@xyz123a Tourtiere is actually Canadian but is popular in northern New England where there is a large Acadien or Québécois population.
5-way sounds really good. It’s on my list to try for the next time we head west. Is it only around Cincinnati or do other areas of OH have tasty versions too?
@Marilyn We spent time in Chicago, and ate our way through the town. Had locals taking us around. Missed getting Garrett’s popcorn as we waited til end of our tour and had to skip it to race back to Train Station. One of my few travel regrets is missing out on tasting their popcorn . Our relatives had gone on and on about it and we were heartbroken to leave the city without popcorn.
The big chili parlor in Cincinnati (Skyline Chili) has a place in Dayton (my husband is from Ohio and his sister lives in a suburb outside of Dayton). My sister-in-law loves the stuff and sends me cans of the chili all the time. I don’t know if Skyline has places in northern Ohio.
“Binghamton NY-- Spedie” - For sure! (For those that never heard of it… think of shish kabob, without the vegetables). When we lived in neary Endicott, in almost every grocery store small and large you could buy the marinated meat. Original from Italy supposedly was lamb. But usually you also opt for pork (our favorite), chicken or beef. Hunters would tell stories of the venison spedies marinating in their garage. You can also buy the marinde in a bottle. When we transferred NY → CO, it was part of the “goodie bag” going away bag from friends, along with a “What’s a Speidi?” Tshirt.
In Colorado, “rocky mountain oysters” are famous… but I’ve never tried them. I have tried bison burgers… not bad.
Most Wisconsin fish fries I’ve been to have walleye, not cod, although cod is available in the off season. Big discussions on where to get the best on the local FB. In our town, it was “at the Legion” (American Legion), the KofC, or the River (west side country club that was public). Always french fries and cole slaw. Restaurants had fish fry but not the same as eating at the places that specialized in Friday night fish. Seating was family style at big long tables.
If you have a Culver’s, it’s about as close as they come to a real Wisconsin fish fry. Culver’s even had walleye during April and May this year.
@Creekland I know Utz is a PA company that began just over the border from MD, but Baltimore is where they established their original market/customer base. Additionally, Old Bay seasoning is a Maryland thing so it is this specific flavor of chips that are a considered a Maryland tradition… While you can find Utz Crab Chips outside of MD, they are not as readily available as they are here.
@GKUnion you are correct that the traditional Guinness is only brewed in Ireland. The Guinness brewery in Maryland focuses on special brews.
Before everything shut down, my job required traveling 2 - 3 weeks out of every month, mostly domestic, but some international. One of the best parts of my job was enjoying local/regional food.
I always ask my clients for recommendations. I lived in Kansas for several years, and love BBQ, so if I am somewhere that has a regional take on BBQ I try to sample some. Growing up, BBQ was what we did outside when we cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, so when I met my Kansas City H, I was introduced to KC’s take on BBQ, which is typically beef with a tomato-based BBQ sauce. We now live in NC, where BBQ is typically shredded pork and a vinegar-based sauce.
A NC regional favorite I enjoy is the beverage Cheerwine. It’s not alcoholic - it’s a very bubbly cherry flavored soda/pop/soft drink that pairs particularly well with Carolina style BBQ.
I don’t think I’ve seen Beef on Weck mentioned here - was told I had to try it when I was in western NY state. When I was in the Detroit area, I had to try a Coney dog from a place they recommended (can’t remember which it was). In Baltimore I think I had crab 3 times because my clients couldn’t agree on the best place. I did have an amazing breakfast there at Miss Shirley’s Cafe. OMG.
The best Italian I’ve encountered so far was on Long Island.
I’ve had a few misses. I didn’t particularly care for traditional Kuwaiti cuisine, although I love a lot of Middle Eastern food. And I had some indigenous food in Nova Scotia that wasn’t my favorite.
Not sure when our clients will be ready for in-person visits again (been working online since mid-March) and I’m not sure when I’ll feel comfortable traveling again, but I really miss that perk of my job.
In NM, you are asked “red or green?” There are two correct answers, and neither of them are “red”.
From NM: green chile stew, green chile cheeseburger, and chile relleno, but with Hatch green chiles. The aroma of roasted chile in Albuquerque in August is amazing. Oh, and also sopapillas.
New Orleans: grilled alligator, beignets, jambalaya.
South Central PA:. Scrapple, chicken corn soup, and Utz, Herr’s, Martin’s, Snyder’s, Middleswarth (among many others) chips and pretzels have already been mentioned. Adding Lebanon bologna (regular or sweet), shoofly pie, chicken (turkey, beef, ham) potpie (with noodles, no pastry crust), Tastykakes (from Philly).
