Regional Food Discussion

[TGS]

So the various BBQ threads have really pointed out the differences between food across America. I'm wondering what sort of food and drink is specific to your guys' region, and how you like it, as I'm sure there's things we're not all familiar with. For starters, here's some for New Jersey:

Scrapple (https://www.google.com/search?q=scrapple&client=firefox-a&hs=b5m&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H4m_UrDZFqG2sASGyYHgDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1525&bih=743&dpr=0.9): Similar to the various meat "puddings" from the UK. It's the offal, minced and packed into a loaf with flour, cornmeal and spices. Usually eaten by pan frying it in 1/4" thick slices and served with breakfast, or mashed up with the eggs. It's an old food going back to the first colonists here, and is popularly sold by the Amish in farmers markets. I love it.

Pork Roll (AKA Taylor Ham) (https://www.google.com/search?q=scrapple&client=firefox-a&hs=b5m&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H4m_UrDZFqG2sASGyYHgDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1525&bih=743&dpr=0.9#q=pork+roll&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch): Being it's chopped pork shoulder, it's essentially the original SPAM, but it tastes much better. Taste and texture wise, it's more akin to really greasy version of Canadian Bacon than it is SPAM. Usually served as a breakfast meat on the side, or as a breakfast sandwich. First "invented" and marketed by a dude named Taylor from Trenton, NJ in the mid-1800s, but supposedly goes back further as a home-made deal. Not bad, but I usually prefer bacon or scrapple. Much, much better tasting than SPAM......

Tomato Pie: A sort of pizza using very simple ingredients...instead of a tomato based sauce, it's simply mashed plum tomatoes with mozzarella. Delicious, I love it. There's a joint here known as one of the original tomato pie vendors that has a 45 minute wait every night to be seated.

So, what have you guys got? Interested to hear from our South African members, too.

[LHS]

I was surprised by something in New Mexico called Sopaipillas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopaipilla). It's like a fluffy pastry bundle of awesome over which you traditionally pour honey, and eat it like my people would a biscuit. Some restaurants in Albuquerque will also stuff them like a burrito and smother them in green chile sauce. Either way, they're awesome. These are one of the foods for which I would commit atrocities if it meant I could eat them again.

I don't know that it's a regional food, but my grandmother has a recipe that she calls, simply, goup (pronounced 'goop'). You cook up a pound of ground hamburger (or venison) and a pound of elbow macaroni. Put the meat into the macaroni pot, along with two small cans of condensed Campbell's tomato soup, a cup of whole milk, a healthy pat of butter, and ten slices of American cheese. Stir until it's all melted together. Let it sit for about ten minutes more, then serve. Oh sweet lord, it's awesome. My mom would add things like peas or other vegetables, and I have experimented with adding things like hot sauce, fried eggs, and green chile. All are good.

Another great recipe is to pan-fry (in a cast-iron skillet, natch) fresh venison tenderloin medallions, possibly with some sauteed onions and a nice dry red wine. Meanwhile, take some mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce, and mix them together until the mayo is a dark brownish grey and tastes like Worcestershire sauce. Use this unholy concoction as a dipping sauce for the tenderloin medallions.

[Guinnessman]

In Pittsburgh we have the famous Primanti Brother's Sandwich. Pick a meat, add Italian style coleslaw, fresh cut fries, tomato slices, and slap it between two pieces of fresh Italian bread. Add fried eggs on top if you dare.

There is lots of Polish, German, and Italian cooking around town. Pierogies are very popular in Pittsburgh.

We get a lot of Amish cookies and donuts.

If you order a chicken or steak salad it will have French fries on it.

Here is one of my favorite spots:
http://www.churchbrew.com/

[John Hearne]

Scrapple is more of a mid-Atlantic thing. I grew up in Virginia and we ate it - Rapa all the way....

A local food in North Mississippi is the "slug burger." It apparently dates back to the Great Depression and was an early Hamburger Helper. The idea was to mix your ground beef with flour and water to get more patties. A lot of the local burger joints in my area sell them but I've never had a good one.

In the burger department, a Memphis burger joint deep fries their burgers - in the same oil they've used since 1912. Those are very, very good.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[LHS]

In Pittsburgh we have the famous Primanti Brother's Sandwich. Pick a meat, add Italian style coleslaw, fresh cut fries, tomato slices, and slap it between two pieces of fresh Italian bread. Add fried eggs on top if you dare.

There is lots of Polish, German, and Italian cooking around town. Pierogies are very popular in Pittsburgh.

We get a lot of Amish cookies and donuts.

If you order a chicken or steak salad it will have French fries on it.

Here is one of my favorite spots:
http://www.churchbrew.com/

Primanti Bros is awesome.

[WobblyPossum]

Primanti Bros is awesome.

Definitely.

