Reader questions trickle in infrequently enough that I usually just answer them one-by-one or try to build them out into their own full posts.
But it is too hot in Kansas City this week to do anything but stare at my inbox, so I am now soliciting all of your embarrassing questions vaguely related to food, drink, or the 1899 Henri Rousseau painting “The Past and the Present, or Philosophical Thought.”
You can send in your questions in one of three convenient ways:
Reply directly to this email! (This only works if you’re reading this in your inbox, of course. You can also email me at lizcook.kc@gmail.com.)
Comment on this post on Substack.
Tweet at me: @lizcookkc
If enough questions come in, I’ll spread ‘em out over a few Mailbags interspersed with the regular posts.
After previous Mailbag posts, a few readers wrote in and suggested that I call it the “Feedbag” instead. I cannot do this. Albert Burneko used to write a column called the “Feedbag,” and too many of you are Defector readers for me to get away with plagiarism. More importantly, I do not want to cheapen the memory of my last visit to Florida, when I overheard a man shout “strap on the feedbag, Big Snack” into his phone.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I think about this man—and the mysterious person on the other end of the line—weekly.
You don’t get to choose your nickname. But if I could, I’d probably choose Big Snack.
Why in the Midwest do we call "thinly-pounded deep-fried breaded pork" a "pork tenderloin" instead of schnitzel, which it clearly is? Is it anti-German sentiment? Anxiety over mispronouncing so many consonants pushed together?
You can *totally* choose your nickname! Look: "Hi, I'm Liz — but you can call me Big Snack." Done and done!