Locally famous foods

[Flint1979]

the World Famous Langlois Market Hot Dog.

Never heard of it.

All right, show of hands, everybody.  Who here had heard of the Langlois Market Hot Dog?

Keeps hands down

An authentic Philly cheesesteak & a Jucy Lucy are both on my bucket list.

If you do the cheesesteak thing, you have to do a side by side comparison of Pat's vs Geno's.  Go to one, order a cheese wit, then go across the street to the other and order the same thing.  Best to do it with a partner so you each get a half of both (have to be really hungry to eat both in one sitting).

I did this one time when I was in Philly. I went to Pat's and got a half of a cheesesteak and went to Geno's and got the same thing. I can't remember which one I liked better but both were very good.

[english si]

Buckinghamshire bacon badger <- it's apparently famous, but I'd only heard of it a few months ago when there was a trend for food shows to make Bedfordshire Clangers, and a load of people online were saying that BBB is superior. I guess it comes from the cheese part of Bucks not the chalk part where I live. Looks good though.

Either the my area's food spread across the country (or at least the south of it) and so lost its localness, or wasn't creative/worth keeping, or change in demographics (from rural light industry and sheep farming, to cosmopolitan commuter belt) has killed the unique dishes dead - probably a bit of all three.

I guess I could widen the hunt to London, but the same has happened there - you might be able to get jellied eels if you look hard enough, but good luck trying to find a pie n'mash shop. London's food today is far more likely to be fried chicken or pho* than those cockney specialities (because no one other than cockney's would eat them!). And the English food in London and the surrounds is treated as the non-regional norm when it isn't always - mushy peas are called northern, but 'regular' peas aren't called southern (though certainly a generation ago, there was very much a regional divide and you would struggle to find petit pois rather than marrowfat in the north).

*seriously - if you move out of the touristy areas to places in Central London where the food shops cater for office worker's lunches, there's a Vietnamese takeover currently. Japanese is also very common, and Asian shops are more common than Western ones. Fried chicken shops have replaced fish and chip shops (or chinese/fish and chips shops) as the staple fast food place in parades of shops across the capital.

[MNHighwayMan]

Feel free to share what your regional food specialties are, and if you recommend trying them or not.

* MNHighwayMan coughs

[webny99]

Feel free to share what your regional food specialties are, and if you recommend trying them or not.

* MNHighwayMan coughs

It is possible to share your own local specialties and still answer a question in the OP. I ain't forcing anybody to do either, just noticed my original question got a bit lost 

[US71]

It is possible to share your own local specialties and still answer a question in the OP. I ain't forcing anybody to do either, just noticed my original question got a bit lost 

But you know how people like to go off on tangents.   

[Road Hog]

Not a whole lot of region-specific food where I live. Maybe Tex-Mex, BBQ and a little bit east, catfish. I love catfish.

[nexus73]

Not a whole lot of region-specific food where I live. Maybe Tex-Mex, BBQ and a little bit east, catfish. I love catfish.

Mmmm, catfish!  Got to enjoy just one meal of that during the Oregon to Memphis TN trip last October.  That was in Oxford MS.  Unfortunately the restaurant did not have the spicier Louisiana breading so it was just okay instead of totally magnificent!

Rick

[WillWeaverRVA]

The only regional food I can think of in this area is bologna burgers, which have kind of fallen out of vogue after the Sadler brothers (of NASCAR) made them famous about 15 or so years ago. They seem to be a niche item everywhere except their native Emporia.

[abefroman329]

Buckinghamshire bacon badger <- it's apparently famous, but I'd only heard of it a few months ago when there was a trend for food shows to make Bedfordshire Clangers, and a load of people online were saying that BBB is superior. I guess it comes from the cheese part of Bucks not the chalk part where I live. Looks good though.

Either the my area's food spread across the country (or at least the south of it) and so lost its localness, or wasn't creative/worth keeping, or change in demographics (from rural light industry and sheep farming, to cosmopolitan commuter belt) has killed the unique dishes dead - probably a bit of all three.

