On Barsoom (the ERBian Mars):
"...round slabs of grilled ground thoat meat between pieces of bread, mixed with strong-tasting herbs, and with a mound of deep-fried usa pieces on the side...the usa, the starchy root that was the staple of Barsoomian military rations..." (p. 249)
The hot usa, served with salt and spicy red sauce, is surprisingly good. The thoat between slices of bread is a Jasoomian (Terrestrial) dish called a "Paxton," after the Earthman, Ulysses Paxton. Although Paxton is another of that cursed pasty breed, it is granted that "'...these Paxtons are a worthy innovation.'" (ibid.) A fourteen-foot green Martian eats a dozen.
On Jasoom, we owe the sandwich to the Earl of Sandwich. See here.
Ulysses Paxton, like Gulliver Jones, has an appropriate first name. It links him to Homer, James Joyce, Arthur C. Clarke and SM Stirling's Nantucket Trilogy.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The ERBian "paxton" certainly seems very tasty! And it was amusing, the analogy made with the confection invented by the Earl of Sandwich.
Sean
Though Paxton is thinking of the earthly (and specifically 20th-century American) hamburger and fries.
Mr Stirling,
Indeed. I suppose a hamburger is a kind of Americanized sandwich.
Paul.
Dear Mr. Stirling and Paul,
I agree. And I also recall, from my visits to the UK, how LARGE British "chips" were compared to American "fries."
Sean
Post a Comment