Mumbo sauce annoying? DC Mayor Muriel Bowser thinks so!
Philly has its cheesesteaks. Baltimore has its crab cakes. D.C. has its mumbo sauce.
That last one ruffles D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's feathers a little bit.
On a Facebook post Tuesday, Bowser revealed that the sweet and tangy sauce annoys her! "I wish people would stop suggesting that it is quintessential DC," she wrote. "I'm just saying I was a full grown woman before I had heard of mumbo sauce! So there, I've said it."
The local culinary favorite can be found in just about every carryout in the District and can be slathered on your chicken, spread on your shrimp or used as a dip for your fries. Everyone makes it a little different (and some spell it different -- mambo sauce!) but most variations include ketchup, paprika, sugar and vinegar.
Where did it come from? No one really knows but everybody, errr…almost everybody around here loves it.
So why pour the hate on a captivating D.C. condiment just before Thanksgiving? For the sake of conversation, the Mayor's office says. "The Mayor wanted to provide DC residents something to discuss on Thanksgiving beyond the midterm elections, backup quarterbacks and holiday shopping deals," they said in a statement. "All may participate in the debate; however, DC residents must lead the mumbo sauce portion."
Well Mayor…thanks for the conversation starter! Maybe for our next topic of discussion at the Thanksgiving dinner table we can talk D.C. statehood, the Redskins nickname, Metro delays or religion…you know…anything less controversial than calling mumbo sauce "annoying!"
Want to make your own mumbo sauce? Take a look at this video!