Celery Salt (1876); NY Eats Out; OT: War/Disaster/Parking Tickets

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CELERY SALT

   "Celery salt" is an important ingredient in both the "Bloody Mary" (1000
Google hits for both terms) and the "hot dog" (1000 Google hits for both).
I've discussed both "Bloody Mary" and "hot dog," but I haven't proved my
"celery salt."
   Fortunately, there's a recent NY TIMES bestseller called SALT: A WORLD
HISTORY by Mark Kurlansky (NY: Penguin Books, 2002).  The book got great
reviews, so I'll just take it out, look in the index for "celery salt," and
it's on page...WHERE IS CELERY SALT?
   For the standard version plagiarized from other authors, this is from John
Mariani's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD AND DRINK:

"Celery salt" was first advertised in the Sears, Roebuck Catalog for 1897 and
is still used as a milder flavoring.

   This is like a rule of bad American etymology!  The American word or
phrase you're looking for was coined by/in/at (1) Mark Twain, (2) the 1893
Chicago World's Fair, (3) the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, (4) the 1876
Philadelphia U. S. Centennial, or (5) the Sears, Roebuck catalog.
   I'm away from Columbia University's American Periodical Series and
Accessible Archives databases right now, but 1876 looks like a good date for
this.  The NEW YORK TIMES and HARPER'S WEEKLY and MOA alll go back twenty
years earlier but have no earlier cites.

MAKING OF AMERICA-MICHIGAN (BOOKS)
   OFFICIAL CATALOGUE, U.S. CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, Philadelphia, 2d and rev.
ed. 1876, pg. 16:
   _Weikel & Smith Co._, Philadelphia, Pa.--Mustard, spices, celery-salt,
blacking.

11 March 1876, HARPER'S WEEKLY, pg. 216:
   Bottle Royal Celery Salt...(Price) 25.

14 January 1877, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 9:
   ...season with pepper and celery salt.

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NEW YORK EATS OUT (continued)

   The Culinary Historians of New York are offering "A Special Members Only
Event," according to my mail today.  It's an exclusive guided tour of the New
York Public Library's special exhibit, "New York Eats Out," led by NEW YORK
TIMES restaurant critic and exhibit curator William Grimes.
   Reservations are required.  The price is $25 for members, or $22 for
senior and student members.  Contact or send CHNY checks to Linda Pelaccio,
CHNY, 80 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012, (212) 334-4175.
   It's basically $25 just to see William Grimes.  The exhibit's free!

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OT:  WAR & DISASTER & PARKING TICKETS

   War, disaster, and parking tickets got me down today and yesterday.  Jews
are dying in outer space now.
   Three days ago at work, I was told that I'm being reinstated to the
Parking Violations appeals panel.  About eight years ago, I and several other
judges were thrown off panels at the whim of a psychopathic superior, who was
finally fired two years ago.  Reinstatement is nice and certainly
long-deserved, but it's sudden and bizarre and insane, like if the NEW YORK
TIMES or THE NEW YORKER or NEW YORK MAGAZINE or THE LATE SHOW were to
approach me today about "the Big Apple."
   Last night, I was flipping through the cable channels and stopped at the
usually useless "public access" channels, (in)famous for its telepsychic
shows and the Black Israelite Hour.  The show was "Democracy in Action," and
the guy was discussing his parking tickets and his 25 lawsuits against NYC.
   He said he got a parking judge right before closing time, and the judge
was "obviously tired."  The judge explained the then agency policy to reduce
a snow day parking ticket to half price, but this respondent wanted his
dismissed.  This judge had (allegedly) made a mistake and didn't realize that
a witness was waiting outside.  The "Democracy in Action" guy filed a Freedom
of Information Act request, got a written transcript of his parking ticket
hearing ("the only time it's been done"), and had his decision reversed on
appeal.
   Was I the judge?  I don't remember him.  It MIGHT have happened about
eight years ago.  This guy went to all that trouble and took days off work
for about $20?
   WAS THIS IS MY ONE MOMENT WHERE MY WORK IS ON NEW YORK CITY TELEVISION?