Parsley on the plate

Hi,

At the South Dakota State Fair, I sat in on an herb presentation. It felt like a bit of time travel for me.

The presenter was talking about curly parsley seen as garnishes on restaurant plates, which could be eaten as a breath fresher. I fully recall my Great Aunt Tante Teresa telling me about this quality in the early 1970's. I remember eating it as such over the years.

When was the last time anyone encountered a bit of curly parsley on a restaurant plate? I do recall seeing this detail at Balyeat's Coffee Shop in Van Wert, Ohio a few years ago, but not since and before that occasion it was too many years before.

I just about never buy curly parsley, because I prefer Italian flat leaf so much more. It wasn't too long ago, you could receive a plate showered with chopped flat leaf parsley. Do you see this anymore?

The whole curly leafed parsley as garnish and breath freshner was something I had not heard about in a long, long time. Is it the places I go to or has it just faded away?

Regards,
Cathy2

It is fading but not fully. There are still places in Wisconsin that I encounter it. I have not made mental notes on who/where but may in the future.

Cathy2, this post made me smile. The last time I remember this garnish was from when I was a kid and the few "special" visits we made to Howard Johnson's.

janeyb,

Your picture perfectly reflected what I remember.

Thank you!

Cathy2

We have lots of curly parsley growing in the garden...but it's for the swallowtail butterflies to lay eggs on and eat as caterpillars. I'll have to put some on the dinner plate tonight and start a new tradition for the kids.

stoutisgoodfood wrote:We have lots of curly parsley growing in the garden...but it's for the swallowtail butterflies to lay eggs on and eat as caterpillars. I'll have to put some on the dinner plate tonight and start a new tradition for the kids.

Let us know their reaction, please!

Regards,
Cathy2

Puckjam wrote:There are still places in Wisconsin that I encounter it. I have not made mental notes on who/where but may in the future.

We need names.

My OCD mom insisted on having something green on our dinner plates. So if our vegetable wasn't green, we'd have parsley sprigs for garnish.

When I worked at a Big Boy in the late 70s, we did serve sprigs of parsley on every plate. Some people liked it, others did not. I think that it was eventually eliminated as a cost cutting measure.

As kids we liked taking it home to feed to the gerbils.

The most memorable parsley I ever experienced was at Brennan's -- though not in NOLA, I was at the Houston, TX, location -- and the rather large bunch of parsley was fried. Of course. Crisp, delicate, and delicious.

I, too, had always eaten the parsley garnish as a final touch for the meal -- as much because of the potassium as for the fresher breath. But the fried parsley was certain the tastiest iteration of the garnish.

In contemplating the issue, I do believe I've seen far less parsley on plates. Since most folks just leave it and it has to be thrown out, it was probably viewed as an easy way to cut back a bit on waste.

yes that is exactly what I was taught. You eat it as a breath freshener although few did. It was almost obligatory to have the spring on a plate. Even if you ordered a hamburger, you would get it. Years ago you ordered a cheeseburger, you got fries, coleslaw a pickle and a sprig of parsley. Sometimes they plastered it on top of the slaw. I miss those days. I like buying parsley on the holidays to garnish my plates. I must admit I end up throwing much of it away.

I always ate the garnish, but sometimes you could tell they didn't expect you to - it was gritty as if it hadn't been washed.

In late '70s Milwaukee, about the only place I came across parsley was on a restaurant dinner plate; certainly never saw it at home. Didn't know it came in another form other than "curly" until probably the '90s and the growth of cooking TV.

As a little kid, I could never remember the word "parsley". But I liked how it tasted, and I got a kick out of eating what the adults just left on their plates. So I referred to it visually; it called it "tree". At some point at many a family meal out my Aunt, who got a kick out of it, would announce "can everyone pass David their trees" and I'd have myself a parsley snack.

I've driven past the post office the last 5 days, forgetting to stop and mail something, but THIS I can clearly remember. Ugh

A meal at Bavarian Lodge in Lisle last weekend featured a sprig of curly on every plate. I made certain to eat this rarity.

Much of my misspent youth was squandered in the company of fellow jugglers, many of whom were performers (Chouxfly and I met at a juggling club, and we juggled at our wedding! But that's another story). To ease the tedium of meals on the road, these creative rapscallions develop many little games and contests, one of which was the Parsley Game.

Two entertainers from among our ranks who hit it rather big, Penn Gillette and Teller, describe it in their book, How to Play With Your Food: "The parsley game is very simple: when Parsley, that useless biennial bastard nephew of the carrot family, is served on your plate as a garnish, you sneak it onto the plate of one of your dinner partners without being seen by the recipient. It’s as easy as that, but, like chess, the possibilities are endless… The first few times you play the game, you’ll win, but then your pals will catch on that you’re playing and it will get harder… After a while, no one will turn around for anything."

I've noticed that this particular garnish, and tragically the associated game, have been vanishing over the years. I have no doubt my traveling friends have risen to the challenge with new diversions, but I shall miss the Parsley Game (I'm not modest... I was rather good at it).

Last night I met a friend for fish fry at Rita's on 176 in Rondout/Lake Bluff. I just finished my combo plate of walleye, perch and cod with onion rings, when I noticed a sprig of curly parsley.

I could tell my excitement bewildered my friend. You just don't see parsley on the plate as often as before.

Regards,
Cathy2

Years ago when you ordered a cheeseburger and fries at a restaurant, it would reliably come with a pickle spear as well as a small paper cup of cole slaw and sometimes even a sprig of parsley. I miss those days. Now when you order most of those things are missing.