Unique Regional Cuisine Defined by Location

OK, I haven't taken the time to read through the previous 10 pages to see if San Francisco is represented, but in case they aren't, I'll mention a few items:
-sourdough bread (I've seen it elsewhere, but it ain't the same folks--we've got unique yeast in our air or something)
-cioppino (Italianesque seafood stew)
-boiled Dungeness crabs and crab cocktails made therefrom at "the wharf" (Fisherman's Wharf)
-salmon right off the boat
-hangtown fry (eggs, bacon and oysters cooked together like an omelet)
-"It's It" (vanilla ice cream sandwiched between 2 oatmeal cookies and covered with chocolate)
-about a thousand varieties of locally made wine (made from locally grown grapes)
-Irish Coffee (they claim to have invented it at the Buena Vista Cafe)
-chicken Tetrazinni (allegedly created by the chef at the Palace Hotel to honor opera singer Louisa Tetrazinni)

Pasties are unique to areas where mining, especially underground, took place. It would have been baked and wrapped in a towel still warm, and carried in a tin pail for the miners lunch. As it was rolled with a heavy crust on the side where the crust's joined the miner, who's hands would be extremely dirty by the time lunch came around, could hold the heavy crust, eat the meat filling and throw the crust away to avoid contamination. In southeast Wisconsin's lead mining region they are credited to Cornish miners but the Italian Calzone may also be from such a utilitarian lunch pail

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by shaynas_mom

Brookquarry, my former mother-in-law hails originally from Duluth, Minnesota, and when I lived in California she constantly served pasties...and she said they were unique to Minnesota! Hmmm...

From what I understand, they are also unique to Michigan and Montana.

not to repeat previous posts, but pasties are also common in the narrow area of Pennsylvania known as the Slate Belt (basically north of Brethlehem and Easton south of the Poconos and encompassing the towns of Bangor, Pen Argyl and Wind Gap among others)Pasties were indeed taken down into the slate quarry holes carried in blickeys (metal lunch buckets) for the miners lunch. They were indeed introduced by Cornish slate miners but were rapidly adopted by all other ethnic groups.Today although the quarrys are all but gone, pasties are still a cherished food of the area. They are on the menu in all local diners, are a frequent item for church and service organizations fund raisers.There are at least two local retail shops where they may be bought fresh. Maries Pasties outside of Bangor and Mr. Pastie in Pen Argyl.

"Milwaukee Fish Fry is fried or baked cod, served with coleslaw (vinegar or creamy, depending on the restaurant), potato pancakes (served with applesauce on request), french fries, tartar sauce, lemons & rye bread w/butter. I've heard Serb Hall is the best in Milwaukee, but I dunno about that"...

Serb Hall is terrible. I brought Jane & Michael there a few months ago because I had heard it was all that, but the fish was the texture of a sponge, and the service was in my opinion, incompetent. Harsh, I know, but I really had heard such great things.

There are many, many other places for good fish in Milwaukee....

But on a different note, don't forget Usinger's sausages, panczski (I know I'm mispelling, but it's a Polish pastry made only on Good Friday I think? or Ash Wednesday???), smelt fry, and Milwaukee's south side Latino elotes, the Mexican-style corn-on-the-cob served at street stalls.

Actually, my personal favorite place for fish fry is here in Waukesha, Weissgerber's. It's right off I-94 on Hwy T south. A little expensive, but SO worth it.

I know they're pronounced Poonch-ka's, but I've no idea how to spell them. You mean the little donut-like things with the jam in the middle, right?

Joey Buona's has free pizza during happy hour Friday nights from 4pm-6pm, they are on Clybourn & Water, used to be Bret Favre's Steakhouse. Their Italian Nachos ROCK!!! Their Italian Beef is trucked in from Chicago.

My two cents

Pueblo CO
Green Chili - Which is basically pork gravy with lots of green chilies in it. Put it on everything.

Slopper - What you call an open face hamburger with green chili on it.


Michigan in general - Fried Lake Perch. Nothing better

Typical Southern food, red eye gravy, sweet potatoes, country ham, pinto beans, crowder peas, fried cabbage, green beans with potatoes, fried okra, fried corbread, slaw, fried pork chops, etc. I had never heard of chocolate gravy until I moved to this part of Georgia, and now I find it quite satisfying when I am craving something sweet for breakfast...

ok,a quick hello!! from Cleveland, ohio. First on our local list, is the perch dinner. This is lake erie perch, deep fried and served with coleslaw, mac and cheese, and fries. Also, keilbasa, served with saurkrat and perogies, smothered in sauted onions and sour cream. Our favorite breakfast is called farmer breakfast, fried potatos with scrambled eggs, bacon, ham or sausage all in one skillet, topped with cheese. At our local outdoor market, the sandwich is sausage, saurkraut, raw onion and mustard piled in a bun. Kolaches are the dessert, a flaky sour cream pastry, filled with jams of different flavors. Cleveland is a true melting pot, so we also have our own little Italy, where resturant owners try to outdo each other with pizza, pasta, etc.

Glad to see the mentions of liver mush, red eye gravy, chicken bog, fried okra, brunwick stew, fried banana peppers and barbeuce hash on this board.

Here are some others that I'm familiar with that have not been mentioned from my review of the thread:

Alamance county (Burlington, NC) cheese dogs - a hot dog bun with 2 long thick strands of American cheese in a regular hot dog bun with mustard, chili and onions (All the way) or add slaw to be all the way with slaw. This is ususlaly steamed in a pressurized bun steamer to make the cheese hot and gooey.

Corn sticks - unique to Eastern NC barbecue restaurants. Long fried trapezoid pieces of cornmeal.

Fried salmon patties - usually served on toast or in a biscuit.

Hoe Cake - Served at Hillbilly Hideaway in Walnut cove, NC. A gian large biscuit served on a pizza style pan. People usually tear off the section that they want.

Conch fritters

Yucca

Banana pudding - usually found only in the South

Sundrop soft drink

Bleinheim ginger ale - comes in glass bottles

Watergate salad - Cogealed salad with marshmellows and walnuts (Yummy).

State fair food - deep fried turkey, deep fried Snickers, deep fried Twinkies, roasted corn, funnel cake, fried dough

quote:

Originally posted by Bushie

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by Michael Stern
[br
I never knew Italian beef was unique to Chicago ... until I moved away and couldn't find it anywhere.

We are extremely fortunate that a guy from Chicago opened up a place here called Lucky Dog. There are 3 or 4 locations now (one in Round Rock - Yes!), that serve Italian Beefs, Chicago Dogs, cheese fries, sausage sandwiches, etc. He "imports" all the right ingredients from Chicago, and it's wonderful to be able to get a version of everything here.

However, the Beefs just don't taste quite as good as Al's or Mr. Beef. Must be something in the water...
I found a place in Enterprise AL that has I Beef and Chicago dogs (VIENA).tHE KIDS SAID SOME GUY FROM pANAMA cITY "imports" them

I scanned these pages - so correct me if I failed to catch someone else's post about Jersey's greatest food asset... the gravy cheese fry, otherwise known as, DISCO FRIES!

As far as I know this roadside delicacy is indigenous to the Diner State. Fries (no specifications on width or variety) covered in either provolone cheese or mozzarella and then drenched in gravy.

This dish is the ultimate in late night diner runs as well as snowy Sunday comfort food. A must-have by all.

quote:

Originally posted by ejh1110


I scanned these pages - so correct me if I failed to catch someone else's post about Jersey's greatest food asset... the gravy cheese fry, otherwise known as, DISCO FRIES!

As far as I know this roadside delicacy is indigenous to the Diner State. Fries (no specifications on width or variety) covered in either provolone cheese or mozzarella and then drenched in gravy.

This dish is the ultimate in late night diner runs as well as snowy Sunday comfort food. A must-have by all.

There are about a million places through the sunny South that serve cheese fries, with gravy. The cheese used in this particular redneck of the woods, though, is usually shredded orange cheddar, or orange American.

That cheese, gravy & french fry thing is called Poutine in Canada, eh?

I always thought that Northern New England was Fries n Gravy territory?

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

I always thought that Northern New England was Fries n Gravy territory?

The first time that I even saw Fries n Gravy was near the tip of the Great Northern Penisula in Newfoundland at a bed and breakfast place that served 3 meals a day. (This was in the mid 70's) We sat down to dinner the first evening and were served wonderfully fresh baked cod and fries n gravy. I could not believe my eyes but "dug" in and ate the whole thing! They really were delicious. I hate to admit it but I did eat them the whole month that we spent there.

My parents were transplants from Missouri, but I grew up in East Tennessee at the "eyebrow" of the Smokies, Athens. (That is an honest to god reference from an ad campaign in the 40's). My mom adjusted well to making the fried okra, skillet cornbread, fresh corn, etc. , but it was Mrs. Edgemon (my surrogate grandma), our next door neighbor who introduced me to the specialties of the region.
Poke Salet, which you had to know when to harvest or it would poison you.
Pickled pig's feet cause you used every part of the pig (they butchered their own).
Smoked bacon, smoked in their own smokehouse and smoked sausage packed in cloth sacks with hot pepper and lots of sage and delicious on cathead biscuits (my mom made toast or at the best rolls). Country ham (we got them as Xmas presents) and red eye gravy.
Fried corn which I've never been able to duplicate.
Squirrel, in sawmill gravy. "The most fantastic thing I ever tasted," I told my Mom. She about died when I told her that, and wouldn't let me eat there for weeks.
She taught my Mom to cook collards and green beans with ham hocks til they were super tender and not mush, and they were not greasy either.
Sorghum molasses which they grew and processed themselves.
Stack cake with apple butter. Sweet potato and chess pies!
Muscadines off the vine or in jelly or jam-which seemed to be simmering on the stove or cooling on the front porch all summer.
I don't recall Grandma.E going to the grocery alot, but when she did it was mostly for staples like flour, salt and sugar. It seemed everything they ate came from their land or the wild area around. They are a dying breed. Just as roadfood places seem to be a dying lot, so it seems is that way of life. When I went back there for a visit, I was sad to see their sweet little farm covered with a new subdivision. Ah well-at least I have memories.

Contrary to popular belief, cooks in Mississippi do NOT fry water;
however, just about anything else is fair game. Examples: dill pickle
slices, green tomatoes, farm-raised catfish, dried fruit pies, sweet
potatoes (like french fries), asparagus, raw cucumber slices, onion
slices, eggplant, yellow squash, et cetera. I've enjoyed this thread and have been making notes of foods I want to try and those I don't want near me. Which brings me to chitlins (chitterlings). Considered a delicacy by many, they can be boiled or deep fried but will never see my plate

I've been reading and trying to think of foods (along with those above) that can be found in most cafes (and every little town has at least one cafe.......larger cities have restaurants).

So, here's my Mississippi list:
Kudzu Jelly; Chicken & Dumplings;
Mustard, Collard, and Turnip Greens;
Dried White Butterbeans; Potato Wheels; Fried Creamed Corn;
Porcupine Meatballs; Meat Loaf; Yellow Squash Casserole;
Cheese Straws; Chili Sauce (similar to Chow-Chow); Muscadine Hot Sauce; Macaroni and Cheese (made from scratch);
Pork Ribs - slow cooked for 8-10 hours; Pig's Ears, Feet, Snouts; Brunswick Stew - sometimes made with chicken and beef but can include rabbit, duck, squirrel, deer, and/or possum;
Hoppin'John; Pear Salad; Coca-Cola Cake, Coca-Cola Salad; Teacakes; Angel Biscuits; Cornbread - made ONLY with self-rising cornmeal, eggs, sweet milk, and Cricso; Pimento Cheese; Potato Soup;
Salmon Croquettes; Venison or Wild Turkey anything;
Frog Legs; Muffalettas; and Hominy and Hominy Grits.

That's basically foods in the northern half of the state - the Gulf Coast is another list for another post.........I'm starving right now - guess I'll go "fry" something

Daisy

quote:

Originally posted by GourmetteDaisy

Contrary to popular belief, cooks in Mississippi do NOT fry water;
however, just about anything else is fair game. Daisy

I grew up (okay, grew older) in Mississippi. Lived in a little town called Ruth, and went to school in Brookhaven. I can say, without a doubt, if MS cooks could figure out how to fry water, and serve it with gravy, they would!

quote:

Originally posted by cleveland66
I grew up (okay, grew older) in Mississippi. Lived in a little town called Ruth, and went to school in Brookhaven. I can say, without a doubt, if MS cooks could figure out how to fry water, and serve it with gravy, they would!

ROFL - you just may be correct! Know Brookhaven, but not Ruth.
The former Superintendent of Schools here was in Brookhaven for about
28 years, but I think the only places he ever ate were at school or
home. When I asked him for a good place to eat in Brookhaven, he
recommended CRACKER BARREL

quote:

Originally posted by GourmetteDaisy

quote:

Originally posted by cleveland66
I

ROFL - you just may be correct! Know Brookhaven, but not Ruth.
The former Superintendent of Schools here was in Brookhaven for about
28 years, but I think the only places he ever ate were at school or
home. When I asked him for a good place to eat in Brookhaven, he
recommended CRACKER BARREL

One time several years back I called the Billings Montana Visitors information center and asked about a place to get good regional local cuisine and the guy recommended Red Lobster! This is no joke. It actually happenned!!

I've only posted a few times but had to put my 2 cents in as this thread brought back a lot of good memories!

I've been living in Boston for 4 years but grew up in Easton, PA- Lehigh Valley- my family has been there since 1730 and we're not going anywhere!

Things I always thought of as unique or at least extremely popular in the Lehigh Valley are:

Pork Roll Sandwiches
Scrapple
Shoo-fly Pie (wet or dry bottom)
A-Treat soda- specifically Birch Beer
Great potato chips and pretzels
Deepfried pierogies at county fairs
Faschnachts (not sure I spelled that right) in Lent
Pasties (my dad was eating one last night when I called home- my mom's out of town and it's the only thing he can make himself- wish I could find them up here in Boston somewhere!)
Tastycakes
Schafer's Bologna

quote:

Originally posted by GourmetteDaisy

Fried Creamed Corn;

Now you have me stumped. How do you fry creamed corn? I would like to try it.

....and Daisy, what are potato wheels?

quote:

Originally posted by 6star

quote:

Originally posted by GourmetteDaisy

Fried Creamed Corn;

Now you have me stumped. How do you fry creamed corn? I would like to try it.

You start with fresh corn, cut it off the cob (scrape the cob to get all the juice out!), and put it in a skillet with a bunch of butter and some milk and sort of stir-fry it, not too hot. Every now and then stop stirring so you can get some little brown bits in there.

Thank you, queenb. I will try it. It sounds easy to make, and sounds like it would be very tasty. I like deep-fried corn-on-the-cob, which I discovered at a restaurant in Gulf Shores, AL, some years ago.

just thought I would bring back this thread because I really really think it needs to be brought back in the spot light.

What I find interesting is that some regional treats seem to share commonalities with different states or in some cases different parts of the country for example

1. Chicken Pie- Central Connecticut and Vermont
2. Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches- Indiana and Iowa
3. Pasties- Montana and Michigan.

In East Tennessee, Polk Salat, a wild plant that is picked very young in the spring time. Boiled in three different waters then scrambled in with eggs in bacon grease. Supposedly poisonous if picked after the plant grows. Also thought of as a blood thinner.

And its goooooooooood!

Here's one I'm curious about. My mom, a very good Hoosier cook, use to make and can something she called chili sauce each summer. I know it contained tomatoes, peppers, various spices and other ingredients that I'm not knowledgable of. It was not used in chili. It was used in several of her meat dishes, specifically cubed steak and pork chops. It was also used as a relish on burgers. Is this a regional item or is this something that exists more or less all over. My mom is gone now and I have a single jar of her " Hoosier relish" left to enjoy.

Yes Pogo, it is goooood! I haven't had any in years because I don't know how to pick it, but I found out recently that my mother-in-law knows how to scavenge for it. She also goes morel hunting up in the hills of the Cumberland Gap area a couple of times a year. I hope she will share her secrets and her good eats with me next year. Also, I saw scrapple listed up above-we have that in East Tennessee too along with souse meat. Not particulary fond it that though.

Something else I just thought of Chow Chow! Love that stuff on beans or burgers or anything that needs a bit of relish.

quote:

Originally posted by Tristan Indiana

Here's one I'm curious about. My mom, a very good Hoosier cook, use to make and can something she called chili sauce each summer.

My Mother (in Illinois) also made it. Here is a recipe from http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/getrecipe.zsp?id=80913 that sounds very much like what she made, though I think she used white sugar instead of brown sugar.

Chili Sauce Recipe
6 quarts ripe tomatoes
3 large onions, minced
1/2 cup coarse pickling salt
3 cups diced celery
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1/3 cup whole mixed pickling spices (tied in cheesecloth bag)
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
4 cups brown sugar

Makes 12 cups, Time: 12 hours (9 hrs. prep.)

1. Peel and slice tomatoes into very large bowl; add onions and salt and stir gently.
2. Cover bowl and let stand for a minimum of 8 hours; overnight is best.
3. Drain thoroughly and place in a large, heavy saucepan with a lid.
4. Stir in celery, red peppers, pickling spice bundle, red pepper flakes and vinegar,
then cover; over medium heat, bring this to a boil.
5. Once boiling, uncover and simmer over low heat until thickened, at least two hours; stir often to prevent sticking.
6. Add brown sugar and stir well; taste for sweetness (if your tomatoes are very tart
or acidic, you may need a little more brown sugar).
7. Simmer mixture until thickened again, about 25 minutes.
8. Remove spice bundle in cheesecloth bag and discard.
9. Ladle mixture into hot sterilized 2-cup jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal jars.
10. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
11. Let cool at room temperature before refrigerating, or storing in a cool dark place for up to one year.

Leslie,

You can always find poke weed where the ground has been newly turned, such as new construction. I wouldn't begin to try to describe the weed to you, it is best someone show it to you.

Morels? In ET? I had no idea. All the time I have spent tramping in the woods and have never seen any, guess you have to be looking.

Souse meat. I had forgotten all about that. My aunt used to make the best souse. She would always pickle it and would cut thin slices to eat on saltines. And she always made it HOT AND SPICY!

Pogo,
You know people have gotta think we're crazy eating weeds, but I swear that poke salat is good.
And I didn't know about morels in Tennessee,until my husband talked about foraging for them near Sneedville when he was a kid. Called it "Dry Land Fishing." Check this site out-morelmushroomhunting.com they let on that morels have been found as far south as Ga. I think if you join their group they post sightings of the elusive fungi (fungus?)
It's late [|)].

Thanks Leslie!

Wasn't there a song about poke salat Annie? I never had an idea what it was about till now.

Poke what?? never heard of it so I had to look it up
[img]http://www.watersheds.org/nature/images/poke.jpg [/img]
Salat is the German word for salad, and probably came to the Ozarks with German settlers. Poke salat is made from Pokeweed. In towns you'll find pokeweed growing wild in alleyways and vacant lots. In the country it grows in the fence rows and along the edges of woods. When mature it has clusters of shiny purple berries which birds love to eat.

After a long winter without fresh food, the early settlers looked forward to cooking the first tender green leaves of pokeweed. It gave them vitamins and was a good spring tonic. They'd cook it up with Lamb's Quarters and Dock, which are also early spring greens. Some people today still cook and eat poke greens in the early spring.

Though the whole plant is poisonous, the young leaves can be eaten after cooking them using two changes of water. Poke is still used medicinally. Old timers in the Ozarks still eat one pokeberry a year as a preventative or to treat arthritis.

Now I'm confused. I would never have thought to cook it in 2 changes of water. When I think of salad, I think fresh greens, but then there is lobster salad, chicken salad etc

I have had cooked lambsquarter and pigweed. It tasts like spinach.

Yep, thats pokeweed alright.

My people were from Morgan County, TN and there are a lot of German/Swiss settlers there, I imagine thats where I get the "salat" from.

For anyone that has never tasted it, it has a very black peppery taste.... quite a bite to it.

Something else, among the many many GREAT foods we have here in Texas are all the Tex-Mex specialities made with Cabaza. Shreaded cabaza is hard to find outside South and South Central Texas but it's much better than all that hamburger based stuff everywhere else. Most HEB stores carry heads dirt cheap to make your own. I'm up in the Panhandle now, and when you talk about it they haven't got a clue. It's kinda like trying to exsplain an Antoines Red Wrap, Giant olives, and a Shiner Bock to people that don't know Houston.

I seem to remember in NW PA that restaurants sold steak salads with french fries in the salad. I'd never seen that before but I have to say it was quite good.

carl reitz

quote:

Originally posted by berndog



Another so-called regional food I love is Chicken (or veal) French. Served at most italian restaurants, it is a thin breast breaded with egg wash and crumbs, then sauted in a lemon white wine (or sherry) sauce. I never thought this was a local dish, but a recent article in the local paper claims it is not often found outside the Rochester area.

Can't wait to hear about the other Rood Fooders local favorites. You folks always get my mouth watering and give interesting idea's for things to try when traveling.

Berndog, Our local italian place serves this item and I know the brothers are from Italy. It is made with chicken breast and served as you described.

Dennis in Cary

Just bringing back this thread because I think it really needs to be brought back!~

This thread is an old friend, and I visit often. When I look at "active users", I see that it is popular with the lurkers too.

Actually, I might as well put this thread to good use. Does anyone know the origin of red beer? That's beer with tomato juice. I hear it's popular in either in the Midwest or Out West. But not sure exactly where?

Another Chesapeake (Southern MD) area specialty is Maryland Stuffed Ham. The ham is cooked by removing the bone and filling hole with spices and kale. The sandwich (my experience with stuffed ham) adds white bread and mayo all tucked into a convenient wax paper wrapper.

Nice thing to cleanse the palette while at the St. Mary's County Oyster Festival.

Berndog--
Regarding your post:
"Another so-called regional food I love is Chicken (or veal) French. Served at most italian restaurants, it is a thin breast breaded with egg wash and crumbs, then sauted in a lemon white wine (or sherry) sauce. I never thought this was a local dish, but a recent article in the local paper claims it is not often found outside the Rochester area."

Chicken Francese is found on almost all diner menus in NJ! Obviously, "Francese" simply means French in the Italian language, so I think that we are talking about the same thing. It is always a breaded, sauteed, boneless breast of chicken, served with a lemon sauce--albeit usually with way too much of the sauce. While it varies from one location to another, this dish is usually one of the most reliable things to order at a NJ diner.

Some "white table cloth" restaurants in NJ serve this dish, and some even serve Veal Francese, or in a few rare instances, Shrimp Francese.

So, the next time that you are in the Garden State, you can avail yourself of this dish in many venues!

Something that has evolved into a regional cuisine in Northern NJ over the past 30 years is the fantastic Portuguese/Spanish food that is found in one neighborhood of Newark.

The outsiders call the neighborhood "Ironbound" (from the fact that the neighborhood was once completely surrounded by railroad tracks), but the residents refer to the area as "Down Neck". I have no idea where the latter reference originated.

The neighborhood has played host to a succession of immigrant groups over the past century or so--Irish, German, Italian, and most recently, Portuguese/Spanish and some Brazilians. As a result, the area is awash with restaurants that are truly representative of the Iberian Peninsula, and to a lesser extent, Brazil.

