The Masters is all about tradition: the par 3 tournament, the ceremonial tee shot, the green jacket, calling everybody "patron," the Champions Dinner, and of course, institutionalized racism.*
As is custom, the defending champion gets to choose the menu for the Champions Dinner held during Masters week. This year, Zach Johnson was planning to have Ruth Chris Steakhouse serve up some Iowa beef, to honor his roots, and in a nod to his wife, Amelia Island shrimp. Augusta National offered a polite "hell no" on the idea and reminded Johnson that he'd have to use the chefs on staff.
So it was back to the drawing board, and the menu remains a work in progress with only a couple of weeks before his mid-March deadline. Surf and turf is about as concrete as it gets so far.Sounds good. Just stay away from the chicken and collard greens. It really bums out the segregationists who will be in attendance.
"We're trying to piece some things together and see how that works out," Johnson said... "I have a feeling it's going to be some Midwest food with some Florida flair."
After the jump, 20 years worth of Champions Dinner menus.
* joke
Phil Mickelson, 2007: Barbecued ribs, chicken, sausage and pulled pork, with cole slaw.A couple of thoughts: Fuzzy Zoeller made his jaw-droppingly offensive comments even though Woods served cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries and milkshakes. Yeah, that guy's not an a-hole. Also, where was all the bellyaching in 1986, 1989 and 2004?
Tiger Woods, 2006: Stuffed jalapeno and quesadilla appetizers with salsa and guacamole; green salad; steak fajitas, chicken fajitas, Mexican rice, refried beans; apple pie and ice cream for dessert.
Phil Mickelson, 2005: Lobster ravioli in tomato cream sauce, Caesar's salad, garlic bread.
Mike Weir, 2004: Elk, wild boar, Arctic char (that's a fish), Canadian beer.
Tiger Woods, 2002: Porterhouse steak and chicken with a sushi appetizer.
Vijay Singh, 2001: Seafood tom kah, chicken panang curry, baked sea scallops with garlic sauce, rack of lamb with yellow kari sauce, baked filet Chilean sea bass with three flavor chili sauce, lychee sorbet.
Mark O'Meara, 1999: Chicken fajitas, steak fajitas, sushi, tuna sashimi.
Tiger Woods, 1998: Cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries, milkshakes.
Nick Faldo, 1997: Fish and chips, tomato soup.
Ben Crenshaw, 1996: Texas barbecue.
Jose Maria Olazabal, 1995: Paella (a Spanish rice dish) and hake (whitefish), plus tapas.
Bernhard Langer, 1994: Turkey and dressing, black forest torte.
Fred Couples, 1993: Chicken cacciatore.
Sandy Lyle, 1989: Haggis, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips.
Bernhard Langer, 1986: Weiner schnitzel (breaded veal).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2008 @ 3:15PM
kobrfl#aol.com said...
They made such a big deal about what Fuzzy said, a lot of the PGA Tour members were very jealous of Tiger and resented all the money and attention he got. Now they all have 2 or 3 times more money because of Tiger and they are OK with him now. I think the media does more to promote racism than anything else, I guess they don't believe in the 1st amendment for free speech. The most racist people are the Muslim extremists and I don't see any paper reporting that, they hate Americans, Jews, women, you name it, all they care about is spreading hate. Why don't they show the cartoon of Mohammad over and over again?
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3-05-2008 @ 6:23PM
pitch_a_good_one said...
* Hmmmm , Georgia Turkeys ,Georgia Possum , Snappin Turtles , Wild Rice , Black Crow appetizers , Moonshine drinks , Sweet-Tater Pie ,Georgia red mud pie , G O S H , how about that menu request ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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3-05-2008 @ 7:38PM
Dave said...
I just hope Tiger keeps on winning at Augusta. All sports have had their less than stellar pasts with race. Golf, not suprisingly, was the slowest to allow non-whites into their sport. Better late than never and I don't think dwelling on the past is helpful since most people don't learn from it. SO again - I just hope Tiger keeps on winning - especially at Augusta!
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3-06-2008 @ 12:09PM
mac said...
can you imagine what boo weekleys menu would be.
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3-07-2008 @ 10:19AM
rlyoldfool said...
Oh, yeah! Let's all dwell on the past, and we'll be able to keep kicking our favorite "bad guys" in the teeth; none of this making peace with other, or REALLY becoming friends with each other. Giving Fuzzy such a bad time is what keeps our godawful press in material. Perish the thought that they wouldn't have something "scandalous" to publish.
the RlyOldFool
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