Here in NYC we have pizza. I don't know exactly what makes it so special, but I've tried pizza all over the country and compared to the local fare, nothing has tasted any good at all. A lot of people think it has something to do with our tap water being used to make the crusts. There's a place a few miles from my apartment, Di Fara's, that's pretty well known. The wait to be served is long, but it's worth it. Also, when New Yorkers refer to pizza, we say pie. It's like how in the south, soda is "pop."

[jlw]

Well, let's see, there is, um, barbecue...

And biscuits and cornbread and the proper gravy to go with any respective critter that was not barbecued.

I remember my paternal grandmother frying chicken in a pressure cooker out on the carport where she was also tending an ice cream churn.

Did I mention grits? I mean the real kind; not the instant from a box. In other words, corn grown on you own land and ground in mill fashioned out of an old washing machine.

Steaks and bacon that you knew by name.

Cast iron cookware that is feeding its fifth generation and dishes on their fourth. Silverware that was hidden so that Sherman's troops couldn't steal it.

[Guinnessman]

Definitely.

Here in NYC we have pizza. I don't know exactly what makes it so special, but I've tried pizza all over the country and compared to the local fare, nothing has tasted any good at all. A lot of people think it has something to do with our tap water being used to make the crusts. There's a place a few miles from my apartment, Di Fara's, that's pretty well known. The wait to be served is long, but it's worth it. Also, when New Yorkers refer to pizza, we say pie. It's like how in the south, soda is "pop."

NYC is Mecca for good Pizza. I love Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge. Hell, every corner has a good pizza joint in NYC.

[LOKNLOD]

I was surprised by something in New Mexico called Sopaipillas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopaipilla). It's like a fluffy pastry bundle of awesome over which you traditionally pour honey, and eat it like my people would a biscuit. Some restaurants in Albuquerque will also stuff them like a burrito and smother them in green chile sauce. Either way, they're awesome. These are one of the foods for which I would commit atrocities if it meant I could eat them again.



Every mexican restraurant here has them as deserts. Some places they're even free. :D I remember them being primarily sweetened by the honey only, growing up, but most places seem to have them smothered in cinnamon-sugar. And that's even better.

I'd probably eat a cat turd if you fried it and rolled it in cinnamon-sugar. I'd at least lick it...

[LHS]

Oh, and I can't forget squirrel pot pie! It's awesome until you crack a tooth on a #6 shot pellet.

[RoyGBiv]

Well, let's see, there is, um, barbecue...

And biscuits and cornbread and the proper gravy to go with any respective critter that was not barbecued.

I remember my paternal grandmother frying chicken in a pressure cooker out on the carport where she was also tending an ice cream churn.

Did I mention grits? I mean the real kind; not the instant from a box. In other words, corn grown on you own land and ground in mill fashioned out of an old washing machine.

Steaks and bacon that you knew by name.

Cast iron cookware that is feeding its fifth generation and dishes on their fourth. Silverware that was hidden so that Sherman's troops couldn't steal it.
Reading that made me smile.

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner. Scratch pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, thick cut Bacon. No grits, unfortunately. We didn't have time.

Last week I told mom I was certain I was adopted. No other way to explain a Jewish boy raised in Queens that likes turnip greens more than pastrami.

[SeriousStudent]

NYC is Mecca for good Pizza. I love Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge. Hell, every corner has a good pizza joint in NYC.

Grimaldi's has branched out, and has a restaurant about a mile from my house here in Texas. They use the coal-fired oven, and ph balance the water to be the same as in Brooklyn.

One of my minions at work grew up in Brooklyn, and pronounces the local branch as very good. It's really the only pizza I enjoy now.

And Chief, I hear you on the cast iron. I have an Erie cast iron skillet that is about 80 years old, and it makes insanely good cornbread and fried chicken. There is just something special about the extreme density of the the cast iron in those pans. I've got another ancient Lodge skillet that will get passed down to my daughter.

[jon volk]

New Haven pizza (Pepe's) trumps New York pizza. That's just a known fact.

New Haven also claims the first hamburger was from Louis Lunch.

[Chefdog]

I grew up in Virginia and alot of what has been mentioned already hits home with me. Grits, cornbread, chicken and dumplings were all staples in my house growing up. There were two places in Fredericksburg that my pop took me as a kid that were landmarks. One was Karl's ice cream, and the other was a little pool hall on a side street (off of caroline maybe) that served southern style chili dogs (can't recall the name w/o calling the old man). Not sure those are really regional specialties, but definitely part of my childhood.

I've spent the last 12 years or so behind the lines halfway between Annapolis and Baltimore just a stone's throw from the Bay. Around here there's only one thing that matters, and that is CRABS!!! Blue crabs to be specific, and every restaurant worth it's salt has crab on the menu in several iterations. Crab cakes, crab dip, everything stuffed or topped with crab (especially rockfish, or stripers for you northern guys). I never was one to enjoy picking crabs, but I do enjoy a great crabcake, and my favorite version has to be the maryland style crabcake with saltines instead of breadcrumbs and plenty of mustard and Worcestershire in the mix. I think mine are the best I've had, obviously, but you'd be really trying to go find a "bad" crabcake around here.

