An Ode to Potato Salad
I did not grow up in a plentiful potato salad household.
With some families, summer is just not summer without a big bowl of potato salad chilling on a shelf in the fridge week in and week out for barbecue get-togethers or sleepy Sunday lunches on the patio.
Growing up, potato salad was a rarity for me, though. My Chinese-American parents never made it. But now and then, my Dad would pick up a plastic pint container of potato salad from the local grocery store to eat on weekends with sandwiches at lunch time.
I remember snapping off the plastic lid to find soft, diced potatoes smothered in mayo with a tiny bit of crunchy celery and piquant minced pickles mixed in. I’d scoop out a tablespoon or two to enjoy, savoring its creamy coldness as it hit my tongue.
Nowadays, I do make my own potato salad. But not very often.
It’s still a once-in-awhile summer treat to me. When you don’t prepare it all the time, you want the one you do make to be something special. This one definitely is.
It used to be served at Gordon’s cafe in Yountville, a family-owned joint that was a favorite of locals and tourists for its generous sandwiches and comforting entrees — all made from topnotch ingredients.
