THE HUMOR-IMPAIRED loudly debated whether Whole Foods even has stores in Iowa (it doesn't, apparently) or whether arugula is grown there (yes, apparently).
But both points were beside the point.
What's important, first, is that arugula is an inherently funny word, like rutabaga or kumquat. It's something your six-month-old niece might say after a hearty belch: "A roo goo la la."
And second, the use of the word arugula in the manner employed by Mr. Obama is a near-perfect coincident indicator of the presence of an elitist.
Normal people don't eat much arugula, and they certainly don't comparison shop for it at high-end organic grocers.
Unca D, his own self, has used arugula a few times to poke fun at the Chronicle editorial board and other self-anointed clever people, most recently in this headline: "If only our local edimoralists would shop for health-care policy where they buy their arugala." Also see this.
But -- do gifts from comedy heaven never cease? -- the Chronicle stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Mr. Obama in its open affection for erucus sativa.
In July 2008 an editorial urged Houstonians to grow their own arugula (kid you not). And today the editorialists merrily wrote about:
recipes such as curried buttermilk-squash soup; arugula salad; chocolate hazelnut cake; and famously, chicken marbella . . . .
A professonal comedy writer tasked with making fun of out-of-touch libs could not have written a funnier line.
Our betters on the Chronicle editorial board are gloriously immune to self-awareness about their disconnection from the realities of readers' lives.
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(Forgive my frequent misspelling of arugula. It's a food product I know not by sight, but that's no excuse.)
UPDATE: Thanks for the link from blogHouston.
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