Is salad dressing just lettuce gravy? “Cooks coined new word for salad dressing...’lettuce gravy’ I don’t know about that one...” was cited on Twitter on February 25, 2011. “I have heard some regions of Arkansas refer to salad dressing as ‘lettuce gravy’” was cited on Twitter on June 15, 2011.
American comedian and author Jim Gaffigan popularized the line in 2014. “Salad dressing is just lettuce gravy” was a popular tweet on May 28, 2014. Gaffigan wrote in the book Food: A Love Story (2014):
“Salad dressing is lettuce gravy. It’s there to mask the inadequacies.”
Wikipedia: Jim Gaffigan
James Christopher “Jim” Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and author. His humor largely revolves around fatherhood, observations, and (most notably) food. He is also regarded as a “clean” comic, using little profanity in his routines. He has had several successful comedy specials, including Mr. Universe and Jim Gaffigan:Obsessed, both of which received Grammy nominations. His memoir, Dad Is Fat (2013) and his most recent book, Food: A Love Story (2014), are both published by Crown Publishers. He co-created and currently stars in a TV Land television series based on his life called The Jim Gaffigan Show.
Twitter
John DiGiovanni CCC
@chefdigiovanni
Cooks coined new word for salad dressing..."lettuce gravy” I don’t know about that one…
1:12 PM - 25 Feb 2011
Twitter
Noah Jodice
@noahjodice
@TomHaverfoods Salad Dressing is Lettuce Gravy! #TomHaverfoods #ParksandRec
7:17 PM - 27 Apr 2011
Twitter
Vann & Associates
@VannPR
@PhilBacharach I have heard some regions of Arkansas refer to salad dressing as “lettuce gravy.” Is cream or brown still a choice?
2:02 PM - 15 Jun 2011
Twitter
Davey Hatesmith
@DaveyHatesmith
I’m calling salad dressing “lettuce gravy.” I’m bringing it back.
10:35 AM - 14 Oct 2011
Google Books
Food:
A Love Story
By Jim Gaffigan
New York, NY: Three Rivers Press
2014
Pg. ?:
I don’t even like lettuce on a cheeseburger. I need salad dressing. Without a heavy dose of salad dressing I feel like I’m eating a bag of yard work. Salad dressing is lettuce gravy. It’s there to mask the inadequacies.
Twitter
Jim Gaffigan
@JimGaffigan
Salad dressing is just lettuce gravy.
10:11 PM - 28 May 2014
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•
Entry in progress—BP (8/16)
•
“The federal government is organized crime” (8/16)
•
“A crow walks into a bar, and he says ‘ouch’. It was a crow bar” (bar joke) (8/16)
•
“A crow walks into a bar. It becomes a crowbar” (bar joke) (8/16)
•
“True fact: Before the crowbar was invented, most crows drank at home” (8/16)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik.