Late Night With George Redneck Bread.... Way hidden down in my little ole pea pickin heart, I am about as grounded in the basics of good food as bout anyone yourre gonna meet. I owe that my fine upbringing in the flatlands of eastern North Carolina where your quality of life was truly based on what you had on the dinner table, and if you said the blessing just the right way. We now live in a world where the new farm to table, concept of dining is the new thing, but down in Whiteville, we had fo real farm to table, and even though I never did ring the neck of a chicken, I can tell you that fresh cream corn, and a pot of butter beans aint never gonna lie to you. Point being, I had this lady come in Pharaohs last week, and she told me that I had Redneck Bread. Well, I knew I heard her right, and I thought to myself, Umm, Redneck Bread? I started looking around, and, you know, she might have been right. From her accent, I knew she was from out of town, but it wont just from round here. I started looking at my bread shelf, and I did notice that I had a pack of light bread sittin up there just as proud as it could be, and I had already decided to add that wheat bread that peoples now eatin , just so I could keep up appearances. I always try to buy good ole Wonder bread, cause it builds strong bodies twelve different ways, or so I remember from the television adds I used to see back in the day. I remember asking my Mama if we could have some of that bread when she went to the store, and she said, well, which ever ones on sale this week. I always liked a banana sandwich with light bread and for me, Dukes Mayo. I just think people forget things that were so amazingly simple and always delicious. I always try to be respectable with my valued patrons, and Im one to call it like it is if I am wrong, but I decided to ask the lady what kind of bread did she think I should have. She truned to me and said, well, it is two thousand and fourteen, and not nineteen fifty, and it just looks like you get your bread in a bag. umm, Well, I do get my bread in a bag, and I also go to the store to get it, but that did not seem to satisy this ladys needs for lunch that day. I told her that Wonder Bread was made by the Hostess company who also made Twinkies, and what on earth could be finer than that. But wanting to make nice, I suggested that she get her chicken salad on a bed of leaf lettuce and that we had some saltines we could put in the bag with it. Just so you know, she did not seem to think that it was much of an upgrade. She then looked up on the top counter and saw my prized jar of Grey Poupon, which we secretly use in our famous chicken salad, and she said, Sir, I see that you have the Grey Poupon, so why do you not have something like Tomato- Basil Bread.: Sometimes, I am kind of slow, and I crinched my eyes, and thought to myself, What kind of bread. mam? and then told her that I think they have that over at the Panera Bread place round the corner. Please do not get me wrong here, I love Panera Bread, but it is just a bit different than my place where the focus in not so much on the bread, but what goes inside.... I am left with this vision of how much our foods have changed, and how the American foodscape has moved from things like Wonder Bread, to those made by more local bakeries. I love the fact that they use paper to store their breads, and truly, there is nothing finer than going by a place baking fresh bread. Its a lot like going to a meat counter and getting your meat wrapped in paper, instead of picking up a pack of beef that is covered in plastic. Once you get it home, you feel that the beef is just a little bit fresher. I am going to look into using more natural paper in the future because I think that anything I serve as far as a sandwich is concerend is going to maybe taste just a bit better for the same reason. I have learned to listen to all of my customers over the years, and even though I play sometimes, I always try to hear what they are truly saying. All of us only have one chance to get it right, and somewhere hidden in the world of perfection is an answer to a successful business. If Wonder Bread is Redneck, then I have had to learn a lesson this day. Historically, Wonder Bread was the first bread that was ever served sliced, which in itself makes it an iconic American staple on our food shelves, Maybe it is the knowledge of little things like that which make me want to hold on to the old, and protect the tried and true ways of our past. I think all foods need to be baked to local taste, and I guess the true answer may be in where we all hail from. I love a butter biscut, and also love a left over one the next morning, when I add some more butter and put it under the broiler until its golden brown, and layer some homemade strawberry jelly on top. I think that must be Redneck too, but hey, the new joke may be, you may be a Redneck if you.... Im good with it... George
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 02:25:12 +0000
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