Locally famous foods

[hbelkins]

And oil, not mayonnaise.

Why does 95% of the country give me a weird look when I want oil and vinegar on my sub but no mayo?

I don't care much for mayo, either.

Mayo is the devil's semen.

As for cheesesteaks, Alps treated us to sandwiches from Leo's (www.leossteaks.com) at the Delaware meet. I was surprised to find that my cheesesteak was ground beef, not sliced beef.

[roadman]

Best steak and cheese subs I ever had were from a place called Nicks in Wakefield, MA.  Unlike most sub shops (which lay the cheese in the roll and dump the steak on top of it), they mixed the cheese into the steak (chopped) as they were grilling it.  After they put the mix into the sub roll, they would wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil and place it in a hot over for five minutes to toast it.  Not the best thing for your arteries, but super tasty.

[jeffandnicole]

I know a place that makes Geno's and Pat's look like amateurs, but I'm not telling you what it is.

That's not hard. Most people will tell you Genos and Pats are just for tourists.

Most people's favorite cheesesteak are going to be from a local sandwich shop.

So, spill the beans on yours!

I don't know about Abe, but I'm partial to Jim's. You're right, Pat's and Geno's don't usually rate very high among locals.

What is interesting (and the opposite of my comment) is that you can go there early in the day, late at night, and pretty much any time and see lines.  Now, tourists aren't walking a few miles through the neighborhoods to come here.  You don't see many out of area vehicles.   Clearly, the locals go to these places.

For me, they're charging too much though.  I believe a cheesesteak now runs $11 at Pats and Genos.

[abefroman329]

I know a place that makes Geno's and Pat's look like amateurs, but I'm not telling you what it is.

That's not hard. Most people will tell you Genos and Pats are just for tourists.

Most people's favorite cheesesteak are going to be from a local sandwich shop.

So, spill the beans on yours!

Oh fine, Steve's Prince of Steaks. 

[qguy]

I know a place that makes Geno's and Pat's look like amateurs, but I'm not telling you what it is.

That's not hard. Most people will tell you Genos and Pats are just for tourists.

Most people's favorite cheesesteak are going to be from a local sandwich shop.

So, spill the beans on yours!

Oh fine, Steve's Prince of Steaks. 

A few posts up I said I like Jim's, but yes, in my opinion Steve's is also very good.

It's funny, in Phila, many people have their favorite place(s) and they can list them in order.

[abefroman329]

I know a place that makes Geno's and Pat's look like amateurs, but I'm not telling you what it is.

That's not hard. Most people will tell you Genos and Pats are just for tourists.

Most people's favorite cheesesteak are going to be from a local sandwich shop.

So, spill the beans on yours!

Oh fine, Steve's Prince of Steaks. 

A few posts up I said I like Jim's, but yes, in my opinion Steve's is also very good.

It's funny, in Phila, many people have their favorite place(s) and they can list them in order.

Yeah, the recommendation of Steve's came from a local, and holy hell do I ever appreciate that recommendation.

I think of Jim's as #3 in terms of notability, behind Geno's and Pat's, I wouldn't have thought of it as a "locals" place.

[Road Hog]

Miami is a huge melting pot of Latin American culture and of cuisine as a result, but I'll simply mention Cuban food.

Many favorite Cuban staples include pastries like the pastelito, and big plates such as vaca frita(fried steak), and desserts like the Tres Leches cake.

The fast-food chain Pollo Tropical has been successful bringing this cuisine to other parts of the country, and it is still expanding.

Unfortunately Pollo Tropical has struggled making it into Texas, where other Latino chicken options hold sway. I've enjoyed the few times I've eaten there.

[Flint1979]

Honestly my choice in Philly would be Jim's or Tony Luke's, I have been to both of them as well as Pat's and Geno's of course. I tend to think that Pat's and Geno's are tourist traps and when I'm a tourist in another city which I would be in Philly I want to go where the locals go, not the tourists.