Consequently, if someone is brave enough to venture into the murder and car theft capital of NJ, he is rewarded to find this particular neighborhood that is actually a low-crime area, and is filled with establishments that serve fantastic seafood, beef, and pork dishes in huge portions, at relatively low prices. Street parking is very tight, and as a result, some of the restaurants have set up parking lots.

One of the secrets of going "Down Neck" for a great meal is to get there early if you are going on a Friday or Saturday night. Traditionally, people tend to eat dinner fairly late on the Iberian Peninsula, so if you get to these restaurants by 6:00, the waiting time is usually minimal--except on holidays. The other trick, if you want Paella, is to order for fewer people than will be eating it. A Paella for 2 will comfortably serve 4 people, and there could actually be food left over. A party of 6-8 people could order Paella for 4, and as long as they ordered individual appetizers, they would have a very nice meal. Steaks tend to be immense, and of course, the variety, and the freshness of seafood is impressive.

Sangria is also very good in these restaurants--don't think of the bottled stuff that you bought 25 years ago--these places make it fresh with wine (your choice of white or red), fresh fruit, and a splash of brandy.

A nice flan and a double espresso round out a great meal at any of these places, and there must now be at least 100 of these restaurants scattered around this part of the city.

This neighborhood is a vibrant and safe area. Just be prepared to do a bit of walking from where you park. But, considering how much you will eat, the walking is a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by hilldweller

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by wanderingjew

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by hilldweller

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by wanderingjew

I grew up on Long Island in a town with a large Jewish population and a decent sized italian population.

Did you grow up in Matzohpizza?


No, Merrick.


Oh yes, brings back memories!

Me too. Didn't everyone in Merrick call Massapequa "Matzhopizza?"

What a regionalism, I thought it was a Yiddish corruption of Machu Picchu........some fabulous lost enclave on Long Island...

quote:

Originally posted by Tedbear


Something that has evolved into a regional cuisine in Northern NJ over the past 30 years is the fantastic Portuguese/Spanish food that is found in one neighborhood of Newark.

Tedbear,

Portuguese cuisine is extremely prevelant here in Southern New England in the East Providence/Bristol area of Rhode Island as well as the Fall River/New Bedford area in Massachusetts. The Portuguese have been and are still coming here in droves. The myth of the Portuguese Fisherman is actually not entirely correct, many came to work in the various Mills. One thing though, never put Portuguese and Spanish Cuisine in once sentence, many people of Portuguese descent whom I personally know get very defensive. As far as they're concerned Spanish cuisine and culture are entirely different from that of Portugal (It would be like comparing Polish Cuisine with say Thai Cuisine)

Wanderingjew--Trust me, I am well aware that Spain and Portugal have different cultures, different languages and (slightly) different foods. However, the neighborhood of which I spoke (Ironbound/Down Neck in Newark, NJ) is characterized by restaurants owned by Spaniards, Portuguese, Brazilians, and also Basque people.

Is the food different? Yes, but nobody in this area specifically says "I want Spanish", or "I want Portuguese" unless they are actually members of one of those ethnic groups. The residents of North Jersey usually say something like, "Let's go to Ironbound for a great meal", and they are not very hung up on which culture or cuisine a particular restaurant represents.

Many of the places there use generic term "Iberian" in the name of their restaurant, and in many cases the patrons have no idea of whether the place is Spanish, Portuguese, etc. until they see which language the menu is written in. And since most Anglos can't read either language, in many cases they are still in the dark, even after seeing the menu. Fortunately for them, all of the menus have a translation to English.

I don't think particularly hard about which cuisine is represented by a particular restaurant, but I do have my favorites. One of them is actually Basque, but I am willing to bet that the majority of the Anglo patrons could not spell the word Basque, let alone know where the region is. All they know is that the place serves incredible food, in huge portions, at great prices. In truth the Basque style is a little different than "Spanish", but the differences are subtle.

