Is Snail Salad a"regionalism" (or even a word?)

[Towse]

RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:
>
> In a message dated 1/27/03 3:50:09 PM, Bapopik at AOL.COM writes:
>
> >    "Snail salad" should certainly be in the next volume of DARE.  It is an
> > American regionalism.  Whether it makes DARE and whether it receives good
> > citational evidence are separate questions.
> >
>
> I'm certainly willing to be educated, but I found 8,000 hits for this on
> Google, from Hollywood to Rhode Island. It seems to me that anybody who eats
> seafood can conceive of seafood salad, and anybody who eats snails could well
> eat snail salad. So how can SNAIL SALAD be a genuine compound word at all,
> much less a regionalism? Maybe it could be an entry in a cookbook, but It
> APPEARS to be just an ordinary noun adjunct, like COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON or
> DICTIONARY MAKER or LEXICON INFLATER.

My quick Google search for /"snail salad" recipe/ didn't turn up
any recipes for this dish, but I did find a few places where the
ingredients were named. This, from a restaurant called Caffe
Dolce Vita on Federal Hill in Providence: Snail Salad - Snails,
onions, celery, olives, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, balsamic
vinegar. [ref: <http://www.where-to-dine.com/M/M527.asp>]

Judging from this post to the Conch-L list [ref:
<http://www.manandmollusc.net/molluscan_food_files/molluscan_food_conchl.html>],
the concoction is an Italian recipe, probably brought to RI by
the families of those splendid folks who call Federal Hill home.

"Busycon (carica and canaliculatum) are used in a tasty dish
available at many restaurants and delis in this area. The english
name is snail salad. It has an Italian name too, but if I try it
I'll probably pick the wrong one. It's a mixture of thin-sliced
Busycon meat (primarily the foot) with spices, vinegar, onions,
celery, and probably a few things I don't know about. I believe
the meat is marinated, but that's about all I know of it. I eat
it but I don't make it."

Sal
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