introduced the k-k-b to rave reviews but found the k-k-b took up too much shelf space (1') relative to the falafel (100') and ended up getting tossed into the sea by the owner as fish food."
Post by: Paddy on May 17, 2007, 06:36:08 AM
Post by: BobCat on May 17, 2007, 06:39:48 AM
___________________________________________________________________________
These three Texans go down to Mexico one night and get drunk and wake up in jail. They found out that they are to be executed for their crimes but none of them can remember what they have done.
The first one is strapped in the electric chair and is asked if he has any last words. He says, "I am from the Baylor School of Divinity and I believe in the almighty power of God to intervene on behalf of the innocent." They throw the switch and nothing happens, so they figure God must not want this guy to die, so they let him go.
The second one is strapped in and gives his last words. "I am from the University of Texas School of Law and I believe in the eternal power of Justice to intervene on the part of the innocent." The switch is thrown and again nothing happens. They figure that the law is on this guy's side, so they let him go.
The last one is strapped in and say's "Well, I'm a fighting Texas A&M Aggie Electrical Engineer, and I'll tell you right now you are the dumbest Mexicans I've ever seen. Hell, you'll never electrocute anybody if you don't connect those two wires."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I don't know who sent it to me originally, sorry.
BTW in Chicago, there is a sandwich called an "Italian Beef" sandwhich, which is one of the very few things I miss about the place. I wonder if it needs to be re-named, or if people only take offense at names that include actual slurs - not just ethnic identifications.
Oh - Mike - as far as saurkraut is concerned, I was once told that during WWI it was re-named "Liberty Cabbage" in the USA. And during WWII a German beer garden my parents went to suddenly became a Swiss beer garden for the duration.
Regards,
Andrew
Post by: Jamisjockey on May 18, 2007, 06:19:55 AM
Post by: Sindawe on May 18, 2007, 06:24:57 AM
Quote
If it was a *let's not go there*-burger, there would be no bitching and moaning...you'd all be complaining about how bad it is...
Not if the founder and owning family were black and had named the dish such.
Post by: TF_FH on May 18, 2007, 06:33:27 AM
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 18, 2007, 06:47:58 AM
That said, I recognize the right of anyone of any race to open a restaurant and name their food as they deem fit.
Post by: K Frame on May 18, 2007, 07:03:44 AM
It was.
Anti-German sentiment also led to the Frankfurter being renamed the hot dog. Hot dog actually dates to before World War I, but it really gained traction during the war, and is the only one of the names to stick in the public lexicon.
And let's not forget the Liberty Steak, formerly known as the hamburger...
Me? I'm having pork tenderloin with liberty cabbage and freedom fries for dinner tonight!
Post by: BobCat on May 18, 2007, 08:19:36 AM
Ok, no more off-color humor.
I've been thinking about this thread though, and actually do understand why the fellow was offended - in many/most circles, "wop" is a perjorative term. Even if the proprietors are Italian, it still could irritate someone to read the word on the menu.
Oh - another thing I heard but never was able to verify was that the term came from Ellis Island, where they would give people a paper that had WOP written on it - acronym for With Out Papers (this may be BS - without is one word, not two). Still...
Post by: crt360 on May 18, 2007, 10:13:52 AM
Oh - another thing I heard but never was able to verify was that the term came from Ellis Island, where they would give people a paper that had WOP written on it - acronym for With Out Papers (this may be BS - without is one word, not two). Still...
I thought it came from the Spanish calling them "el guapo" or "los guapos."
Post by: Marnoot on May 18, 2007, 12:04:59 PM
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 18, 2007, 12:45:41 PM
Quote
derogatory for "Italian," 1912, Amer.Eng. slang, apparently from southern It. dialect guappo "dandy, dude, stud," a greeting among male Neapolitans, said to be from Sp. guapo "bold, dandy," which is from L. vappa "sour wine," also "worthless fellow;" related to vapidus (see vapid).
So, in a hundred years, "cabron" will be a racial slur. Neat.