5/19/2003

Why I Hate Cobb - Driving in to work this morning, I came to the realization that I hate California Cobb salad. The odd thing is, I've never had one.

What triggered the realization was a sign at a McDonalds on Faunce Corner road. "CALIFORNIA COBB SALAD IS HERE!"

I think the reason I've had such a strong reaction is that I have the distinct feeling that someone out there (and he or she works in marketing) thinks I need California Cobb salad in my life. How this decision was made, I'm not quite sure. But when I was in D'Angelo's the other day and saw another sign for Cobb salad, it was the first time I had heard of the beast.

There is a passably good chance that I would like the Cobb salad if I were to try it. In fact, I think it has ham in it, which I am fond of. And I like salad. But I resent the sudden onslaught of this Cobb salad meme on my senses. Having detected this intrusion, my anti-meme defenses have been raised.

That, and I just don't like the name. "Cobb..." It doesn't do a thing for my appetite. In my gastronomic vocabulary, "cob" is already taken. And if we're not talking fresh sweet corn from a New England farmstand or farmer's market in July, I don't want to hear it.

Is this how that nameless guy in Green Eggs and Ham felt? I agree that people ought to try new things. Sam I Am was right about that. But what if Sam I Am were some guy trying to market a new product to you, something new every day. Often this new thing is just a small variation on an old thing, with a different name. He's at you constantly - every time you turn on the TV, read a magazine, go for a drive, on a plane, on a train, in the house, with a mouse.

The green eggs take on a little bit of a different flavor now, don't they?