Junk Food (1960); Senate Bean Soup (1943); Chicken a la King (1911)

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   I was generally disappointed with the food items I tested into WASHINGTON
POST full text.  I had expected "crab cakes" to be beaten easily, but it
wasn't.  I had expected the Delaware "submarine sandwich" to make an early
appearance here in the 1940s, but I got the mid-1950s.  The earliest
"Manhattan" and "Martini" cocktails are in an 1891 article.  There was not
even an early "daiquiri."
   Here are some results, but I have more.

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JUNK FOOD

   "Junk food" is widely accepted to have been coined by Gael Greene in
1971--but it wasn't.
   The term is very important in these current times,  with lawyers suing
McDonald's.  Why McDonald's and not Dunkin' Donuts or the Pillsbury doughboy
(talk about bad role models), I'll never know.

   1 September 1960, WASHINGTON POST, pg. C10:
   "In his book, 'Eat, Live and be Merry,' nutritionist Carlton Frdericks
points out that 'half the protein in the adult diet should come from animal
sources--that is, eggs, milk, cheese, meat and fish.  Children should receive
two-thirds of  their protein from animal sources, with milk and eggs the
prime sources and meat, fish and fowl second.
   "it is too bad that protein is the most costly element of a good
diet--especially so for the lower-income families.  The simple answer, I
think, is to cut out practically all of the junk foods (soda pop, cookies,
etc.), thereby saving money to purchase better foods.'"

   25 June 1967, WASHINGTON POST, pg. L1:
   Food at Expo ranges from rare delights that one might think exist only in
a gourmet's fancy to the greasy junk food found at a local ballpark or
carnival.

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GREEK SALAD

   Another early "Greek Salad" hit is the word balloon in this WINNIE WINKLE,
THE BREADWIINER cartoon.

   18 April 1923, WASHINGTON POST, pg. 9:
   WE'LL START WITH RUSSIAN CAVIAR THEN SCOTCH BROTH, SPANISH MACKEREL,
ENGLISH MUTTON-CHOP, GREEK SALAD, ITALIAN SPUMONI, FRENCH PASTRY AND TURKISH
COFFEE!

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CHICKEN A LA KING

   This bolsters what I'd posted before.  The right king must be crowned.

   21 September 1911, WASHINGTON POST, pg. 3 ad:
   A good sherry to use to give the right flavor to lobster a la newberg,
crab meat a la Maryland, and chicken a la king.
_TO-KALON WINE CO._

   14 March 1915, WASHINGTON POST, pg. M4:
_A NAME ON ALL MEN'S TONGUES._
   _(Philadelphia Ledger.)_
   The inventor of chicken a la King is dead.  If Macadam is immortalized by
a type of roadway, and Lord Raglan by a garment, and Sir Robert Peel by the
"bobbies" and "peelers," why should not William King, of Philadelphia, go
down to fame upon the palatable, savory concoction of fowl and muchrooms
(sic), truffles and red peppers smothered in cream that wears his name?

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SENATE BEAN SOUP

   Pinto beans, jelly beans, Senate bean soup--didn't I promise you beans?
   Not in the latest DARE under "Senate"?
   See the entry in John Mariani's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD AND DRINK
(1999).
   I didn't find an early hit for it with "bean soup," but this is a fine
article.  I take this back with me from the Library of Congress, and post
this as a duty to this great nation.
   From the WASHINGTON POST, 4 January 1943, pg. 1:

   _No Party Lines_
_Bean Soup, Senate Fixture,_
_Sure of Confidence Vote_
   By Francis J. Kelly
   Not the least of the preparations going forward yesterday for the opening
of Congress Wednesday was the polishing of the big brass kettle where the
Senate's bean soup simmers.
   That bean soup has been a daily feature on the menu of the Senate
Restaurant for at least 40 years, and one ancient waiter said he reckoned it
was compulsory under the Constitution.
   Veterans of the Capitol, however, recalled that its daily preparation was
ordered by the Senate Rules Committee around the turn of the century upon the
demand of the late Senator Knute Nelson, a Republican bean soup fancier from
Minnesota.  The venerable delicacy, though priced at only 15 cents, is still
the pride of Paul C. Johnson, head of service in the Senate dining rooms.
   To admiring visitors, he hands this recipe headed, "Keep 'em flying high,
to do this you had better try, that good old-fashioned bean soup":
   "Take 3 pounds of small navy pea beans, wash and run through hot water,
until beans are white again, put on the fire with 4 quarts of hot water, then
take 1 1/2 pounds of smoked ham hocks, boil for 2 1/2 hours, braise one onion
chopped in a little butter, and when light brown, put in bean soup, season
with salt and pepper, then serve, do not add salt until ready to serve."
   That's his plain bean soup, which has stocked many a Senator for feats of
eloquence and endurance.  Johnson has a supersoup, however, for state
occasions and bonfire nights.
   "Take a nice slice of Smithfield ham, saute it, dice it up in  the bottom
of the soup dish and pour the bean soup over it.  M-m-m-m!  M-m-m-m!  Mighty
fine!  The essence of the Smithfield ham permeates up through the rich hot
soup and it opens up your vocal chords, stimulates your appetite and clears
out your head."
   Restaurants are maintained in both the House and Senate wings of the
Capitol, with all but a few of the dining rooms open to the public.  The
Senators and Representatives have to pay for their meals like anyone else.
   Johnson, connected with the restaurant since 1900, recalled the good old
days when every Senator was served a half-pound of butter at a time and there
was a bowl of fruit, a basket of bread and a huge pineapple cheese on every
table.  Before 1903, juleps and punches were served, but alcoholic drinks no
longer are available in the dining rooms.
   "In those days," Johnson recalled, "a waiter didn't have to go around with
a pocketful of nickels and dimes.  It was $5 anmd $10 bills, and keep the
change."