Oh, Those Three Beans of Yore

Every Sunday ever spent at a certain grandmother's house involved a three-bean salad. Granted, this salad, with it's green beans, wax beans and kidney beans -- and a little vinegar and sugar -- was made with love and firm-handed grace. Everyone ate it, so everyone must have liked the sweet...

By Merritt Martin

March 26, 2010

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Every Sunday ever spent at a certain grandmother's house involved a three-bean salad. Granted, this salad, with it's green beans, wax beans and kidney beans -- and a little vinegar and sugar -- was made with love and firm-handed grace. Everyone ate it, so everyone must have liked the sweet and sour bean blend. Right?

Sure, you can find three bean recipes online, but you can find recipes for anything online. The Highland Park Cafeteria -- an excellent local source for the Food of the Olds -- doesn't even list three bean salad on its menu, and it boasts tomato aspic, sour slaw and "perfection congeal." Haven't seen hide nor hair of it at Luby's, either. Furr's? Nope.

Where did three bean salad go and why? We remember it cold, oddly sweet and with a strange texture that's difficult to describe with any word other than "clear." And it's a nice memory: that big salad bowl with a slotted spoon next to the Chinet on a metal table.

This week's Days Gone Bite is gonna be short and sweet. You may remember this salad, but did you like it? If you don't remember this salad, would you consider eating it now?

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Merritt Martin has written for the Dallas Observer for over two decades. She has also contributed to Eater, DMN and USA Today. In addition to arts and culture writing, she spends entirely too much time extolling the virtues of pears, black clothing, and her cat Kenneth.

Contact: Merritt Martin

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