Around here a good spot for a Philly cheesesteak would be Big John Steak & Onion, it's a local chain in the Flint area but I actually prefer the one in Saginaw.

The national chains that offer the cheesesteaks like Charley's I consider to be overrated just like I do Pat's and Geno's. I personally like Jim's Steaks in Philly.

[cjk374]

Unless someone in Florida is doing it, Louisiana sells gator meat on menus in some restaurants...including Hooters (at one time, not sure if they still do).

Oh wait...would Floridians consider selling gator meat heresy?   

[1995hoo]

Unless someone in Florida is doing it, Louisiana sells gator meat on menus in some restaurants...including Hooters (at one time, not sure if they still do).

Oh wait...would Floridians consider selling gator meat heresy?   

I've ordered smoked gator ribs at a restaurant near Tampa (they weren't very good) and fried gator tail at multiple restaurants around Florida, including the same place near Tampa and a Pincher's near Fort Myers Beach.

There used to be a pizza place called PieWorks in Durham, North Carolina, that offered alligator as a pizza topping. They also had rattlesnake sausage (that stuff was GOOD).

[GaryV]

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.

Probably not made from Key Limes, though.  They say they limes grown in the Keys have a different taste. 

[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.

Probably not made from Key Limes, though.  They say they limes grown in the Keys have a different taste.

*shrugs*

It is now like laying claim to cheesecake.  Key Lime Pie is simply not only found in Florida, but is quite common.  You can't find garbage plates outside of upstate NY.

[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.

Doesn't Martinsville Speedway still sell them?

Not sure. I know South Boston Speedway does. For a while, though, there were a ton of places in the Richmond and Petersburg areas selling them, but not so much anymore...although after researching it there's actually a couple of fairly new places that sell them and get extremely positive reviews, including a BBQ place in the East End I might have to go try.

[abefroman329]

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.

Probably not made from Key Limes, though.  They say they limes grown in the Keys have a different taste.

*shrugs*

It is now like laying claim to cheesecake.  Key Lime Pie is simply not only found in Florida, but is quite common.  You can't find garbage plates outside of upstate NY.

The garbage plate I ate was served at a bar in NYC.

[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.

Probably not made from Key Limes, though.  They say they limes grown in the Keys have a different taste.

*shrugs*

It is now like laying claim to cheesecake.  Key Lime Pie is simply not only found in Florida, but is quite common.  You can't find garbage plates outside of upstate NY.

The garbage plate I ate was served at a bar in NYC.

Okay...and I could get a slice of Key Lime Pie at my local diner -- a bit further from FL than NYC is from upstate NY.

[webny99]

The garbage plate I ate was served at a bar in NYC.

I reserve the right to question the legitimacy of that garbage plate 



To add to what's been said above, I won't discourage discussion about the origins of certain foods. But in the OP, I was indeed thinking of foods that are only available in a specific area, and are thus truly "locally" famous.

[jp the roadgeek]

Miami is a huge melting pot of Latin American culture and of cuisine as a result, but I'll simply mention Cuban food.

Many favorite Cuban staples include pastries like the pastelito, and big plates such as vaca frita(fried steak), and desserts like the Tres Leches cake.

The fast-food chain Pollo Tropical has been successful bringing this cuisine to other parts of the country, and it is still expanding.

Unfortunately Pollo Tropical has struggled making it into Texas, where other Latino chicken options hold sway. I've enjoyed the few times I've eaten there.

We had 2 locations in the Hartford area that lasted less than a year.

[webny99]

Miami is a huge melting pot of Latin American culture and of cuisine as a result, but I'll simply mention Cuban food.

Many favorite Cuban staples include pastries like the pastelito, and big plates such as vaca frita(fried steak), and desserts like the Tres Leches cake.

The fast-food chain Pollo Tropical has been successful bringing this cuisine to other parts of the country, and it is still expanding.

