Something Bean

New Year's Day 2009


Got an e-mail invite to a New Year's Day Champagne Brunch at Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe. [Wait! Isn't Tommy Bahama an island-inspired clothing store? Well, yes, but there are a few store locations with a cafe. One of them can be found at Las Vegas' Town Square. It's an ideal concept meant for visitors who love being able to shop for clothes while sipping their favorite tropical drinks.]

Working on New Year's Day is not unusual in a city that never sleeps. Danielle and I were among the "fortunate few" who had to show up for work on the first day of '09. I shared with her the e-mail and it didn't take much to convince her to go with me. She thought it was a genius idea! By noon, our excitement had built up and we made our way to the restaurant.

As we approached the hostess stand, I noticed their "Top Shelf Bloody Mary Bar" where you could select from a wide array of top shelf imported and domestic vodkas with garnishes and mixers including Pickled Green Beans, Maytag Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives, Celery Stalks, and Asparagus Spears, to name a few.
The courteous staff led us to a comfy booth in their Garden Room. Large throw pillows with typical Tommy Bahama colors and prints were already seated and anxiously waiting for us to join them. The palm tree designs and accentuating green tea color in the room created a soothing ambience. Add to that the ceiling fans and the Carribean tunes in the background and voila! We immediately switched on an island attitude. It reminded me of Tommy Bahama's company mantra: "Relax...Life is One Long Weekend." It made our mimosas taste even better!

My $17 brunch entree, the "Tommy's Crab Cakes Benedict," was exactly what I hoped it would be: deliciously poached eggs and panko crusted crab cakes on sourdough bread with Canadian ham served with classic hollandaise. It was accompanied by Idaho breakfast potatoes and tropical fresh fruit. Yum!
Danielle on the other hand opted for the "New Orleans Shrimp & Grits" -- Lightly blackened jumbo shrimp on jalapeno and Tillamook cheddar cheese grits with creamy Creole Meuniere sauce. Both were mmm...good! With every bite, we reaffirmed our earlier statement that this was a brilliant idea. The friendly and attentive staff also helped make our experience a pleasure.

But what really caught our attention was this item on the menu: "Something Bean, Something Green, Something Ham....Start off 2009 with some good luck...New Year's Day Black Eyed Peas: A Bowl of slow simmered Black Eyed Peas with Country Seasonings, Smoked Ham and Collard Greens. (A Southern Tradition for Good Luck in the New Year)"

I've never had that before nor heard of that tradition. It was Danielle who suggested we order it. I just had to try it...and when I did, I was pleasantly surprised! I could definitely taste the salty ham flavoring which livened up the soft, creamy black eyed peas and collard greens. Delicious!

Of course, the curious side of me had to learn more about this tradition and here's what I found on Answerbag.com: "This is a tradition that began in the south. On December 31, 1862 many African Americans waited up all night for President Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Several renegade confederates had their last raid on the slave quarters and took all food from them except the black-eyed peas because they had black in them. The Blacks rejoiced because the soldiers left the black eyed peas, cracklin and they had greens. They had been spared and the peas brought them good luck. Thus on New Year's Eve many Black Churches have the Watch Service and celebrate with black eyed peas, greens, cornbread, cabbage and some sort of pork potluck."

I also learned that the black eyed pea is actually a bean which is low in fat and sodium, contains no cholesterol, but high in iron and potassium (important for building muscle and metabolizing protein and carbohydrates). It's believed to have its origins in Asia, brought to the West Indies and then later to the southern United States by way of the slave trade. They are traditionally thought to bring luck and prosperity when eaten on New Year's Day. The peas symbolize coins while the greens symbolize paper money. They also say that since black eyed peas swell when cooked, it symbolizes swelling of good fortune.