NBC is catching a lot of flak for its Black History Month special menu (see at right).
Yes, this was a mistake in today’s hypersensitive, politically correct climate. But rather than being motivated by racism (hey, it’s NBC, for cryin’ out loud), I suspect the menu maker was trying to offer a compliment to black cuisine. I wouldn’t be surprised if corned beef and cabbage isn’t featured on St. Patrick’s Day.
But the PC mullahs can’t let this opportunity go by without playing the race card. It’s interesting, though, that NBC is being pilloried for offering the very dishes that are proudly featured in any number of soul food and African-American cookbooks.
I just checked a site called Soul Food & Southern Cooking and found every one of the offending NBC dishes featured there.
Fried chicken? It’s there. Collard greens and smoked turkey? It’s there. White rice? Check. Blackeyed peas? Yup. Jalapeno cornbread? Well, no. But that’s really a yuppie variant of the old standby, plain cornbread.
The page on the site titled African-American Recipes underscores the point. It reads like an expanded version of the NBC menu.
I would ask those who are criticizing NBC how they can do that and likewise be proud (justifiably) of the very food that is being offered in the cafeteria in Rockefeller Center?