I have to say though, my favorite foods are still southern foods, probably cause that's what mom made. Chicken and dumplings, grits, black eyes peas, collars greens, 'cue, etc. That's my wheelhouse. A close second is asian food of all styles, mainly because its one cuisine that I have a very hard time replicating.

For those interested, I just bought a great book by Ed Lee, a korean chef born and raised in NYC who now lives and works in Loiusville. It's called "Smoke & Pickles" and ties together the incredible similarities between Korean food and Southern food through the use of, you guessed it, smoke & pickles.

I'm waiting to hear about Chili from some of you guys from the SW. I'm making a batch today that has its roots in a recipe my grandmother brought back form New Mexico probably 25+ years ago.

Great thread :)

[Chefdog]

^ That should be "Carl's Ice Cream."
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl's_Ice_Cream

Here's a link to the book I mentioned as well: "Smoke & Pickles, Recipes & Stories from a New Southern Kitchen"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1579654924/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

[TGS]

Definitely.

Here in NYC we have pizza. I don't know exactly what makes it so special, but I've tried pizza all over the country and compared to the local fare, nothing has tasted any good at all. A lot of people think it has something to do with our tap water being used to make the crusts. There's a place a few miles from my apartment, Di Fara's, that's pretty well known. The wait to be served is long, but it's worth it. Also, when New Yorkers refer to pizza, we say pie. It's like how in the south, soda is "pop."

Something to do with the amount of eye-talians in the area. It applies to all of the food we eat around here. When living elsewhere, I walked into a so-called deli and asked for an italian sub.....the lady asks, "Would you like turkey or ham?"

My head about a'sploded. It's called an italian for a reason, just as you wouldn't ask if I wanted turkey if I ordered a Reuben. Turkey? How about some damn gabagool? I couldn't find good pizza in that area, either. Even the super expensive pies from "specialty" restaurants in the area couldn't bring home whatever flavor was missing. Probably the same thing if a southwesterner tried to order chili here, or someone from SC or KC ordering BBQ here. It's just not the area's specialty.



Steaks and bacon that you knew by name.

Cast iron cookware that is feeding its fifth generation and dishes on their fourth.

That's not really a regional thing. There are people all over the country that slaughter their own meat and have heirloom kitchenware.


I've spent the last 12 years or so behind the lines halfway between Annapolis and Baltimore just a stone's throw from the Bay. Around here there's only one thing that matters, and that is CRABS!!! )

Ain't that the truth. I used to spend a lot of time down in Va Beach with the sea faring crowd, so naturally there always seemed to be fresh crabs that some fisherman dropped off with their buddy in exchange for something. Crab galore.

[jlw]

That's not really a regional thing. There are people all over the country that slaughter their own meat and have heirloom kitchenware.


Yeah, but does it have a Southern accent? ;)

[LSP552]

For Louisiana, it's seafood and those "mudbugs" you see in the ditch.

Ken

[JV_]

Other than something like Ben's Chilli Bowl, I'm not sure the DC area has a regional food.

[Jac]

I was surprised by something in New Mexico called Sopaipillas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopaipilla).

Man, I miss those...

[Chefdog]

Other than something like Ben's Chilli Bowl, I'm not sure the DC area has a regional food.

I was thinking of Ben's earlier. The half smoke might be the only thing "native" to DC.

Although Arlington can claim it's rightful place as the home of Five Guys. (I know, it's not much, but it's still the best burger around) I remember my dad taking me to the original one off Columbia Pike back in the 80's. Or was it the one on Beauregard St.?

[Chuck Whitlock]

No Southerner has mentioned chicken fried steak, yet.

And "pop" seems to be a midwestern thing. In Texas you order a Coke, and then they ask you what kind.

Here in the midwest I was first introduced to cinnamon rolls with chili. And creamed pheasant is pretty tasty, too.

[SeriousStudent]

No Southerner has mentioned chicken fried steak, yet.

......

Here in Texas, chicken fried steak is just naturally assumed to be a required part of the environment, like oxygen.

I know what I'm having for dinner now, too. Thanks for the idea, it's much appreciated.

[Chuck Whitlock]

Here in Texas, chicken fried steak is just naturally assumed to be a required part of the environment, like oxygen.

"I know, right?"

[jlw]

No Southerner has mentioned chicken fried steak, yet.

And "pop" seems to be a midwestern thing. In Texas you order a Coke, and then they ask you what kind.

Here in the midwest I was first introduced to cinnamon rolls with chili. And creamed pheasant is pretty tasty, too.

"Pop" was the term used in Oklahoma.

Also Southern is sweet tea.

[LHS]

No Southerner has mentioned chicken fried steak, yet.

