Although there are a lot of advantages, one thing that sucks about being a white man in Oklahoma is that you never really get a chance to complain about cultural appropriation.
Yes, this is primarily due to the fact that we – along with many of our loyal white female counterparts – have been leading the way in appropriating for centuries, and it doesn't take a trip to Ted's to know that's a fact.
Anyway, since I rarely get that chance to cry foul about appropriation, you can't blame me for taking the opportunity to wag my finger at the coastal elitists at the New York Times for writing a nice, friendly, 1,200-word salute to our state's #1 food staple – The Oklahoma Onion Burger – and not talking to an actual Oklahoman.
Instead, they talked to a guy from Long Island who hosted a burger show on the Travel Channel:
The onion burger has reached newfound popularity in recent years, largely as a result of George Motz, author of “Hamburger America” and host of First We Feast’s “Burger Scholar Sessions” series on YouTube. (In fact, the first time I had a burger specifically referred to as an Oklahoma onion burger was in 2009, when Mr. Motz and Mr. Ozersky hosted small bimonthly gatherings at R.U.B. Barbecue in New York, where the chef Scott Smith recreated an array of regional burger styles from Mr. Motz’s book.) During the pandemic, Mr. Motz delivered onion burgers via a “burger slide,” a chute that dispensed burgers from a kitchen window in Brooklyn to hungry socially distanced customers on the street below. He has since wrapped up a Northern European tour, serving onion burgers to sold-out crowds. His YouTube videos on onion burgers have racked up millions of views.
I know the New York Times treats Oklahoma like it's a foreign land, but how can they profile Oklahoma onion burgers and not interview an Oklahoman? This would be like the NY Times writing an article about NY-style pizza and interviewing Rob The Pepperoni Situation! Maybe next week they'll publish a piece about Indian tacos and get feedback from a fry-bread expert who lives in Vermont.