"MLK Holiday Special: Chicken and Waffles" at UC Irvine

[Liberal_in_LA]

UC Irvine serves chicken and waffles on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Officials at the University of California Irvine acknowledged Wednesday that serving chicken and waffles at a campus cafeteria in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not in "good taste," but said the chef is not being disciplined.

The incident first reported in the OC Weekly occurred Jan. 17 when a chef at Pippin Commons and several other staff members determined the menu without any oversight from the university, said UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon.

The menu and a sign reading "MLK Holiday Special: Chicken and Waffles" were thrown together at the last minute and not in the "best taste," she said.

The meal passed uneventfully except for one member of the Black Student Union, who lodged a formal complaint, she said.

Thomas Parham, vice chancellor of student affairs, tried to schedule a meeting with the chef and student, but the student declined, Lawhon said. Parham was unavailable for comment.

Lawhon described the possible meeting as an opportunity for a “teachable moment.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/chicken-and-waffles-mlk-day.html

[DBoon]

1. yummm

Sorry, this makes me hungry

[Ishoutandscream2]

3. That looks fantastic!

Yum!

[Sonoman]

10. You can bet the farm on that one.

We have fried chicken and waffles quite often. Steens Ribbon Cane Syrup is best with this dish.

Sonoman

[CakeGrrl]

33. It IS. Roscoe's is mandatory on all my L.A. visits.

I've been to all five locations. :D

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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[blondeatlast]

4. Oh, damn, me too (I was spawned from a Southerner). nt

[CreekDog]

13. but that's served every day

in Roscoe's in LA.

doing it on MLK day only, that's a really bad stereotype.

[DBoon]

35. Martin Luther King wasn't a world-class chef

and he should be honored in a way that respects what he fought for.

(besides, Roscoe's is delicious every day of the year!)

[JanMichael]

47. Makes me sick. Then again I'm fit and healthy with zero desire for shit passed off as food.

Enjoy your heart grenade.

On edit: and the ridiculous and sad mass produced factory meat-chicken.

[okieinpain]

51. funny, but not really because a "heart grenade", is exactly what

that is.

[Ex Lurker]

48. I was thinking it was more like creamed chicken on waffles.

which also sounds good.

[blondeatlast]

2. Dsmn, sorry I wasn't at that observance--the one I chaperoned my son's class to

at ASU West they served us chain-crap pizza.

[thelordofhell]

45. They need to go to LoLo's Chicken And Waffles

......And not just on MLK day.

http://www.loloschickenandwaffles.com/

The Arizona Cardinals flew Larry White (owner/chef) to the Super Bowl to make Chicken And Waffles for the team.

[mike_c]

5. I'm sorry, but I'm finding the reaction to this kind of dumb....

Is it the complainer's contention that chicken and waffles is an inferior choice? Or that it's a derogatory stereotype? I eat chicken frequently, waffles not so much-- does my consumption of chicken mark me as socially inferior somehow?

OK, chitlins and watermelon I could understand, but this just sounds like some Californian's attempt to pair "typical" southern foods. As a southerner, I'm here to tell you that I ate a LOT of chicken while growing up in the south, and I DEFY you to find a highway interchange south of the Mason-Dixon line that doesn't have a Waffle House on each corner!

[blondeatlast]

7. Exactly. In my gramma's it would more likely be chicken and biscuits, but damn--

not a damn thing wrong with tha delicious looking meal.

A :drool: smiley would be very appropriate right now!

[mike_c]

11. now I eat biscuits at least once or twice a week....

The chicken biscuit is a noble creation! Waffles? Meh.

[blondeatlast]

14. The best part of the chicken is the gravy! ;) nt

[Uzybone]

8. ITA

Chicken and waffles is as innocent as chicken and rice or Chicken and brocoli.

Would anyone have complained if it was chicken and brocoli?

[CreekDog]

15. Yes, honoring MLK by serving Chicken and Waffles? Yes, that's a stereotype

Chicken and waffles are wonderful --undoubtedly but serving them is like handing out watermelons at the MLK day parade.

