The pizza I grew up with as a child was the Chef BoyRDee kit version we made at home.
It’s not my ideal pizza. I haven’t touched the stuff since going out on my own.
Now this seems to support Elis spreading the word on New Haven pizza. Perhaps for some it was their first pizza ;).
My family never ate pizza–didn’t make it and didn’t order it (we rarely went to a restaurant). I probably had pizza at a friend’s house and I don’t remember what kind. So, I have no memories that are triggered by pizza. I like it all–I guess I prefer thin crust. One of the best pizza experiences I had recently was 2 years ago when I visited my cousin in Chicago. We went to a place call Lou Malnati’s (sp).
We didn’t eat pizza much either and I grew up near Chicago! But I really appreciate all kinds of pizza with both traditional and weird toppings. BUT, I agree that Lou Malnatis is awesome! I live in Wisconsin now and am SUPER excited they are expanding up here! You can get them delivered frozen but they are even half as good that way.
Lou’s will ship their pizzas- we’ve gifted our son twice and he’s bought for himself once. We also ordered for ourselves (6 pack is best value). If you want to experience Chicago regional cuisine: https://www.tastesofchicago.com/
Ha! I grew up in a town so small (and so isolated) that we never had a pizza place until a Pizza Hut opened. And I hate Pizza Hut pizza!
@scout59 I’m really sorry you were so isolated. Pizza Hut is not pizza. It’s dough with sauce and cheese.
Rays Pizza NYC
Patsy’s in Paterson NJ
Since we are naming specific places:
Salt and Straw ice cream in Portland
Blue Star Donuts in Portland
McConnell’s ice cream in Santa Barbara
Cow Girl Creamery in Point Reyes
Zachary’s Pizza in Berkeley
All this food talk is making me hungry and not excited about my leftovers for dinner!
I am loving reading all these posts about specific foods you love and places you go back to enjoy it.
I had thought I would respond and interact with each post, but there are way too many now. But it is satisfying to see others interacting along the way.
I will caution you to seek out good sources as you try a new food. Like, don’t try grits for the first time at a fast food restaurant. And do not buy your first Krispy Kreme doughnut in a box at a grocery store.
Your best experience will be finding a Krispy Kreme restaurant with its neon “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign lit up.
Most locations should be set up for customers to see the hot doughnuts coming down the assembly line. The employee opens up an flat, empty box and uses tongs to grab hot doughnuts off the line and place them individually Into the box.
This means you can sink your teeth into a hot, fluffy taste of heaven just a couple minutes off the assembly line.
Krispy Kreme vs Dunkin Donuts is mostly a regional thing. Dunkin makes a more dense, cake like donut. Just like pizza, you decide which style you prefer. The only Dunkin Style I like are their donut holes. To me, it is a separate thing from an actual doughnut.
And thank you all for giving me a safe place to come and take my mind off the real world.
I use to live in Berkeley and ate many a Zachary’s “pies” but still preferred a Blondie’s pizza especially at midnight after a few beers (unfortunately I heard the original restaurant is closed).
For BBQ, how about Flint’s a few miles down the road in Oakland?
In Virginia - Brunswick stew, Ragged Mountain rainbow trout, and Bold Rock cider.
Same here! We also didn’t have McDonald’s or any other chain restaurant. In high school, I was in marching band, and if we went to an away game somewhere with a McDonald’s, we would stop there. We thought it was a great treat!
On the other hand, I grew up with the best Southern home cooking, including all the farm-grown fresh vegetables we could eat. The best food I’ve ever had in my life was at “dinner on the grounds” at the Baptist church in the even smaller town next to ours. My mother grew up going to that church, and she’d take us there on special occasions. Everybody brought their best homemade dishes - people would have been horrified if someone brought “store-bought” - and those ladies sure knew how to cook!
@cfmendez618 That was my childhood also. We had no fast food restaurants in town at all. The only place to get pizza was a bar; not a place for kids to hang out. And everyone had a backyard garden for fresh vegetables all summer and frozen ones all winter.
I think that’s one of the reasons I like eating in the South so much. Even the little places, the BBQ joints and diners, all ask “what sides do you want?” And many of the sides are vegetables. And not just zucchini, a tasteless vegetable that seems to be thrown on every plate in other places.
Abso-freakin’-lutely! I think we are long-lost cousins, @cmfl11! Except that in my case, we marching band members flocked to Hardees when we went to an away game. Hardees!
And yes to dinner on the ground! I would give anything to taste my grandmother’s chicken and dumplings, green beans, and pound cake again.
@scout59, maybe we are long-lost cousins! It’s funny that you mentioned Hardee’s. When my hometown finally did get a fast food restaurant - it was a Hardee’s!
@TatinG, yes to the sides at good Southern restaurants! When I go to one, I usually get a veggie plate so I can have more sides!
The one Krispy Kreme that opened in my area didn’t make it. Closed after 1 year. It got a lot of publicity and traffic when it first opened but couldn’t sustain it.
We have a Dunkin like every mile here. I much prefer their coffee to Starbucks, so that’s where I go when not near my locally owned coffee place. I rarely buy donuts anywhere - I’m a muffin/scone person.
The problem with the south and veggies is they overcook them. It’s ok (and tasty the way they do it) with greens. Corn can handle it without an issue. Green beans sort of get a pass pending how spicy they make them. Pretty much anything else isn’t for me.
H is from the south and grew up with well done steaks and fresh veggies that could pass for canned once they were done cooking them. I’ve corrupted him on both. Now it’s rare to medium rare for the steak and lightly steamed or sauteed for almost all veggies, esp asparagus, broccoli, and peas.
Oh, and we’re a divided couple when it comes to Krispy Kreme. H loves them. I gag. To be fair, there are very few donuts I like. Tim Hortons has some - their plain cake, chocolate cake (if they don’t frost it), and coconut cream filled. I like our grocery store bakery’s coconut cream filled one too.
H likes almost anything donut or dessert - from anywhere. He has a traditional sweet tooth.