Posted by Rodger Whitlock on January 14, 1999 at 13:50:37:
In Reply to: Re: Beer and Sausages posted by Terry on January 14, 1999 at 13:24:34:
: What did the Darsh eat? Something really disgusting. Anyone?
I seem to recall Keith Gersen's assistant Jehan Addels asking
the waiter in a Darsh dive to go easy on the sulfur and iodine.
The philosophy of Darsh cuisine was that it tasted so bad that it
made a drink of cool, clear water even more refreshing.
The foods were named chatowsies, ahagaree, and porrian, IIRC.
Interestingly, in the first or second book in the Star King
series, Vance assayed a trial run at this kind of cuisine by
introducing the "Sanduskers" and their foods. But there's a
difference: while the Darsh cuisine is truly other-worldly,
the Sandusker cuisine is (IMHO!) a parody or satire (which?) of
things we eat hear and now. Pink sausages? Ever looked at a
string of frankfurters? Strong flavoured dark paste? Ever had
Chinese preserved black beans?
As usual, Vance's descriptive powers make the reader's palate
tingle along with his characters'.