<p>What the heck is wrong with scrapple? Other than the salt, the fat, the god-knows-what? It’s just a particular type of sausage, one with a lot of cornmeal, and like many sausages a way to make really efficient use of a slaughtered animal. If you eat animals – and I do – it’s over-delicate to turn up your nose at scrapple. Plus, it’s yummy!</p>
<p>Also, someone won’t eat American shad? What’s up with that? We eat shad all the time during shad season. It’s not that easy to cook to cope with its half-a-zillion y-shaped bones, but it definitely can be done. And bluefish, tons of bluefish, which is really the only true local fish commercially available here. A few weeks ago, we had a guest who had never had bluefish, and I was stunned (and immediately ran out and got some to cook).</p>
<p>One of the nice things about this city is that the sub shops that sell cheesesteaks and roast pork will put garlicky broccoli rabe on anything. In my hometown, further west, broccoli rabe is unknown, but in the old Italian neighborhoods dandelion greens serve the same function.</p>
<p>Venison is widely available during and after deer season. And you’ll see stuff like elk and bear on the menu in restaurants, but that’s just showing off.</p>