Yes to eastern NC BBQ and Cheerwine! These are so hard to find outside of, well, eastern NC. When we road-tripped to Virginia recently, D and I were at least able to get our Cook Out fix (where they have Cheerwine on tap)!
Arizona-green corn tamales, cheese crisps, and green chili, which is chunks of beef or pork in a green sauce. Much of the rest is in Mexican restaurants elsewhere, but those are the items when in my home state. Also Navajo tacos when on the reservations. And prickly pear candy and jelly.
Wisconsin, yes, walleye is the local(or imported from Ontario) fish for fries and is mild and delicious, though is often a bit more expensive than the ocean fish flown in. Finding the best fried cheese curds can be a fun quest.
Skyline chili locations in northern Ohio are very limited only one or two (not in my city). While I love a good five way chili I actually DON"T like the Skyline - not into the cinnamon and similar spices in it.
But Graeter’s - YES.
Vernor’s is a popular ginger ale hailing from Detroit. I grew up on Vernor’s and my H can chug it down. A boston cooler (Tall glass of Vernor’s with a couple scoops of good vanilla ice cream) is summer in a glass.
@4kids4us That being said, they serve one of the best pints of Guinness in the U.S. there.
I wonder if it depends on where in the state you are and what is easily available? Or maybe as a non-native I am just not as tuned in to the type of fish?! Or maybe it’s because we tend to go more in the off season. We don’t go as much during Lent because it’s just so busy and it’s not part of our tradition. But down in Milwaukee I would say potato pancakes are more popular than fries as a side. There is a big German population near where I live though, so that might be influencing that difference. I agree the best place to go is a big debate on town Facebook pages where we live too and usually the places that specialize in a Friday night fish fry are definitely the best.
That’s our official state question!
https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/new-mexico/uncategorized/new-mexico-state-question
And for the truly indecisive–order your entree “Christmas style”. (You get red chile on one side of the plate and green chile on the other.
I prefer green with chicken, red with pork, and for beef and eggs-I can go either way. I tend to prefer green chile more because you can get red chile sauce in many places, but you can’t find good green chile anywhere else. (Except maybe in Colorado–and let’s not go there. Hatch vs. Pueblo can start fist fights. )
I was at an upscale Mexican restaurant in Bozeman about 8 years ago and I had my enchiladas with green sauce (made from tomatillos and cilantro–a very inferior combination, IMO–but the red sauce was made largely from tomatoes. Heresy!). I was eating when a gentleman stopped to ask me how I was enjoying my dinner. I told him the food was fine, but his green sauce really should be made from green chile. The gentleman turned out to be the owner. He just sighed and said “I know. I’m from Ruidoso and if I could find enough green chile, I would. That’s how I make green sauce at home for my family.”
From my Minnesota childhood:
- walleye, beer batter fried.
- wild rice soup (and true MN wild rice is FAR better than the stuff grown here in CA)
- lefse…a Norwegian flatbread
- kolatches, preferably poppy seed, apricot or peach filled.
Walleye, beer battered and fried is delicious and it is a popular fish here in Northern Ohio. However Lenten fish fries abound here and most often the fish used is whitefish - or cod.
Another New Mexico specialty you won’t find too many other places–posolé. It’s a stew made from posolé ( dried hominy), pork and red chiles.
And Indian tacos. A giant piece of fry bread topped with ground beef, green chile, lettuce, cheese, onions & tomatoes.
And let’s not forget the humble Frito Pie. First served on the Santa Fe Plaza in the early part of the 1900s–a bag of Fritos split open length-wise, then it’s topped with ground beef, pinto beans, red chile, yellow cheese and chopped raw onions.
RE: Rocky Mountain oysters are an acquired taste. IMO they taste a lot like liver. Same kind of pasty texture.
DH’s family is from Missouri and when we were in grad school in Illinois, he used to take me our to the family’s farms (they had 3 or 4) in eastern MO. My first visit was for the 4th of July and when we pulled up they were cooking something in a huge deep fryer out in the middle of the driveway. I was invited to have some “hog nuts” and they heaped a big pile of them onto a plate and handed them to me. Being a city girl, I though hog nuts was some sort of local specialty–like corn nuts-- but it turned out they had just castrated all their pigs that week and I was given a huge plate of deep fried pig testicles. After I managed to choke two down, they all burst out laughing and agreed I was being an awfully good sport. Thankfully they didn’t expect me to eat the whole plate.