food I miss by not living there anymore.

I'm originally from central new york. There are so many foods there , that you can't get in Texas. Friday fish frys, tomato pies, Italian rum cake from Florentines, Grandma Browns baked beans, salt potatos, pepperettes from Liehs and Stagerwalds in Syracuse, Greek food from Symeon's ( I've never had better), Nora's turkeyjoints(it's a candy), Ferlo's Italian bread, sausage bread, spinach bread from Tony's on Culver Ave in Utica. And actual butcher shops where they make their own sausage and hot dogs.
I'm sure there is plenty of things you miss too.

Yaeh, I hear you on that! I used to have the cold tomato sheet pies at every birthday party I went to. I still have some Grandma Browns in my NYC kitchen I bought last time I went upstate. MMM....salt potatoes. What are pepperettes? I'll get my turkey joint fix at Christmas. Their website just came back up this month for shipping (cold months only). I used to love sausage bread but don't really see it down here. Gileete's Market on Turin Road used to make excellent sausage bread. I really miss spiedies and spiedie sauce to make my own. Also have to get my fix and greens (escarole sauteed in olive oil and garlic) and chicken riggies. I'd love to get back for Tom Cavallo's Monday night all you can spaghetti for $1.50. It got me thru many nights at Utica College! One of the things I miss most is eating Voss' BBQ sandwiches off of the hood of my car! Ahhh, the memories.

But you have things in Texas we can't get here in the middle of California, like real BBQ and a good chicken fried steak...if I ever move out of California, there is nothing here foodwise I'd miss!

Ahhh California dreamin'.... I miss the basic neccesities of life there. Sourdough bread and dungeness crab for starters. Mission style burritos. It's It, chocolate covered oatmeal cookie with chocolate ice cream please.

Phyllis's Giant Hamburgers in San Anselmo with onion rings, but for a real junk food fix, Jack in the Box is one of my yearnings. Are there any east of the Missippi? In the NYC area?
Truth be told, burgers are an art form out west, held to higher standards.

The Sonoma Sausage Factory was a important stop when cruising through the Wine Country. There were so many great variaties of sausage there.
On a similar note, there isn't anything like the salami that comes out of San Francisco. Even the Boar's Head version does not stack up in comparison. Many folks here think that the flacid and tasteless Genoa version is fine. I can't eat it.

The oddest item that I miss are Russian piroshki's (not pirogis). These are doughy handheld meat pies stuffed with beef or sausage and hardboiled egg. I would have one heated with Swiss cheese and honey mustard. I am so desparate, that I have searched for mail order ones to no avail.
Last week, I decided to try one of the various recipes that I have found. What I learned how is how to make them better next time.

Of course, the minute that I leave this area, I will bemoan my loss of New Haven pizza and belly clams served steamed or fried. Your choice.

mark

Jenn,
I'd have to disagree about the California stuff. While I love our Hoosier Home and would NOT want to move back...And we have lots of neat stuff within 'reach' here, I do miss the street-corner Tamale Wagons and Fruit Stands with Lots of Citrus and especially the Avocados!! For years there was a great little stand just North of Engine Capt. in Fontana that Always had the Black Avocados for 6 for a buck, and sometimes for 10 cents apiece.
Last trip west we picked up a case of oranges for less than $10 that were "seconds"... They were so good.
I also miss the Huge variety of ethnic choices for food.
Groceries? Ask Lleechef... I want to be able to shop at Stater Brothers, the SoCal Chain. They were constantly better in the Meat department than any of the 'bigger' chains. I hate buying beef here...Everything in the 'regular' groceries is hormone/water injected mush. Maybe that's why I toot the Costco Horn so much. They have good Meat!
Again, I would never move back. However I do wish some of the foodie choices were available to us here! Having a little of the mid-winter mild weather would not offend me either.

I am sort of glad that we aren't being asked for the things we don't miss!

White House Subs, and other hoagies/subs of choice superior in the NJ area.

Seafood, any type.

Pizza.