Unfortunately Pollo Tropical has struggled making it into Texas, where other Latino chicken options hold sway. I've enjoyed the few times I've eaten there.

We had 2 locations in the Hartford area that lasted less than a year.

I'm sure I saw multiple Pollo Tropical locations in San Antonio. Maybe I was dreaming 

[bulldog1979]

Here in my local area, you'll find the cudighi, which is both a meat and a sandwich. It's an Italian-style sausage, usually without a casing, that's seasoned with red wine and spices. The sausage is flattened into a patty and cooked and served on a hoagie-style roll. (Local grocery stores sell actual cudighi buns that are a slightly different shape.) Apparently, the sausage is no longer made in the region of Italy where it originates, and it's not made in the US outside of the UP.

The other local delicacy is the pasty, an import of Cornwall brought here because of the mining in the region.

[nexus73]

Here in my local area, you'll find the cudighi, which is both a meat and a sandwich. It's an Italian-style sausage, usually without a casing, that's seasoned with red wine and spices. The sausage is flattened into a patty and cooked and served on a hoagie-style roll. (Local grocery stores sell actual cudighi buns that are a slightly different shape.) Apparently, the sausage is no longer made in the region of Italy where it originates, and it's not made in the US outside of the UP.

The other local delicacy is the pasty, an import of Cornwall brought here because of the mining in the region.

I would have liked the mustard and onion the sandwich came with originally.  Italian sausage lends itself to a lot of good things!

Rick

[abefroman329]

The garbage plate I ate was served at a bar in NYC.

I reserve the right to question the legitimacy of that garbage plate 



To add to what's been said above, I won't discourage discussion about the origins of certain foods. But in the OP, I was indeed thinking of foods that are only available in a specific area, and are thus truly "locally" famous.

I was taken there by a Rochester native.

As for the second sentence, I'd say that's becoming rarer and rarer as we as a society become more interconnected and move more.

[english si]

The other local delicacy is the pasty, an import of Cornwall brought here because of the mining in the region.

Carrots or no carrots? I gather than pasties with carrots in are treated in Cornwall as some Emmet nonsense that those English people do as they are odd!

Certainly when I was on holiday there about 15 years ago, none of the pasties had carrots - even the explicitly non-traditional ones with fillings where one would typically put carrots (eg minced lamb like Shepherds Pie) - just to make the point!

While one can get Cornish pasties across Britain, they got EU protected status about 10 years ago, meaning that they now must be prepared in Cornwall (can be cooked elsewhere) and meet certain requirements on shape and filling to be called 'Cornish'. As such, carrots in pasties are much harder to find nowadays.


Pasties are, I gather, common in Gold Rush places in the West as well as the coal areas of Pennsylvania, for the same reasons as the UP (mining).

As for the second sentence, I'd say that's becoming rarer and rarer as we as a society become more interconnected and move more.

It's the same with local accents too, though they were far less finely granulated in the US to begin with.

[CapeCodder]

The cape doesn't really have any one specialty.

When I lived in St. Louis we had STL style pizza which is like a pizza cracker and among other things Gooey Butter cake.

Toasted Ravioli has made it this far north.

I guess near here we have "Bar Pizza." Had some a couple of years ago from a place in Brockton called Cape Cod Cafe. Not bad.

Now, when I had also lived in St. Louis I had this sandwich called a "Gerber" Sandwich. It's just a hot ham and cheese sandwich.

[abefroman329]

I tried STL-style pizza a year ago and thought it was disgusting.  I should have tried gooey butter cake, that sounds delicious.  Toasted ravioli barely counts as a separate food and I'm not sure why STL residents are so proud of something that could've come out of the TGI Friday's test kitchen.

[tchafe1978]

Pasty is pretty popular here in Southwest Wisconsin, as there is a history of lead mining with miners from Cornwall. But I've never known pasty to be made with carrots. It's usually just meat (usually beef), potatoes, and onions in a pastry crust.