And "pop" seems to be a midwestern thing. In Texas you order a Coke, and then they ask you what kind.

Here in the midwest I was first introduced to cinnamon rolls with chili. And creamed pheasant is pretty tasty, too.

In my neck of the woods, it was Coke, or for some of the old-timers, pop. Here in AZ, it's all 'soda'. If you asked for a 'soda' in WV, you'd get an odd look, and a club soda. But it was no odd thing to hear "I'll have a coke." "What kind?" "Mountain Dew."

[Palmguy]

Also, when New Yorkers refer to pizza, we say pie. It's like how in the south, soda is "pop."

You're thinking of the Midwest. We don't call it pop in the south.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4

[WobblyPossum]

You're thinking of the Midwest. We don't call it pop in the south.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4

I stand corrected.

This thread is making me drool, just reading the descriptions of the foods.

[JV_]

You're thinking of the Midwest. We don't call it pop in the south.I've heard it from folks in PA too.

[Default.mp3]

http://i.imgur.com/6sqgiWd.gif

You can also check out: http://www.popvssoda.com/

[TGS]

You're thinking of the Midwest. We don't call it pop in the south.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4

I wouldn't consider Orlando, FL to be the south, either. :)

[BillP]

I wouldn't consider Orlando, FL to be the south, either. :)

You bite your foul tongue, good sir! :-)

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[JMS]

Other than something like Ben's Chilli Bowl, I'm not sure the DC area has a regional food.

If there's a stylistic description to the DC Metro area food scene, it'd be overcooked. This is actually a really BAD area for restaurants; nobody does anything well.

[Chefdog]

If there's a stylistic description to the DC Metro area food scene, it'd be overcooked. This is actually a really BAD area for restaurants; nobody does anything well.

The further you venture outside the beltway, and anywhere south of arlington, I'd agree and say that it can be difficult to find good food. But in the city & the immediatly surrounding 'burbs (basically anywhere inside the beltway) there are a LOT of really good places to eat. I'd venture to say DC is one of the top 10 cities in the country for good food. There are a ton of talented cooks in DC, with restaurants opening all the time. The diners are getting more educated and therefore more critical, if you can beleive it's possible. So the competition is high, and if there's one thing chefs certainly are, sometimes to a fault, it's competitive. All this means is that the good food is out there if you're willing to look, and pay for it.

But, it has always been wierd to me that there is so much good food in and around the city, but places like Annapolis and F'burg, and everywhere in between, seem to be stuck in the '80s and married to crappy chain restaurants.

IMHO, ymmv, etc. but after being in the industry here for 13 years, I think there are more places to eat good food now than there have ever been.

[David Armstrong]

Well, coming here from Oklahoma by way of Texas, chicken fried steak with cream gravy was always on your mind, along with BBQ. Now, however, here in Louisiana we have the original po'boys aong with the subtle Creole and the mighty Cajun cuisines. As LSP mentioned the crawfish boil is rather unique along with the whole cooking culture. Where else can people come to blows over the proper way to cook a roux or what is the correct method to thicken a gumbo?

I'm not sure how regional it is, but I've never encountered fresh side meat (uncured bacon) as a regular item outside of Oklahoma. BTW, I love scrapple!

[Joe in PNG]

I wouldn't consider Orlando, FL to be the south, either. :)

Hey, Central Florida has more than it's share of pickup driving, pitbull owning, trailer dwelling, be-mulleted and methed out rednecks... and they're all from Michigan...

The Native Floridian, like the Florida Panther, a rare critter indeed.

[RoyGBiv]

A good 'ol down-east (NC) shrimp boil is a wonderful thing.

And a good soul food joint like Thelma's (ATL), or Peaches (Jackson, MS) is always worth going out of your way for.
Mmm-Mmmm-Mustard greens.!!

[Guinnessman]

Florida residents may be confused on the proper regional naming of Soda/Pop/Coke, some may have Southern accents, some may sound like New Yorkers, some may be redneck, but one thing is for sure, Florida has damn good local seafood!

[TGS]

Hey, Central Florida has more than it's share of pickup driving, pitbull owning, trailer dwelling, be-mulleted and methed out rednecks... and they're all from Michigan...

The Native Floridian, like the Florida Panther, a rare critter indeed.

I used to spend most of my Florida time in Suwanee and Lafayette counties. In short, my experiences in the Land of Meth and Jesus known as north Florida is what made me start carrying.

And, the food was atrocious. With the exception of gator bites. ;)

[Joe in PNG]

Florida residents may be confused on the proper regional naming of Soda/Pop/Coke, some may have Southern accents, some may sound like New Yorkers, some may be redneck, but one thing is for sure, Florida has damn good local seafood!

True dat! We used to catch blue crabs when I was a kid, and the family loves to go scalloping out of Crystal River.

There's also a lot of good Cuban food in the state.