I guess I could widen the hunt to London, but the same has happened there - you might be able to get jellied eels if you look hard enough, but good luck trying to find a pie n'mash shop. London's food today is far more likely to be fried chicken or pho* than those cockney specialities (because no one other than cockney's would eat them!). And the English food in London and the surrounds is treated as the non-regional norm when it isn't always - mushy peas are called northern, but 'regular' peas aren't called southern (though certainly a generation ago, there was very much a regional divide and you would struggle to find petit pois rather than marrowfat in the north).

*seriously - if you move out of the touristy areas to places in Central London where the food shops cater for office worker's lunches, there's a Vietnamese takeover currently. Japanese is also very common, and Asian shops are more common than Western ones. Fried chicken shops have replaced fish and chip shops (or chinese/fish and chips shops) as the staple fast food place in parades of shops across the capital.

Here's an article on a restaurant that sells jellied eels AND pie 'n' mash!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/travel/eating-eels-london.html

[roadman]

Benigets in Southern Louisiana is only known to them.  They are a powered deep fried pastry served best with coffee and you can find them mostly in NOLA, the French Quarter, but even Houma has them, 50 miles away.

I do not think I have seen a Zepoli or Stromboli outside the NYC metro area.

zeppoles are common in the Italian-centric part of RI.

Other RI-specific foods:

-pizza strips or tomato pie - basically cold pizza with thick sauce and no cheese, cut in strips instead of triangular slices.
-clear broth clam chowder
-"NY system" hot weiners AKA gaggers - The "NY system" name is because they are similar to a coney island dog. Typically served with celery salt, yellow mustard, meat sauce and onions

Hold on there - you forgot the coffee milk to wash it all down with.

I didn't want to claim that RI invented coffee milk, but it can be said that the two biggest producers of coffee-flavored syrup (Eclipse and Autocrat) were from RI.

My sister-in-law, who was born and raised in Rhode Island, laments how she can never find coffee milk outside of RI.  So I'd say it qualifies as unique to Rhode Island.

[US71]

Petit Jean hams come from Morrilton, Arkansas 

[hbelkins]

The only regional food I can think of in this area is bologna burgers, which have kind of fallen out of vogue after the Sadler brothers (of NASCAR) made them famous about 15 or so years ago. They seem to be a niche item everywhere except their native Emporia.

Doesn't Martinsville Speedway still sell them?

[US71]

I sure do. And I'm OK with tangents.
But forgive me for wondering, after a fashion, why it is only and always my tangents that are deemed unacceptable.

Depends which direction you go with them.

[jeffandnicole]

While many interesting specialties from around the country have come out in this thread, which is great, I would still be interested in some more answers to the original question, which was whether anyone had ever eaten a trash plate or not, and if so what you thought.

*ahem*

Well, here's the thing: You title a thread called "Locally famous foods", and then your first question is about a food option that, if it relates to the title, would only be found in your local area.  That particular food option, seems to be pretty local, and honestly, not very pretty.  So by default, not a whole lot of people are going to even know about it much less eat it.  I don't think we all need to answer 'No' to it, unless we have a story to tell about it.

Most people were more interested in your final comment, and has made for an interesting topic.

Thread tangents and derails have been going on long before you were on this forum...and many people have been told to stop, and bring it back to the actual topic.  If you think you're being singled out, then maybe you are going off on tangents more often than others.

[webny99]

Well, here's the thing: You title a thread called "Locally famous foods", and then your first question is about a food option that, if it relates to the title, would only be found in your local area. That particular food option, seems to be pretty local, and honestly, not very pretty.

You got that right 

Thread tangents and derails have been going on long before you were on this forum...and many people have been told to stop, and bring it back to the actual topic. If you think you're being singled out, then maybe you are going off on tangents more often than others.

