Poetic Salads

Salads, Sandwiches & Desserts by Wayne Thiebaud

Back from Mauritius today and what did I find in Baudelaire’s little island? Poetry in salads. That’s right. Beyond decadence, always a banquet, of sorts. Here is a list of salads from the L’Escale Restaurant in Port Louis:

Walt Whitman – Pan-fried prawns with salmon roe, fresh sprouts mesclun on whole wheat crostini with a grape seed vinaigrette.

Fernando Pessoa – Dorado carpaccio and tabouleth with fresh Italian parley and lemon juice.

Rainer Maria Rilke – Heart of palm tapenade, pan-fried scallops with a cold emulsified combava lime sauce.

Linh Dinh – Vietnamese rolls with smoked marlin and crispy seasonal vegetables.

Oscar Wilde – Layers of cream of sweet corn with fine herbs, home smoked dorado and a seaweed salad.

Edgar Allen Poe – Pressed swordfish and celeriac with dill flavored sour cream and crunchy whole wheat bread.

Shiki Masaoka – Thin strips of ahi tuna sashimi with mizuna salad and avocado.

Kenji Miyazawa – From the Bento box – a selection of sushi and sashimi.

Charles Baudelaire – Layers of pickled aubergine, mozzarella and pickled tomato salsa with thin slices of Serrano ham.

I should say one thing. I did not steal the menu. I was told to borrow it “discreetly” to share with all my poetry friends. Bon appetite! You are, of course, welcome to make your own favorite poet salad. Any recipes? If not you can alwyas stop at the Earth Cafeteria for that special snack.