Comments on: Potato Salad Is The New Stalin

By: Don

Don — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:16:53 +0000

I believe that Nicole’s message reinforces the point that Pauly was trying to make, when she points out that many times potato salad is nasty, but when made just right it can be heavenly. Communism itself, when defined and implemented correctly could be the best economic and political system. If a communist government truly assigned out work in a fair way, and if the people truly worked hard, knowing that in the end they would share equally and there would be no poor, that would be your Mining Company potato salad.

The problem is that people get lazy knowing their pay isn’t affected by the quality of their work and government officials get corrupt seeing all that money they have control over, and someone leaves the potato salad out of the fridge too long and it gets contaminated so we all get food poisoning at the party. It takes a rare group of leaders and followers to institute Communism correctly, just as it takes a rare person to make potato salad correctly. Too much mustard? lazy followers. Chopped up pickles? corrupt officials.

What percent of communist systems have been implemented correctly? What percent of potato salad has been put together correctly? I think you’d find the percentages pretty close.

(Of course, I believe you would find the percentages even lower on coleslaw. Coleslaw is probably the new Hitler…nothing good about it.)

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:26:42 +0000

The weapon of mass destruction. To be forced to eat that stuff……..I can’t even look at it without chuckin, much less smell it.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Yeesh! And I thought I was the only one in the fight against potato salad! I guess I will mail you my plastic “Fight Potato Salad” wrist band.

By: Pauly D

Pauly D — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Oh, how I wish there were such a wrist band as that. I would wear it ALL DAY LONG.

By: Ontario Emperor

Ontario Emperor — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

One important difference between Stalinism and potato salad. In Stalinism, there is only one party line at any one time. Granted, the party line will change from time to time (in 1939, Germany is wonderful! in 1941, they’re not).

Potato salad features an unStalin-like variety of alternatives. Ignoring the basic difference between “regular” potato salad and German potato salad, it seems that everyone makes their potato salad slightly differently. It’s gotten to the point where I avoid certain potato salads because I’m not sure what I’ll get.

And, for the record, I didn’t have potato salad at all. We were priming our house for house painting, and I just ate potato chips. (Ruffles.)

By: Hilary

Hilary — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

First off, I hate potato salad. Second, my family is just not a potato salad family. In fact, our sides consisted of: baked beans, corn on the cob, and grilled bell peppers.

Way better than potato salad.

By: casey

casey — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

First of all, where was my Memorial Day BBQ invite? Secondly, I wholeheartedly stand behind you on potato salad-gate. Perhaps with your new mayor, a petition to ban potato salad, at least on major BBQing holdiays, is in order.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I went to a BBQ this weekend…where there was no potato salad. BUT - I do like it a lot.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Pauly,
While I have nothing but respect for the concept of what you are trying to do here, I really wish you had selected a different food to expunge from society. Potato salad is wonderful. Heavenly. Magnifique. One of my top five favorite foods of all time! So I disagree with your “down with potato salad” comment. The true problem is that most people can’t make GOOD potato salad. They put way too much mustard in and there’s nothing else to taste. Or they lather it in so much mayonnaise that the spuds are swimming. I have had plenty a nasty serving of potato salad, but when it is good, it is DAMN good. There was this restaurant in Boone, NC called The Mining Company. Their potato salad was so awesome it could convert even the most potato salad-protesting fiend into a lover of the stuff. It’s too bad the place shut down. Maybe not enough people caught word of the potato salad. OR maybe the rest of the food was not as memorable (no Memorial Day pun intended).

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling and urge you to go after the potato salad that is grotesque, sometimes unidentifiable, made by people who don’t know what they are doing. But please, oh please, don’t take away good potato salad. This is a necessity for some of us.

That said, I’d be thrilled if cole slaw were done away with entirely.

By: Pauly D

Pauly D — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

So, Nicole, what you’re saying is… Cole Slaw is The New Lenin?