Honestly, I'm trying. Just cant resist some random humor/comments to spice things up once in a while.
But I think if I had 10,000+ posts, I could say whatever the hell I wanted, and that's what irks me at times.

Depends which direction you go with them.

I'm gonna start saying stuff I shouldn't, so:

zips lips and discards key

[tchafe1978]

In Wisconsin, deep fried cheese curds and bratwurst. Mmmmm

[renegade]

Sorry, but something called a 'trash plate' is not something that I would order.

[Rothman]

Well, it is really a "garbage plate," so there.

[US71]

Well, it is really a "garbage plate," so there.

Iriana's Pizza in Little Rock, Ar has a "sweep the floor" pizza.

[webny99]

Sorry, but something called a 'trash plate' is not something that I would order.

There's a market for them, and they are really good, just messy. There are plenty of places around here that sell only trash plates. Usually called "Hots" prefaced by the location; Empire Hots, Winton Hots, etc.

Well, it is really a "garbage plate," so there.

Iriana's Pizza in Little Rock, Ar has a "sweep the floor" pizza.

Now there's a legit tangent, and potentially even a thread of its own: foods that intentionally sound disgusting. In the case of a trash (garbage, whatever) plate, it is intentional, and it looks a bit rough too. Still delicious though.

I wonder what sweep the floor pizza has on it. Probably a huge variety of stuff, similar to some cookies my mom made once called "everything but the kitchen sink" 

[US71]

Sorry, but something called a 'trash plate' is not something that I would order.

There's a market for them, and they are really good, just messy. There are plenty of places around here that sell only trash plates. Usually called "Hots" prefaced by the location; Empire Hots, Winton Hots, etc.

Well, it is really a "garbage plate," so there.

Iriana's Pizza in Little Rock, Ar has a "sweep the floor" pizza.

Now there's a legit tangent, and potentially even a thread of its own: foods that intentionally sound disgusting. In the case of a trash (garbage, whatever) plate, it is intentional, and it looks a bit rough too. Still delicious though.

I wonder what sweep the floor pizza has on it. Probably a huge variety of stuff, similar to some cookies my mom made once called "everything but the kitchen sink" 

pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives.

[1995hoo]

Sorry, but something called a 'trash plate' is not something that I would order.

For me it'd depend on what it is. The Weston Diner in Davie, Florida, has a breakfast item called "The Mess" that doesn't have the most appetizing name either, but it's delicious and I always order it at least once when we're in the area. I can't find the menu online, but I recall it's something along the lines of eggs scrambled with ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese, with hash browns toast on the side. I think, anyway. The first picture I found on TripAdvisor looks like the Mess. Last time I was there I seem to recall there was a new second version of this item, but I don't recall what it was.

[formulanone]

Key Lime Pie is usually found only in Florida. It's really more of a semi-sweet and semi-tart lemon flavor, and it goes well with coffee.

I've never seen white BBQ sauce outside of Alabama. It's more peppery than spicy, a little tangy but not sweet. You're supposed to only put it on chicken, not red meat or pork, but I always look the other way...I enjoy experimenting with food mash-ups. I've never been much to declare how particular foods should be eaten.

[Rothman]

Key Lime Pie is usually found only in Florida.

Most diners I have eaten at have carried Key Lime Pie (if not all).  Yes, it was invented down there, but it is certainly common elsewhere.

[webny99]

Sorry, but something called a 'trash plate' is not something that I would order.

For me it'd depend on what it is. ...

From the OP:

Basically, it looks like a big mess, hence the name, but it's home [square] fries, macaroni salad, and hot sauce, with a burger or two on top.

Let not the name be a deterrent from trying it 

I wonder what sweep the floor pizza has on it. Probably a huge variety of stuff, similar to some cookies my mom made once called "everything but the kitchen sink" 

pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives.

I would totally eat that, should the need ever arise for me to go to Arkansas. It sounds delicious, actually.