This week on The Splendid Table, one of my favorite public radio shows, there's an essay on the history of the tater tot. The story was inspired by the recent resurgence of the tater tot; they're now showing up on the menus of trendy restaurants, apparently. The most fascinating part of the story is their origin -- tots were made from the leftovers they had after cutting potatoes for frozen french fries. Before some genius had the idea to make tots, this stuff was used to feed cattle. Of all the slop that I saw turn up in my junior high cafeteria, I would not have pegged tater tots the item most likely to be classified as animal feed.
Happy St. Patrick's Day. No better way to celebrate than with some tots.
