Cole slaw is something we all grow up with. It’s usually mayo based, or vinegar based and not that interesting. Occasionally you get cole slaw that is amazing for some reason, like at Bismarck’s Bar and Grill where they add bacon. But normally, it’s something we eat as a side dish because of tradition more than anything else. Cabbage is cheap. It is mostly used the cut the richness of fatty foods. (See what I did there? Cheap Cabbage/Rich food? I’m hilarious.) I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone exclaim “Cole Slaw! That’s my favorite!”
This isn’t cole slaw. It is a cabbage salad. It was John’s favorite part of the meal. He said it was the only part of the meal he didn’t think he’d get sick of eating as leftovers. I thought that perhaps the onion rings were a little much. I am not sure if I would’ve preferred them to be thinner slices or chopped more, but they were too much.
But it’s not memorable. I wrote up the first part of this when we first had the salad. A few days and a few recipes later, I can’t even remember what the salad tasted like. It was good, it was fine, it wasn’t worth having it the second day if there were other options. And it kind of sucks for the salad.
Actually, thinking back, this would probably be a great accompaniment to grilled food. There are hot days where a nice cold cabbage salad is the perfect thing to go with a nice pork shoulder, rubbed with onion and herb paste and slow roasted on the grill all day long. Or BBQ chicken. Nice and moist and falling off the bone. That tang of the barbecue sauce. But this salad is never going to be the star of the show. It’s always going to be a member of the chorus. It might get a line or two in a major production, but it’s ultimately going to back to its waitressing gig to wait for the big break that will never come. I mean, come on. It’s still just cabbage salad.