[Bluebear]

17. man, Gladys Knight has a chicken & waffles restaurant!

Is this really a stereotype a la watermelon? I honestly didn't know that!

[LuvNewcastle]

6. I think it was an odd menu choice,

but nothing to get bent out of shape about. The mistake was calling it an "MLK Holiday Special," because some people might assume that the dish was one of King's favorites. They should have just called it the "daily special" and left it at that.

[Sonoman]

9. "But it probably wasn’t the most sensitive thing,” Lawhon said.

Good grief, Cathy.

In this day and age, does everything have to be "the most sensitive"?

If I was in school, I would want fried chicken and waffles on the every-day menu.

Sonoman

[CreekDog]

18. because honoring him with 'chicken and waffles" is about him being black

not MLK being MLK.

wtf is so complicated about this?

or are we just reluctant to use our minds today? :wtf:

[WinkyDink]

21. How was this an "honor"? Why not steak and baked potato? HMMM?? Because it was

a STEREOTYPE.

[CreekDog]

25. right. and when nearly all the posts in this thread don't get that --I wonder if I'm on DU

and among fellow progressives or among Archie Bunkers.

[Bluebear]

28. You're educating people, that's all.

I appreciate it.

But I know what I'm craving for dinner now :)

[CreekDog]

32. well yeah, I wanna go to Roscoe's right now

but it's 400 miles away. :rofl:

[Sonoman]

26. I wonder what the reaction would have been if it had been...

New England Clam Chowder or Tamales with Mexican Cornbread?

MLK wouldn't have been MLK if he had not been black. I'll bet large that nether his wife or children would have objected to Chicken And Waffles, one of my favorite dishes.

Sonoman

[WinkyDink]

29. Nobody is arguing the scrumptiousness of this culinary delight. So are you now agreeing the food

choice was "Black" and not, as some here claim, just a simple Southern dish?

[CreekDog]

31. it's a crude stereotype --the man was about being judged by one's character not his color

and serving food in a stereotypical way is not an honor.

honestly, Dr. King was about breaking down stereotypes, it would honestly be more an honor to serve sushi or basmati rice or streudel on his day as an honor than Chicken and Waffles.

if you are intelligent and understand Dr. King's legacy, you get this.

if you don't understand it, you don't get it.

well you don't get it and the thing about ignorance --you don't wanna know either.

:hi:

[mike_c]

39. I think of it as *perhaps* a regional stereotype, not a racial stereotype....

I mean, I grew up in the south and I LOVE fried chicken. I don't go out of my way to eat waffles but Waffle House restaurants are beyond ubiquitous in the southeast. If you haven't seen them, then it might be difficult to understand the degree that they're identified with southern cuisine, but there's probably a Waffle House for every 1000 people in most of the southeastern states. They are THAT common. There are certainly more Waffle Houses than there are, say, MacDonalds. And let's see-- Chick-Fil-A, Churches Fried Chicken, KFC, Popeye's Chicken (and those are just the chains I remember).

Like I said above, chitlins and watermelon is a racial stereotype. Attempting to pair southern foods-- demonstrably popular among southerners of ALL races-- with the celebration of a southern icon's life? Believe me, I do "get it." I just think it's way too much ado about way too little.

Besides, what WOULD have been an acceptable, nonstereotypic meal to serve on MLK day? Something with no possible connection to his life or his birthplace? That would probably offend someone else.

Like I said, chitlins and watermelon would piss me off to no end. Chicken and waffles is good food, popular throughout the region Dr. King spent much of his life in, and not a complete culinary non sequitur.

[CreekDog]

27. well what does chicken and waffles have to do with MLK?

please explain it to me, like I'm 5.

why not caviar?

[Sonoman]

42. Tomorrow

I am headed out the door to go drinking with a beautiful woman who is not my wife (because I am not married, too much).

Really, Creek Dog, could you send me a PM so I don't forget?

I probably have a different take on this subject than many on this site.

