Tag: Food

Mustard Greens

LORELAI: I’m so happy for Sookie. I mean, it’s like a real live love story, and I saw it all happen. I mean, I hired Jackson. I watched them meet. I watched them have several bizarrely intense arguments over mustard greens. I watched them fall in love.

Mustard greens are the leaves of the mustard plant (Brassica juncea), also known as brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard. The plant has been cultivated in Asia and Europe for more than 2000 years, and is used in salads, soups, stews, and stir-fries, as well as pickles. It has a bitter, peppery flavour which matches well with beans, lentils, pork, ham, tofu, onions, garlic, and lemon.

Garfield

LUKE: Read your note … It was very well-written … I also enjoyed the Garfield stationery. That’s one funny cat.

Garfield, a comic strip created by Jim Davis featuring a lazy, fat, cynical orange tabby cat named Garfield, noted for his love of lasagne, coffee, and sleeping. Originally published as Jon (the name of Garfield’s owner) in 1976, it was syndicated nationally from 1978. It holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most syndicated comic strip, being published in more than 2000 newspapers and journals.

Garfield has been turned into comic books, TV shows, films, and video games, and been used for merchandise (such as the stationery) which earns up to $1 billion per year.

Lorelai Tries to Make Up With Luke

After half an hour of psyching herself up, Lorelai goes into the diner and tries to make up her fight with Luke. She has already written him a note to apologise, but Luke refuses to engage with her. He accepts her apology, he offers to get her a coffee and a doughnut, but there is no emotion there, and he barely looks at her (would his resolve crumble if he did?). Lorelai has really hurt Luke, and he cannot go back to how things were before.

Gouda

LORELAI: But I’m here now and hey, I’m like cheese ….

RORY: She gets better with time … Sorry Gouda, we’ve got school.

Gouda is a sweet, creamy cheese originating from the city of Gouda in the Netherlands. The first mention of it dates to 1184, making it one of the oldest recorded cheeses still made today.

Rory and Dean Eat Breakfast Together

Rory and Dean are eating breakfast at Luke’s before school, Lorelai unable to join them because she’s still in a fight with Luke. It’s a reminder that with Jess gone, Rory has just gone back to Dean as if everything is fine between them.

Just a few days before, Rory skipped school and caught a bus to New York to see Jess, the boy that Dean is jealous of, doesn’t trust one inch, and is sure that Rory likes more than him. Rory hasn’t told any of this to Dean – if Rory had been honest, she might not be having breakfast with Dean now! For someone who recently snuck off to see another guy, Rory is a pretty cool customer, grifting Dean out of his pancakes. She clearly feels extremely secure in her relationship.

Pup ‘N’ Taco

EMILY: I hope Raul’s getting enough shots of Lorelai. I don’t want the whole damn ceremony and none of her.

RICHARD: Oh, no, I disagree. I hope he gets every inspired word articulated by the East Coast Marketing Director of Pup ‘N’ Taco.

Pup ‘N’ Taco, a chain of fast-food restaurants in Southern California, originally headquartered in Long Beach, L.A. It was founded in 1956 by Russell Wendell as a drive-in restaurant selling tacos, hot dogs, and pastrami sandwiches. The first officially named Pup ‘N’ Taco opened in Pasadena in 1965. The business was bought out by Taco Bell in 1984, effectively ending the chain.

Not only did Pup ‘N’ Taco never have an East Coast Marketing Director (they were Californian), but they didn’t even exist in 2002! I presume Richard has no idea who he’s been listening to, and only knows the name Pup ‘N’ Taco because Johnny Carson used to make a lot of jokes about it on The Tonight Show in the 1970s and ’80s.

Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are grilled or steamed sausages served in the split of a partially sliced bun. The sausage used is a wiener (Viennese sausage) or a frankfurter (Frankfurter sausage). In the US hot dogs are often topped with ketchup or mustard, and might be garnished with onions, chilli, or pickles.

The sausages used in hotdogs were imported by Germans, and allegedly, the first hot dogs in the US were sold on the streets of St. Louis, Missouri by an immigrant from Frankfurt called Feuchtwanger in the late 19th century. A competing origin story is that they were first sold by Charles Feltman at Coney Island, in 1867.

Hot dogs were always a working class street food sold at stands and from carts, closely connected with baseball. They have a particular connection with New York City, but are ubiquitous throughout the US.

Jess takes Rory to a hot dog stand for lunch; it’s where Jess eats every day. Although Jess seems a bit apprehensive that it won’t be “fancy” enough, Rory immediately declares it as “perfect”. Like Luke, Jess has quickly got the idea that a big part of keeping a Gilmore Girl happy is to make sure she’s well-fed! Jess has taken Rory for an iconic New York City lunch.