[Palmguy]

I wouldn't consider Orlando, FL to be the south, either. :)

It's not. I just moved here from the south though (Lower Alabama, also known as the Florida Panhandle). Orlando, and most of the Florida peninsula is south of the south.

As far as regional food goes, the seafood on the gulf coast up in the panhandle is phenomenal.

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[Frank R]

Barbecue pork - Brunswick stew to name a couple.

[Kyle Reese]

If there's a stylistic description to the DC Metro area food scene, it'd be overcooked. This is actually a really BAD area for restaurants; nobody does anything well.

This area has some of the best Afghan / Persian cuisine I've ever had. I tend to gravitate towards the ethnic eateries and eschew most of the big chains.

[Chefdog]

Brunswick stew.
Yes. Delicious.


This area has some of the best Afghan / Persian cuisine I've ever had. I tend to gravitate towards the ethnic eateries and eschew most of the big chains.

Yessir. And don't forget Korean and Vietnamese too.

[TGS]

Yessir. And don't forget Korean and Vietnamese too.

I do have to agree that there is some great Afghan food in NoVA. There's a couple places up here, but they're not nearly as good.

So, does anyone here like Boston Brown Bread? B&M has made it since the 1860's. It's canned brown bread, with a great molasses taste. Absolutely delicious. Seriously. Heat some up with either butter or cream cheese, and it's such a tasty side to a meal. So tasty with the cream cheese that it will even work as an hors d'oeuvre. Promise you guys, it's fantastic.

My mom just sent a bunch of cans to a friend of hers in Texas who hasn't had it since he was a kid, which made me think to mention it.

[Drang]

Here in WA: Crab. Smoked Salmon. There are generally fry bread and scones at fairs and the like, but they're hardly regional any more. (The scone people have taken to staffing their booths for the gun shows on the fairgrounds!)

And, while I rarely miss Detroit, I sure wish I could find a place Up North that would mail order pastys* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty). Those Cousin Jacks sure can make a tasty meal-in-a-pastry...



*Get yer mind outta the gutter, you. Although it rhymes with "nasty", it's anything but.

[Kennydale]

I like scrapple (Pig Poo !) and Corned Beef Hash, and lets not forget S.O.S. (Chipped Beef with gravy over toast) YUMMM!

[NETim]

Flyover country:

Beef.

[LHS]

Here in WA: Crab. Smoked Salmon. There are generally fry bread and scones at fairs and the like, but they're hardly regional any more. (The scone people have taken to staffing their booths for the gun shows on the fairgrounds!)

And, while I rarely miss Detroit, I sure wish I could find a place Up North that would mail order pastys* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty). Those Cousin Jacks sure can make a tasty meal-in-a-pastry...



*Get yer mind outta the gutter, you. Although it rhymes with "nasty", it's anything but.

If you're ever in Phoenix, the Cornish Pasty Company will rock your socks off.

[JAD]

Real close to Caffe Boa, a PHX fave.

[Palmguy]

Flyover country:

Beef.

/thread

[BN]

Flyover country:

Beef.

Yep!

Meat, potatoes, gravy and M&Ms. The 4 food groups. ;)

[Drang]

If you're ever in Phoenix, the Cornish Pasty Company will rock your socks off.

If I'm ever down that way, I'll check it out.

I was hoping someone who lives in The Superior State might have a link...

[BigT]

Saffo checking in:)

Here it's very rare for anyone to smoke a perfectly good piece of cow. Here we braai which I think is what you call grilling. Take steak ,chops or boerewors( a style of sausage of which a good one is unmatched by any other type of (phrasing) sausage) and place over open fire until cooked.

We we like meat and eat lots of it. Braaiing is pretty universal across our various cultures. We will braai for a special occasion(we brazier this Christmas as an example) we will braai because it's a nice evening and most things I between.

Often enjoyed with mielie(corn) pap. I suppose you could compare it to a polenta. Best served with a tomato and onion gravy.

Bunnychow is a speciality of the city of Durban but enjoyed all over. Take a half or quarter loaf of bread. Remove soft bits. Full with curry of your choice. Return soft bits as a "stopper". Eat all of it. Enjoy

Durban curries in general have a very distinctive flavour pretty different to traditional Indian curry.

More to follow as I think of them.

[BigT]

Sorry stupid autocarrot. Meant we braaied for Christmas not brazierd.

[David Armstrong]

Saffo checking in:)

Here it's very rare for anyone to smoke a perfectly good piece of cow. Here we braai which I think is what you call grilling. Take steak ,chops or boerewors( a style of sausage of which a good one is unmatched by any other type of (phrasing) sausage) and place over open fire until cooked.

We we like meat and eat lots of it. Braaiing is pretty universal across our various cultures. We will braai for a special occasion(we brazier this Christmas as an example) we will braai because it's a nice evening and most things I between.

Often enjoyed with mielie(corn) pap. I suppose you could compare it to a polenta. Best served with a tomato and onion gravy.

