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Cool Slaw By Walter Nicholls Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 26, 1999

Houston's Coleslaw The folks at Houston's, an American-style restaurant with area branches in Georgetown, Bethesda and Rockville, do not give out a lot of recipes. In fact, this is the first time that they have offered their recipe for coleslaw – a cabbage salad that contains mayonnaise but is not overly creamy. They use a homemade dill pickle relish that was inspired by an old family recipe. For the dressing: 1½ cups mayonnaise 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons buttermilk 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 1/3 cup dill pickle relish 1 tablespoon brown mustard, such as Gulden's Spicy 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For the cabbage mix: 1½ cups chopped cabbage ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons chopped scallions (white and tender green parts) For the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, horseradish, pickle relish, mustard, cider vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Cover and chill. For the cabbage mix: In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, parsley and scallions. Add ¾ cup of the dressing and mix until thoroughly combined; refrigerate the remaining dressing for another use. Chill the coleslaw for at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes 2¼ cups. Per serving (based on 4): 272 calories, 1 gm protein, 7 gm carbohydrates, 27 gm fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 4 gm saturated fat, 287 mg sodium, 1 gm dietary fiber Bistro Kaz's Asian Free-Style Coleslaw Chef Kazuhiro Okochi, better known to lovers of sushi simply as Kaz, helped make Sushi-Ko in Glover Park in Northwest D.C. one of the most popular Japanese restaurants in the area. Last month he opened his own restaurant for contemporary Japanese food. He calls it Kaz Sushi Bistro (1915 I St. NW; call 202/530-5500). Chef Kaz is thinking of serving this light, Asian-inspired slaw on his summer menu with ginger-cured duck confit. For the dressing: 6 ounces tofu (medium to firm) 7 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted until lightly colored 2 tablespoons sugar ½ cup rice wine vinegar ¼ cup dark sesame oil For the cabbage mix: ¼ head red cabbage, cut into julienne strips 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced 1 carrot, cut into julienne strips ½ Asian pear, apple or mango, cut into julienne strips 1 tablespoon chopped raisins 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste For the dressing: Place the tofu, sesame seeds, sugar, vinegar and oil in a blender and process until smooth. For the cabbage mix: In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, celery, carrot, pear, raisins and pine nuts. Add the dressing and mix well; season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill the coleslaw for 30 minutes and serve. Makes 8-10 servings. Per serving (based on 10): 107 calories, 3 gm protein, 8 gm carbohydrates, 7 gm fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 gm saturated fat, 59 mg sodium, 2 gm dietary fiber

At a block party in this city, where nearly everyone is from somewhere else, there could be as many takes on coleslaw as guests. But there is one thing everyone agrees on. Coleslaw always contains cabbage. After that – anything goes.

Poolside at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles, pampered guests find a combination of shredded celeriac, red and yellow bell pepper and red cabbage dressed with a spicy chili-paste vinaigrette under the crab cakes. Executive chef Gary Clauson calls the colorful mix with a kick "coleslaw."

At Leonard's, a Memphis barbecue restaurant, the coleslaw is made with finely ground green cabbage tossed with a mustard-based sauce. It's a key ingredient in Leonard's "pig sandwich" of pulled pork covered with barbecue sauce.

Say "picnic" or "cookout" and for many people coleslaw comes to mind somewhere after the hamburgers and before the ants. And variations abound. For some, slaw always has carrots, onions, celery or pickles. Others say a coleslaw is naked without poppy or caraway seeds. Some like it creamy with just enough mayonnaise. Some like it hot. Then there are the vinegar people who prefer tangy.

"There are purists. But I've updated our coleslaw with shredded red cabbage, honey cider vinegar, grilled pineapple and chipotle peppers for those that like a few adjustments," says Washington native Laura Schwartz, chef and co-owner of Silver Spring-based Rock Creek Catering. Schwartz admits that "more often than not our customers want it traditional, a little carrot, a creamy dressing, not swimming and basic shredded cabbage."

But creamy or tangy is not the central issue with those who enjoy coleslaw. And any variety of cabbage will do. The real point of contention is how the cabbage is cut.

Up North, coarsely shredded coleslaw is favored. At Junior's, a family restaurant in Brooklyn that opened in 1950, patrons are served a bowl of coarsely shredded coleslaw tossed with a vinaigrette soon after they are seated. "We think the coarse texture is better. It stays crisp and crunchy," says co-owner Kevin Rosen. On Junior's menu there is also a coarsely shredded, creamy-style salad with a hint of garlic for those who just have to have it their way.

But coarse cabbage wouldn't cut it in Alabama. "They would throw me in the Cahaba River if I served it that way," says Jodie Stanfield, manager of John's, a luncheonette in downtown Birmingham. At John's, regular customers expect a bowl of plain cabbage, sliced as thinly as possible in long strips, to be placed on the table soon after they are seated. A sweet, barbecue sauce-based dressing is offered on the side. "When it's thinly sliced, you get the full true flavor of the cabbage," says Stanfield.

Consumer preference for either coarse or fine has not gone unnoticed at supermarkets where coleslaw is a fresh staple in the deli departments. As a result of consumer tasting panels, Giant Food has offered two styles of coleslaw in its deli departments since January.

"We have two kinds of customers here on the Mason-Dixon line, and for the last 20 years we've only captured the attention of those on the northern end," says Bud Mattingly, the chain's senior buyer for dairy and deli. Now Giant has added a finely chopped "Dixie" coleslaw with a sweet, mayonnaise-based dressing. In addition, the consumer panel's "taste profiles" concluded that Giant's traditional coleslaw was in fact too coarse as well as too tangy. Says Mattingly, "Subtle changes have been made to correct the problems."

Most supermarkets offer more than one type of coleslaw to appeal to customers from different regions of the country. Some, in fact, go beyond the border. Fresh Fields stores offer a "Mexican" coleslaw composed of jicama, red bell pepper and cilantro tossed with a lime juice vinaigrette. Of course it also contains cabbage, finely shredded green and red. But then, coleslaw always contains cabbage.

Most coleslaw begins with a head of green cabbage, the type you see cooked with corned beef on St. Patrick's Day. But any of these recipes can be transformed by using red, white, savoy, celery and napa cabbages as well.

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