Mashed Potato, Meet Martini Glass

Mashed potato bars, I'm told, are not that unusual. It must be so; here's an article from 2003 that mentions the concept, going as far to illustrate it with mashed potatoes plus toppings in a martini glass.

That's exactly how it was served to me today at a commercial real estate event in downtown Chicago. There was a choice of "regular" or "garlic" potatoes, and the server scooped your choice into a large martini glass. The toppings were self-serve: bacon bits, bleu cheese lumps, chives, and so on. Pick up a spoon and eat.

When I encountered it, I thought it was a novelty. Soon I found out otherwise. I must not hang out at the right kinds of gatherings, or I would have known about the spud-in-a-glass creation by now. Be that as it may, it's a good dish for stand-around-and-eat kinds of events, because like cocktails or cigarettes, it gives your hands something to do.