Bunnychow is a speciality of the city of Durban but enjoyed all over. Take a half or quarter loaf of bread. Remove soft bits. Full with curry of your choice. Return soft bits as a "stopper". Eat all of it. Enjoy

Durban curries in general have a very distinctive flavour pretty different to traditional Indian curry.

More to follow as I think of them.

Pap and vlies....hadn't though tof that in years! And bobotie.....and Malva pudding! Darn, I'm going to have to experiemnt some in the kitchen now. I bet you get to go to a Steer's on a regular basis, don't you?

[BigT]

Pap and vlies....hadn't though tof that in years! And bobotie.....and Malva pudding! Darn, I'm going to have to experiemnt some in the kitchen now. I bet you get to go to a Steer's on a regular basis, don't you?
I forgot you don't get malva pudding there. Or Mrs Balls chutney.

Ive got a Steers right by my local Spar. And one less than a km from work....

Braaing tonight. Mmmmm maybe steers burger and chips for lunch tomorrow. :)



And most importantly biltong. Can't believe I didn't mention that first. Couldn't live without a nice piece of wet biltong with a big piece of fat running down its length.

[LHS]

Y'all also have the best ketchup I've ever had: All Gold Tomato Sauce. That stuff is the best.

[Guinnessman]

Does anyone here have any New Years Day food traditions? In my neck of the woods Pork and Sauerkraut is very common.

[JFK]

I was surprised by something in New Mexico called Sopaipillas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopaipilla). It's like a fluffy pastry bundle of awesome over which you traditionally pour honey, and eat it like my people would a biscuit. Some restaurants in Albuquerque will also stuff them like a burrito and smother them in green chile sauce. Either way, they're awesome. These are one of the foods for which I would commit atrocities if it meant I could eat them again.


There is a place here that is kind of fast food like, all they do is stuffed sopas. Try the egg and hot dog with red chile. Sounds not so good but it sure fills nicely. Especially, um, post Bourbon.

[SeriousStudent]

Does anyone here have any New Years Day food traditions? In my neck of the woods Pork and Sauerkraut is very common.

In many parts of the South, it's traditional to have either black-eyed peas w/ham hocks or tamales for New Years.

I greatly prefer the tamales.

[JAD]

My wife is hill people by way of green country, and she makes Hoppin' John. Black eyed peas and rice, with ham when my bonus check doesn't bounce.

[JFK]

When my Grandparents were alive and we would go to Hawaii for the holidays we would have Spam Musubi with Egg in the morning (with Sriracha of course) and at about 10am start making Portuguese Soup for dinner.

[RoyGBiv]

NY Eve Dinner for 10.
Sausage & Bean Stew with honey glazed ham (chopped), Mustard Greens with Bacon (and Scotts sauce). Smoked Duck on the side (just because).
Not in the photo is a side of Hoppin' John (Black Eyed Peas with Onions in a chicken broth).

It's amazing how good a bag of boiled beans can be when you add some tomato paste, a few spices and lots of low-n-slow time (and some Italian Sausage ;))

I passed on the corn bread for some crusty sourdough.

Afterwards, cigars by the fire pit with a few fingers of Bakers. Only dropped to about 40'F at 11:00... balmy.

http://imageshack.com/a/img513/6671/m0l1.jpg

*apologies for forgetting to take the photo BEFORE I had that bite of duck.:o

[DamonL]

I think mine are the best I've had, obviously, but you'd be really trying to go find a "bad" crabcake around here.



Ok, now I have to try one of your crabcakes. Where can I get one?

Obricki's in Baltimore is good, but my favorite ever is G&M in Lithicum. Oh yeah!

[Chefdog]

Ok, now I have to try one of your crabcakes. Where can I get one?

Obricki's in Baltimore is good, but my favorite ever is G&M in Lithicum. Oh yeah!

Unfortunately, (for you) the only place to have one nowadays is at my house, or whomever's house I happen to be visiting. I left the restaurant biz three years ago as of NYE so I would actually be able to see my kids grow up. Now I teach the chefs of tomorrow how to cook.

But you're lucky, Charm City probably has more good crabcakes than anywhere else, although I've never tried G&M.

Here's the recipe, it's a secret so don't tell anyone.
Good crab, I like to use 2:1 jumbo lump to backfin, that way the backfin acts as filler and you dont have to break up the lump or add too much cracker meal. Mayo (Duke's), Dijon, egg, Worcestershire, lemon juice (never use the bottled stuff), Tabasco, salt (kosher or sea, never iodized), parsley, saltines.
That's it, just add the right amount of everything and they're done, easy. Make sure to sauté them in butter and get a nice crust on 'em.

[DamonL]

Thanks for the "secret recipe". :) Actually, my wife makes a pretty good crabcake.

People who have not had crab cakes with lump crab meat vs the shredded crabmeat, just don't understand.

