Dining with Derrida

A Post Structuralist             Approach to Eating

Pastrami

Iconic? Or Ironic?

March 15, 2017 by Jacques_Derrida Leave a Comment

For starters, the very essence of the term “iconic” is problematic and despite this article’s superficial paean to diversity I can see more holes in this iconic selection than in a block of Emmentaler (NB the Swiss have their own issues as well). Nonetheless, as an Angeleno, it looks like I have my work cut out for me. Some of these are out of my price range but I will work within my means unless someone wants to take me out for lunch or dinner. I will also state that LA Magazine is the absolute most vulgar example of classism in media and in our society, second only to the New York Times, basically the polar opposite of Pravda’s good old days. And this predatory dialectic is exemplified subtly by entry No. 18 – “The rabbit and the rattlesnake” sausage at Wurstkuche. I will be going through this list and start with the places I have been and haven’t.  More in a bit. But first…

Notice how in this photo: “Brats” and “Snakes” lie together atop a blanket of gentrification with the potatoes (of South American origin) pushed to the side.

The 100 Most Iconic Dishes in Los Angeles via LA Magazine

 

 

Posted in: Colonialism, Gentrification, Pastrami, Sandwiches Tagged: Gentrification, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, Wurst

Flow My Tears the Pastrami Said

March 4, 2017 by Jacques_Derrida Leave a Comment

The stereo in The Hat was playing Smokey Robinson and Chubby Checker but Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings would have been a better choice. However this was no coincidence but a Zizek- like irony. The same goes for the kaleidoscopic array of condiments, clearly designed to produce such an arresting emotion as to remind us that in life, despite the Bakhtin style carnivalesque (Grimace and the Hamburglar come to mind) we really don’t have many choices at all. In some ways I assumed that The Hat in itself was nothing more nor less than a profound commentary on the fast food industry. Even the name of the eatery – “The Hat” – brings to mind ambiguous, often conflicting feelings. The French “toque” which forms the design of the lighted sign points both to French colonialism in Syria and Lebanon, as well as “tipping its hat” to the conical hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.  Back to the condiments and the sandwiches themselves. The first question that comes to mind is: “Is pastrami bad for you, or does it only taste like it is?” The answer lies somewhere in Zizek again who has argued that although one may possess a self-awareness, and just because one understands what one is doing, it does not mean that one is doing the right thing. The fact that this loaded conceit is firmly rooted here within the parameters of a sandwich shop is what ultimately produces a feeling of deep sorrow.

The pastrami dip, groaning with meat produced a leaden sensation, full of the gravity of life. As the first bite traveled down my esophagus I was reminded of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s controversial statement that the 9/11 attacks were the biggest work of art ever made. This too is no coincidence. Pastrami (Turkish: pastirma) was of course invented in Anatolia and spread through the former Ottoman lands in various incarnations before coming to North America in its current bowdlerized form. The reminder that we wish to whitewash and sanitize the Mid East conflicts for easy consumption and digestion through mainstream media was not lost on me. This feeling truly hit home when digestion became problematic and I was weighed down with the rather messy history of our political and military involvement in the Levant.  Within the first hour I was filled with a sensation of profound sorrow, the Rabelaisian carnival yielded to ruminations on the sad state of the world. This is not simply a quick and cheap meal. It is as much loaded with fat as it is with the deepest geopolitical questions of our times. For those seeking an inexpensive American lunch, The Hat is a candidate. But for those who seek deeper meaning in the act of consumption as well as the tragedy of our failed foreign policy, The Hat is definitely for you.

Posted in: Anomie, Colonialism, Depression, Pastrami Tagged: Pastrami, Sadness, Sorrow, Zizek

About Jacques

I mostly eat cigarettes. Sometimes I go out for pastrami and then I need to write about my experiences. I also write books under the pseudonym John Kolchak.

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