In which we go all taro on everybody

The Pups have apparently gone Polynesian. They’re offering poi at their tournament. I’ve never eaten poi, so I’m looking forward to this. And I hope the idea of bringing in unusual foods from around the world takes off at other tournaments. Big Bronx notoriously offered “Foods of the World, Unite,” but when push came to shove, it was mostly debate ziti, and, I guess, fried rice, which is debate ziti cut up smaller. Tournaments looking to expand the culinary boundaries need to look beyond the Italian boot. (They should also look beyond the Spanish and Malay boots, but that’s another subject altogether.) Lutefisk might be a good idea, for instance. Who doesn’t enjoy a plate of fish prepared with lye? That would work well at Scarsdale, I think—that’s a real foodie town—as long as they serve enough aquavit to wash it down. That might not go over big with their administration, though. They probably want to keep all the aquavit to themselves. 

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the question is, at what point did I lose you? Poi? Lutefisk? Lye? Aquavit? I know I originally lost me at poi. Which, of course, is actually POI. Which, perhaps, still means little or nothing to you. I had to look it up. Let’s put it this way: if you don’t know what POI is, or poi for that matter, then don’t worry about it. They won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.

Anyhow, JV put it into the tabroom setup for the Pups, so there we are. Meanwhile I’ve gone over the whole setup and it all looks ready to go. August 1 is just around the corner, after all.

Start your engines!