LUKE: So when Jess is upstairs, that means the stereo’s blaring and the place is a mess. I just needed a little privacy. LORELAI: So you came downstairs … to sit on an uncomfortable chair in an empty diner that smells like onion rings.
Onion rings are an appetiser, snack, or side dish consisting of a “ring” of onion dipped in batter or breadcrumbs, and deep fried. A British recipe dates to 1802, while an American recipe from Middletown, New York can be found in 1910. Kirby’s Pig Stand Restaurant in Dallas, Texas claims to have invented the onion ring in the 1920s. Onion rings became popular fast food items in the 1960s when the A&W fast food restaurant chain added them to the menu.
LORELAI: Hey, will you go get the ice cream and make sure they give us a ton of maraschino cherries?
A maraschino cherry is one that has been sweetened and preserved, They are preserved in a brine solution containing sulphur dioxide and calcium chloride to bleach them, then soaked in a mixture of red food colouring and sugar syrup.
The name comes from the Marasca cherry from Croatia, a type of Morello cherry; cherries preserved in marasca liqueur were known as “maraschino cherries”. They became popular in Europe in the 19th century, but because the supply of cherries was limited, they were a delicacy reserved for royalty and the very wealthy.
Maraschino cherries were introduced to the US in the late 19th century, where they were served in fine bars and restaurants. Because they were scarce and expensive, by the turn of the century other cherries such as the Royal Anne were substituted, and flavours like almond extract added. Alcohol was already becoming rare as a preserving agent, and when Prohibition arrived, became illegal.
Maraschino cherries are used in certain cocktails, and are used to decorate foods such as cakes, pastries, fruit salad, and baked ham. In the US, they are an essential addition to ice cream sundaes, leading to the expression, “the cherry on top” to mean the finishing touch which makes a good thing perfect.
Another mention of Lorelai’s love of cherries, this is at least the third one. Note that Rory is going to get rocky road ice cream sundaes to take home and eat with the movie, and they are walking. Even on a chilly night, how are the sundaes not going to melt on the way home? Do they live only thirty seconds walk from the centre of town?
A possible slight contradiction – in Season 1, Lorelai says Rory doesn’t like rocky road cookies, but now she’s happily ordering rocky road sundaes. I suppose it’s plausible she doesn’t like rocky road in cookies, but enjoys it in ice cream, although it sounds unlikely to me. She might have changed her mind, also.
SHERRY: Great. Oh, of course this does leave you a sad little orphan. CHRISTOPHER: Oh, that’s okay. I’ll have one of my patented White Castle bachelor dinners.
White Castle, a hamburger restaurant chain in the US operating in 13 states, mostly in New York and the Midwest. It is credited as the world’s first fast-food hamburger chain, founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 by Walt Anderson and Billy Ingram. Anderson is credited as the inventor of the hamburger bun, while Ingram’s business savvy helped popularise the hamburger. The chain is still owned by the Ingram family.
In real life, the nearest White Castle restaurant to Litchfield is in Nanuet, New York, almost two hours drive away. Possibly Christopher is simply using the name to mean he’ll be grabbing a burger somewhere, or eating at a chain restaurant.
SHERRY: Except that our colors were white and bright red. I looked hideous. CHRISTOPHER: Oh, she’s being self-deprecating. You looked cute in that outfit. SHERRY: No no, I looked like a peppermint stick. I swear, that’s where my addiction to clothes comes from. Trying to make up for all the years of having to wear the same thing every day.
A peppermint stick is a long stick of hard candy with peppermint flavouring, traditionally coloured with red and white stripes. They were developed in the US, and are often marketed as an “old fashioned” or traditional candy. They have been sold since at least 1837, when they were shown at an exhibition in Massachusetts, and were popular by the 1860s. By the early 1900s, they were already viewed nostalgically.
I don’t know of any private school in the US which has a bright red and white uniform. Note Sherry’s implication that she was very slim as a schoolgirl, when she compares herself to a skinny peppermint stick.
This really seems to be confirmation that Lorelai and Rory aren’t that greedy. Halloween was four months ago, and they haven’t even eaten all their candy yet. They do have a real problem throwing food out, though. Old candy doesn’t sound nice-tasting or safe to eat.
RORY: We must have something. LORELAI: Not unless Divine Providence has placed a miracle brie and cracker plate in the fridge.
In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God’s intervention in the world. There is both the “general Providence” of God maintaining the existence and order of the Universe, and “special Providence” of making some extraordinary intervention in people’s lives, such as a miracle. It would definitely be a minor miracle to find a Brie cheese and cracker plate has appeared in your fridge!
RORY: Where else can we invite them? LORELAI: Al’s Pancake World. RORY: No, it’s Friday. He does his prix fixe menu on Fridays.
Prix fixe is French for “fixed price” – a chef’s menu where there are only a few items, charged at a fixed total price to make an entire meal. It is also known as table d’hôte, literally “the host’s table”.
Apparently the prix fixe menu at Al’s isn’t good, or isn’t worth it.
CHRISTOPHER: I hear you’re the greatest chef after Alain Ducasse. SOOKIE: After Alain Ducasse? Who – who said after?
Alain Ducasse (born 1956), French-born chef from Monaco. He operates a number of restaurants, including Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, in London. In 2000 he opened the Alain Ducasse restaurant at the Essex Hotel in New York City. He was the first chef to have three restaurants that had been awarded three Michelin stars in three cities (London, Paris, New York). In 2012, he held 21 Michelin stars, making him the second-highest ranked chef in the world. In 2013 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from Restaurant magazine.
PARIS: Mrs. O’Malley is impregnable but yesterday I complimented Mrs. Gladstone’s dumpy outfit and bought her an ice cream sandwich and she practically licked my hand in gratitude.
In North America, a slab of ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate cookies. The earliest mention of it dates to 1899.
MRS. KIM: Lane, come down for your snack! LANE: It’s tea and melba toast time, gotta go.
Melba toast is dry, crisp, thinly sliced toast which has been grilled twice, often served with soup or salad, or topped with pate. It is named after Australian opera star Dame Nellie Melba, born Helen Mitchell (1861-1931), and thought to date to 1897, when the singer was very ill, and this thin toast became the staple of her diet. The toast was created for her by French chef Auguste Escoffier. You can buy them in boxes, just like crackers.
Lane’s snack is therefore very dry and uninteresting, just a cut above dry bread and water.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 