Tossed Salad

Language is a wonderful platform for cultural expressions and miscommunication. Words or phrases we think of as common may be totally confusing to a nonEnglish speaker. The Viking crew always goes out of their way to fulfill our every request. The word “no” simply is not in the Viking vocabulary. Today Chuck asked for a tossed salad in the World Cafe. The attendant behind the counter immediately had the “deer caught in the headlights” look and froze. After half a minute she told him to take a seat and she would have it delivered to him. Now “tossed salad” in NC means lettuce with tomatoes and a few other vegetables which are topped with dressing. Pretty simple and basic. Evidently the term “tossed salad” is an American phrase. The dear attendant sent the order to the kitchen and 30 minutes later a masterful salad appeared with pearl onions, chicken, a variety of lettuces, olives, carrots, green beans, peas, bacon, diced potatoes and more. I think they had taken everything in the kitchen and tossed it together. I had already finished my lunch when I saw the waiter looking for us, so I got up to go get Chuck’s salad. He said it had taken a bit longer because the preparer had to get a large bowl for the salad so that they could toss it. God bless the Viking crew. They gave it their best shot including tossing that salad. I would love to have been in the kitchen listening to the conversation about the man who wanted his salad tossed…..what does he want in it, how much does he want it tossed, do we toss it before or after the dressing or both times, why would he want it tossed????? Viking gets a 10 for the “tossed salad” but tomorrow I will make Chuck’s salad from the salad bar and save the crew the stress of tossing a salad.Read more