[Cecil Burch]

In AZ, I think the biggest thing that stands out is mesquite grilled steak and chicken. I think we do it the best. It's not smoked, but quick grilled. It seems like everyone I know who has been here more than 10 years can cook up a great one this way. Even on a gas grill, many people put on chunks of mesquite wood as a flavoring agent. It used to be bigger in restaurants, though that has shrunk over the past 30 years. Now only a few places like Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse still cooks it that way. I've had similar things in Cali and Texas, but it was not quite the same.

Also, we have Sonoran style mexican food. A little simpler than other styles, based more on a red sauce that is spicy but not too hot and an emphasis on beef and chicken (again, often cooked over mesquite wood). Also Sonoran style uses mostly goopy, melting cheeses (and only a couple of them - not much variety there). More use of flour tortillas. An old school AZ snack that I grew up on was a fresh flour tortilla warmed over a stove coil, than spread with butter and eaten folded up. Kept hungry kids tided over until dinner as long as I can remember. Also, AZ is the birthplace of the chimichanga (more of the flour tortilla emphasis), though there are 2 or 3 places in Tucson that argues which one actually did it first. Old school AZ enchiladas were always flat and stacked. I only know of a couple of places in the state that still does it that way, alas.

And my favorite. Indian Fry Bread (also called Navajo Tacos). Simple flat breads cooked by deep frying, than covered either in beans and meat for a meal, or sugar or honey for dessert. As a kid, the highlight of the State Fair was getting authentic Fry Bread from stands by the Indian Rodeo arena.

Those are the things that most stand out to me that I never see when I travel.

[RoyGBiv]

Mayo (Duke's)
+1 for Duke's!!

Finally started seeing on the shelves here recently.

[Chuck Whitlock]

And my favorite. Indian Fry Bread (also called Navajo Tacos). Simple flat breads cooked by deep frying, than covered either in beans and meat for a meal, or sugar or honey for dessert. As a kid, the highlight of the State Fair was getting authentic Fry Bread from stands by the Indian Rodeo arena.

+1!
One of the benefits of my current AO. Somebody's always going around selling Indian burgers or Indian dogs.

[texasaggie2005]

...Indian dogs.

I'd have to be mighty hungry to eat an Indian dog.

[Chuck Whitlock]

LOL. Hot dog in fry bread, ya weirdo.

[Slavex]

All I can throw in here is my and made lamb spaghetti with real garlic bread followed up by handmade key lime pie with my special meringue. Dinner is served with a local Red wine, or if you are like me, water. After dessert it's Ameretto and cranberry juice on the deck watching shooting stars.
I'm a culinary zero really. Very very picky, pretty much no interest or ability to test New foods or tastes. And my mom was a chef.

[LHS]

It's not exactly a regional food, but I really miss my mom's home-made marinara sauce. She takes tomatoes and herbs from the garden, and stews it up in a big ol' pot all day, then adds some venison meatballs the size of my ham-hock fist. That stuff got me through high school football.

[SeriousStudent]

Oh, marinara......

One of my most trusted minions at work is Italian, and grew up in Brooklyn. Cooking is his passion. I started an herb garden in my back yard, just so he would have fresh herbs to use when he comes over and makes Italian food for my fellow wage salves. He cooks with grandma's recipes she brought over from the old country.

[Josh Runkle]

Ok, now I have to try one of your crabcakes. Where can I get one?

Obricki's in Baltimore is good, but my favorite ever is G&M in Lithicum. Oh yeah!

G&M is the ONLY place to get good crab cakes.

[NEPAKevin]

First match of the year, we get smoked kielbasa from Scranton and grill it up.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PAyEFPcH6Xs/UtQXuVb8wnI/AAAAAAAAAUM/oDXRjxB5-8U/w1048-h590-no/20140112_match_kilbassa1.jpg

[momano]

St Louis breakfast: slinger (2 eggs, hash browns, hamburger patty covered with chili; diced onion and cheese opt).
StL lunch: brain sandwich (deep fried, with sliced onions on rye)
StL appetizer: toasted raviolis (deep fried and dipped in marinara sauce)
dinner: BBQ pork steaks

[vaspence]

Virginia Too Busy to Stop Hunting Lunch (This may cross many regions)

2052

[TGS]

Yuck!

I thought only old people ate that potted meat stuff and Vienna sausages.

[Don Gwinn]

Hmmm. . . . regional foods. Well, for one thing, I live right on the frontier of a small island of Soda-Speakers centered around St. Louis, within the greater pop-controlled territory that is Illinois. My dad compromises at "sodey-pop."

We're about an hour closer to St. Louis than we are to Chicago, so I guess it makes sense that the local pizza is mostly St. Louis style (thin cracker crust, not too much cheese or sauce, emphasis on toppings.) But my little prairie village welcomed a single Sicilian family into its bosom in the 1970s, and they produce a pizza unlike any other, with a thin but not brittle crust, a sweet, sugary sauce that shouldn't be any good but is great, and a whole bunch of cheese. Their sausage, sauce, and crust are all proprietary, and no one but family is allowed to work the register or enter the kitchen while the dough and sauce are being made each day. I can't eat it anymore on account of my morbid obesity, but it is delicious.