Tucson is by no means the culinary capital of the United States, lot's of good Mexican but lacking in every other aseptic. I miss northwest Indiana/ Chicago and frequently dream about good pizza and beef sandwiches. We do get back to Indiana every so often to visit with family and I will not allow them to cook for us. I hit every favorite eating Establishment we have time to get in, ah the memories ?

Billyboy, pepperettes are a hot dried sausage about as big around as your thumb 10-12" long, as they airdry they get harder and hotter and taste even better. They have a taste of their own and are eaten like a slim jim. They are very addictive and my only complaint is, it's hard to wait til they dry before you eat all of them.

I miss the street vendors in Puerto Rico and the cafes on the small side streets where the tourists would never venture. The best food was always there.

Cuban food and those little cafe Cubanos that were like a hit of speed. Lived in Key West '76 and '77. I would die for a Cuban sandwich about now.

Hinkle burgers & hashbrowns from Hinkles(of course) and Coconut Shrimp and Mashed Potatoe Salad from the Key West Shrimp House in Madison Indiana. Miss the fish tail sandwiches from the drug store lunch counters too. BIG ones made from Cod.

Two things from Burbank I miss most.....In N Out & Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

I miss the farmers markets and PA Dutch foods of lancaster, PA. Sweet bologna, dewey buns, chicken corn soup, scrapple, cheesesteaks, Wilbur's chocolate, good soft pretzels, grandma Utz's potato chips.

I used to live outside Baltimore for a few years while in my early 20s and really came to love crabcakes and crab soup. Obviously, I can still get those here in Pittsburgh, but not nearly the same quality.

I lived in Florida for over 30 years and now living in Indiana I have yet to find someplace that can satisfy my cravings for good Cuban food. Cuban sandwiches...MMMMM!! Maybe one day if I ever decide to go back down to visit I will be able to satisfy that craving.

ynotme-
You can get Grandma Brown's Baked Beans on line - we order them once in a while. As far as friday night fish fries, good luck finding them outside of the Great Lakes area.

From California--Farmers markets where i bought Olives and Oil form the folks that GREW them!!!---and every vegie known to man!!!-from artichokes to oyster mushrooms--oh the vegies!!!!---sourdough bread---tacos and burritos from the trucks---oranges and --espeically at the holidays--MANDERINES for $3 a bag!!!!---and PEETS COFFEE!

From Bloomington and Brown County Indiana---TENDERLION SANDWICHES

From New Orleans--Oysters-Poor boys and ---well--EVERYTHING!!!!

and from ny old New England home---PIZZA!!--wonderful seafood---esp Lobster and CLAMS!!!--Steamers and Whole Bellied Fried clams both---and CHOWDA!!!!--Great Italian food!!!

So much to miss!!!--but thern again---HERE we have BARBEQUE!!!!!! and All You Can Eat Fried Catfish every Friday night!!!

From Southern California:

I miss Armenian markets. I've only found one or two here, and they don't sell locally made zoolobiyeh (sp?). I can't find yoghurt sodas here, or store-made cracked green olives with lemon. This is Fresno, there must be Armenian markets someplace, maybe I just don't know where to look?

From Lafayette Indiana:

My sons miss Pizza King pizza. Not just the restaurant experience, with the out-of-date games, the cartoons and the train bringing around your orders. The pizza, because kids are weird.

They also miss Purple Cow Superman flavor ice cream from Meijer.

I miss farmers along the roads in deep Summer, selling really ripe tomatos out of the backs of their trucks. Also having a Cobblestone and a bottomless cup of coffee at Panera.

hey kkrhmom, i live in a cuban area of florida and love the food, just take some french bread, ham, roast pork,swiss cheeze, mustard pickle and make your sanwich, then put it on a george foreman little burger maker with a brick on top for weight, dont laugh until you do it like we do here

Thanks ynotryme, I'll have to give those a try next time I'm in 'cuse.

Billyboy, you can get pepperettes at liehs & steigerwald 1857 grant blvd syracuse n.y just before butternut and very close to carousel mall just the other side (east)of rt81 They also make their own hot dogs and sausage as well as selling other great meats.