The newest restaurants on the scene are Brazilian-style "Rodizio" restaurants, which feature unlimited portions of a staggering variety of meats cooked on the grill or rotisserie. Very good value for the hard-core carnivore who does not worry about having a coronary bypass! While most of these places are run by Brazilians, many of them are run by Portuguese or Spanish proprietors, as they know a "hot" trend when they see one. This is sort of like the "Japanese" restaurants that are run by Chinese people. Not authentic in the strictest sense of the word, but a very good facsimile.

So--while I do know the difference between Spanish and Portuguese, as well as the more subtle differences between Spanish and Basque and between Portuguese and Brazilian, the distinctions are frequently blurred in the Ironbound/Down Neck area. Perhaps this is not true in Massachusetts, but it is frequently the case in Newark and environs. The real Spaniards and Portuguese know the distinctions, but the general public frequently does not, and that was the jist of my comment.

Regardless--come to the area and you will enjoy some great food at very good prices!

A Pittsburgh "delicacy" is something called chipped ham. It is actually very similar to a product found in most parts of country called "chopped ham" that is somewhat like a semi-congealed loaf of pork/ham product. But what makes it "chipped ham" in Pittsburgh style is that it is sliced so thin that it is practically transparent, then stacked liberally on white bread, preferably with good old Heinz ketchup. Yum!

Pittsburgh is also known to "Parmesan"-ize ANYTHING. Shrimp, fish, pork chops, you name it, we'll put spaghetti sauce and cheese on it. And spaghetti is ALWAYS an option in Pittsburgh as your side dish in lieu of a potato or other side.

I really enjoy coming back to read this forum. It really says "Roadfood". I moan and groan about the lack of any really good pizza (in my opinion) but then think about living in an area with the best crab and crab dishes anyone has ever tasted.

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

I really enjoy coming back to read this forum. It really says "Roadfood". I moan and groan about the lack of any really good pizza (in my opinion) but then think about living in an area with the best crab and crab dishes anyone has ever tasted.

I am always happy to see regional items being available on a national level. One thing I can't find outside of New England are those hot dog buns they use that you can toast on both sides.
But the problem just means I have to travel up there for more hot dogs, and that's not a bad deal.

Up there, they never put Texas Pete on fried chicken.

quote:

Originally posted by CarolinaBill

A Pittsburgh "delicacy" is something called chipped ham. It is actually very similar to a product found in most parts of country called "chopped ham" that is somewhat like a semi-congealed loaf of pork/ham product. But what makes it "chipped ham" in Pittsburgh style is that it is sliced so thin that it is practically transparent, then stacked liberally on white bread, preferably with good old Heinz ketchup. Yum!

Pittsburgh is also known to "Parmesan"-ize ANYTHING. Shrimp, fish, pork chops, you name it, we'll put spaghetti sauce and cheese on it. And spaghetti is ALWAYS an option in Pittsburgh as your side dish in lieu of a potato or other side.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, when one of my kids was living in that area several yrs ago I discovered that people in the southwestern PA area seem to prefer using mustard on their french fries over ketchup. Only place where I've run into that particular regional preference. Just curious if it's done in any other part of the country?
QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

Actually, I might as well put this thread to good use. Does anyone know the origin of red beer? That's beer with tomato juice. I hear it's popular in either in the Midwest or Out West. But not sure exactly where?

Not here in the Midwest. This is what's "red beer" here:

http://www.leinie.com/red.htm

WJ,
I've had red beer in Omaha and points west -Washington and Oregon, but I don't remember growing up with ther idea at all in Kansas/Missouri. Now you've got me intrigued.
Bill

I believe Killian's Red started it here in the U.S. several years ago. Coors Brg bought the recipe from a French brewer who had copied/stolen an old Irish recipe. It was originally an ale, not a lager beer. I think the red color has mostly to do w/ the kind of grains used and how long they cook them to give it a kind of reddish hue.
QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

When I grew up, many bars in western Michigan used to (maybe still do) keep small cans of V8,tomato, or Snap-E-Tom juices on hand for patrons who liked tomato in their beer.

Never heard the term 'red beer' back in those days. We just ordered a 'tomato beer' and it came with a can of our desired juice for an extra $.25 or so.


Dino