Sonoman

[virgogal]

12. I cannot believe someone had a problem with this. Ridiculous.

By the way,I never even heard of chicken and waffles being served together,but it doen't sound bad.

[CreekDog]

30. Would MLK want to be remembered by serving food that people think black people like?

is that really why we have a holiday for him?

just because you won't think of why this is a bad idea doesn't mean you cannot think of why it's a bad idea.

just use your mind.

[virgogal]

36. But who thinks black people like that food? That was my point.

[CreekDog]

38. Fried chicken, really?

i'm not saying this was a felony, but jeez...honoring MLK day with Fried Chicken? that's just got fail written all over it. it's clumsy at best, it's crudely stereotypical at worst.

for Cesar Chavez day (March 31st) should they have burrito day? :sarcasm:

for Columbus, should it be Meatball day?

for July 4th, should they serve Eagle wings?

you get what i'm saying.

[virgogal]

46. Maybe it's a regional thing. I have never associated fried chicken (or pancakes) with

black people.

The one food I associate with them is sweet potato pie------which I adore,by the way.

We used to get it at Bob the Chef's in Boston.

[CreekDog]

49. sorry to give you a hard time, but why is something acceptable because you don't have knowledge?

there are lots of things you don't know, that doesn't mean they aren't offensive/insulting/stereotypical.

this was one. instead of arguing about it, why can't you just say, "wow, i had no idea, in that case it is a bad idea"



and by the way:

"The co-chairman of the school's Black Student Union and another student lodged formal complaints."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/01/27/state/n074441S28.DTL#ixzz1CGRYSBPz

[virgogal]

50. No need to apologize for anything. This entire matter

is much ado about nothing.

[Bluebear]

16. bad taste??? i LOVE chicken and waffles :)

[CreekDog]

34. well you mean taste literally

okay, on that i can't disagree. :P

[WinkyDink]

19. MLK, Jr, unlike, say, Elvis, was not known for liking certain foods. So this was a CHEAP bit of

MINSTREL SHOW.
Sorry if some don't "get" it.

Maybe the school should serve only boiled spuds on March 17. You know, to "honor" St. Patrick.

[blondeatlast]

23. I'm melaninically-challenged. I LUV chicken and waffles and it was a standard Sunday

after meetin' treat (I preferred biscuits, myself, but waffles got no complaint from me).

I'ts SOUTHERN food, not "soul food." I think I can claim to "get it."

[WinkyDink]

24. Really? Was this a Southern holiday being celebrated?

BTW: MLK, Jr., Day is on a Monday.

[JI7]

20. is it something that is served regularly ?

[Starry Messenger]

22. MLK day is usually a day of remembrance.

Not a "food-related" festive holiday. The sign up in the cafeteria was in questionable taste. Since this happened in Orange County, I'm going to guess this is an event that happened against a vast tapestry of other similar racially clueless things.

[Canuckistanian]

37. At least it wasn't chitlins and collard greens

I imagine white folks in the South enjoyed Chicken & Waffles, too. I don't perceive it to be THAT much of a stereotype.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[kath]

41. Gee, I had thought that maybe chicken and waffles was a German thing!

My mom, of German and Swiss heritage, used to serve it, and no one else I knew had ever heard of it. I've *never* associated that dish with African-Americans - watermelon, fried chicken, possibly ribs. Chicken and waffles, no.

On edit - just now saw the photo from Roscoe's. My mom's version was a creamed chicken type thing served on top of waffles, not fried chicken w/ waffles on the side.

[hughee99]

52. There's nothing wrong with chicken and waffles,

There's nothing wrong with serving chicken and waffles on MLK Day, but I can see where some people would be upset about serving this IN HONOR of MLK day.

Leaving aside the racial connotations of chicken (and it doesn't say it was fried chicken in the link), it's perhaps also somewhat offensive in that they're "honoring" MLK by serving the same stuff they likely serve just about every day.

I was thinking about it, and I'm not sure what menu choices would have been appropriate "in honor" of MLK (as opposed to just being served on MLK Day). Is there anything you could put on a plate and serve that would really do his memory justice?