Just look at the picture from the Peoples Restaurant for a start. Add in all the Farmers Markets such as the Green Dragon and Root's as well as the local farm stands, fresh fruits and veggies. The memories are just overwelming. If only it did not get so cold and snow there.

quote:

Originally posted by ynotryme

And actual butcher shops where they make their own sausage and hot dogs.

Things are very different in SE Texas apparently. Several butcher shops make their own sausages and likewise many bbq joints and smokehouses. There are also several Cajun meat purveyors who make their own Cajun sausages. I buy sausages all the time from Guy's Meat Market in Houston and Vincek's Smokehouse in East Bernard, plus I never go to the great bbq places in Central Texas without bringing back some of their sausage rings.

The Czech belt, stretching west from Houston to Austin, includes many, many small sausage companies, some selling only from their own shops, many with very limited distribution.

However, hot dogs are not big down here. It seems the immigrant butchers (German and Czech) who settled in SE and Central TX (and SW Louisiana) favored sausages made from coarse ground meats over frankfurters. The only place I've seen hot dogs that I can recall is Kreutz Market in Lockhart, but I've never tried them.

I know of one Friday fish fry.

From my time in Akron, I miss Luigi's. We just don't have any good Italian joints here in Portland.

When I lived in California, I missed the foods from Texas so much! Like Blue Bell Ice cream, Tex Mex, longhorn cheddar, crawfish in any form, chicken fried steak and Whattaburger to name a few. Now that I'm back in Texas, I don't miss much from California.

However, as the Mayor pointed out the grocery store Stater Brothers was a really nice store to shop at, and their meats were really good at dang good prices. Also, what I loved about the stater brother that was near us was that the manager was very sympathetic to ex Texans needs, and would try and stock things like longhorn cheese and gebherdt chili powder. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about getting Blue Bell ice cream on the shelves

From Madison: Plaza Burgers
From New Orleans: Creole Cream Cheese
From Santa Fe: Frito Chili Pie
From St. Michaels: Crab Cakes
From Tampa: Fried Grouper Sandwiches

I'm originally from Chicago, I miss Italian beefs with gardeneria, and hot dogs.

And believe it or not, I miss the burritos from there too. When I moved down here, my girlfiends idea of mexican food was taco smell. It took me a while but i found a couple of small taquerias. But the food is different, and they use way too much cilantro down here in NC.

Move #1 - from SE PA to Syracuse: REAL chips (Dieffenbach's, Kay and Ray's, Gibbles, Groff's, Grandma UTZ's) and pretzels (Sturgis, Wege's, Shuey's), double-smoked sweet bologna from Seltzers, Ring Bologna, Mince Pie, Shoo Fly Pie, hunky eggs, fries w/ gravy, TastyKakes

Move #2, from Syracuse to Chicago: Fritattas, spiedies, some GOOD little Italian restaurants (Angotti's, Luigi's), hot dogs (Ted's), beef-on-weck, GREAT wings (especially Elmo's in Getzville), Doug's Fish Fry, the gluttony that is the NY State Fair

Now that I'm in the greater Chicago area, I'm sure it'll kill me to be without Italian Beef, combo's, Chicago hot dogs, etc... if I leave (I never did develop a taste fo rChicago pizza, so I won't miss that!)

Joe

My wife is orignally from Utica, and we were there two years ago for her grandmother's funeral.

I had some of the best Italian food I've ever tasted at Grimaldies (sp?) and Tonys. I was also amazed I could get Italian delivered at 1:00 am!

DFW is lacking in a decent Italian and seafood type restaurant.

Houston, in no particular order: great Chinese food (dim sum in particular) in strip mall Chinatown, tacos al carbon at the original Ninfa's, any combo plate at Spanish Village, kolaches from the kolache shop on Bingle at Long Point, wonderful meat dishes at Churrascos, any of a number of favorites at any of the Good Company places (too many to name) (well, ok, cinnamon chocolate shakes at Taqueria), red beans and rice at Treebeard's, fine hamburgers at Beck's Prime.

Hell, I'd kill for a Whataburger or something from Taco Cabana just about now. Or even a veggie plate from Black Eyed Pea. I'm a desperate man.