What else is Springfield famous for? (No, not that Springfield . . . no . . . not that one either . . . the one in Illinois. The one the Simpsons are really from.) Well, there's the chilli. It has beans, you see, and Den's Chilli Parlor made it crazy hot, and for some reason there used to be a feud between Illinois and Texas in which Illinois tried to get a leg up on the chilli market by spelling it with two "L"s. I think Texas won that one. Anyway, Springfield chilli is very thin, like a bean soup with meat and spices, and a thick layer of grease traditionally on the top. You can still get it around Springfield in the little taverns that used to be on every corner to serve lunch to factory men. They call "good old tavern chilli." It's . . . well, it's fairly awful, and I didn't really like to eat it before I gave up chili.

But the one everyone associates with this area is the horse shoe sandwich. Traditionally, this is made by putting a piece of white toast on a plate, then dumping a hill of crumbled ground beef on top, then covering that with french fries (the "nails") and then pouring a goopy cheese sauce over the whole thing. If you picture the cheese sauce that goes on a traditional Philly cheese steak, you won't be far off. Purists swear by cheap American cheese or even Velveeta, but will stoop to real cheddar when necessary. Nowadays, you can get these with chicken, turkey, bacon, every kind of cheese you can imagine, and of course there are breakfast horseshoes too. The idea is not to pick off the fries, but to eat the whole thing with a fork.
I've never eaten one. I don't really have a good explanation; I liked burgers and fries. There was just something about it that put me off. I'm a traitor to my kind.

[HCM]

An old school AZ snack that I grew up on was a fresh flour tortilla warmed over a stove coil, than spread with butter and eaten folded up. Kept hungry kids tided over until dinner as long as I can remember.

A variation popular here in South TX is a fresh flour tortilla warmed, spread with butter and sugar ..... eaten folded up.

[vaspence]

A variation popular here in South TX is a fresh flour tortilla warmed, spread with butter and sugar ..... eaten folded up.

We did that in the mountains of VA with bread (sugar & butter). Good stuff on warm sourdough. Not bad on cold Wonder either.

[texasaggie2005]

A variation popular here in South TX is a fresh flour tortilla warmed, spread with butter and sugar ..... eaten folded up.

Substitute honey for sugar.

[Drang]

... while I rarely miss Detroit, I sure wish I could find a place Up North that would mail order pastys* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty). Those Cousin Jacks sure can make a tasty meal-in-a-pastry...

I do miss the Greek food in Detroit. There are quite a few Greek restaurants in the Seattle area, though,m and Mrs. Drang used to work at one, and knows many if not most of the owners of them all.

BUT!
OMG!
The deli department at the local Safeway had what they called "pub pies" this weekend. PASTIES!!!:D:cool:

[orionz06]

In Pittsburgh we have the famous Primanti Brother's Sandwich. Pick a meat, add Italian style coleslaw, fresh cut fries, tomato slices, and slap it between two pieces of fresh Italian bread. Add fried eggs on top if you dare.

There is lots of Polish, German, and Italian cooking around town. Pierogies are very popular in Pittsburgh.

We get a lot of Amish cookies and donuts.

If you order a chicken or steak salad it will have French fries on it.

Here is one of my favorite spots:
http://www.churchbrew.com/

I despise Primanti's... The sandwich type is cool but they have found the absolute worst way to make it. It's a tourist trap that disappoints. Fathead's is the way to go I feel.

Church Brew Works is great, don't go there enough.

The local polish stuff is solid, lots of pierogies and noodles.

[Guinnessman]

I despise Primanti's... The sandwich type is cool but they have found the absolute worst way to make it. It's a tourist trap that disappoints. Fathead's is the way to go I feel.

Church Brew Works is great, don't go there enough.

The local polish stuff is solid, lots of pierogies and noodles.

I agree, Fathead's is awesome. Their sister restaurant Bocktown has been very good too for those that are not downtown.

[orionz06]

I agree, Fathead's is awesome. Their sister restaurant Bocktown has been very good too for those that are not downtown.

Bocktown was the AFHF dinner last time around. Solid food.

[NEPAKevin]

I despise Primanti's... The sandwich type is cool but they have found the absolute worst way to make it.

Wound up there after a bachelor party in the early eighties so my memory might not be the most reliable. I recall ordering something that I thought was a safe choice and watching the guy making the sandwich, who bore more than a passing resemblance to Ron Jeremy, reach into the slaw bucket with his bare hand, plopping slaw and fries on the meat and then crush the sandwich like a human Cuban sandwich press with the other bare hand. What's not to like?

[JAD]

Staphylococcus.

[Chefdog]

Staphylococcus.

+ E. Coli