S/O food - Regional Differences

Two*True

What's the local/regional food in your area that you love/hate?  Is it a particular chain? Type of food?  Do you make it at home or only order it out?  Let's talk food because I need to go home and cook :-)

Two*True

Upstate NY - there seems to be a lot of Italian and of course pizza places.  I don't know if anything is unique to Albany.  I'd never heard of fried dough before I moved here. I now know it's an east coast thing, whereas the west coast has funnel cakes.

 

rikkiandjulie

Oregon has Burgerville! I LOVE burgerville, they have the BEST milkshakes, and omgsh their sweet potatoe fries are to die for. I LOVE it.

Meegs10.13.06

Philly cheese steaks, of course. Soo so good. We normally only order out, but occasionally will make them at home if we plan for it ahead of time.

Meegs10.13.06

Two*True:

Upstate NY - there seems to be a lot of Italian and of course pizza places.  I don't know if anything is unique to Albany.  I'd never heard of fried dough before I moved here. I now know it's an east coast thing, whereas the west coast has funnel cakes.

Maybe that's a NY thing, not an east coast thing... because in PA we have funnel cakes, not fried dough. 

Funnel cake: 

 

Fried dough: 

 

cookiemonster03

Philly has good pretzels.

NJ/NYC has good pizza and bagels.

 

I'm hungry.

rikkiandjulie

In Portland we have call Fried Dough Elephant Ears, and Funnel Cakes Funnel Cakes.

Mrs._F

Chinese food!  I love the chinese food where I'm from, about an hour south of Boston.  I know that take-out chinese is different everywhere, but somehow, it was the same in Pittsburgh as it was where I grew up....yet here in Boston? Not the same!!

I miss my hometown/Pittsburgh Chinese take-out!

But my fave regional food is fresh and plentiful fish!!  Definitely missed that while I lived in PA.  Generally for fish, we eat out, but I am starting slowly but surely to learn to make it at home too.

ssg73

this fried dough thing I think may be a new england thing?   Oh and I just had some on Sat!  Yum

I love seafood as well and I can't wait for my first lobster of the summer every year.  The one thing I really missed when I was in NC was subs.  I couldn't find a good sub (or grinder as some call them here) to save my life and I always had my mom have a toasted italian sub with everything waiting for me in the car when she picked me up from the airport. 

Duchess1

I have never heard of fried dough! We have funnel cakes, S's favorite, but elephant ears here are more like a palmier, made with puff pastry.

I think in CA you can get just about any food in the world. I am not sure we have anything unique, unless you count organic/natural or Mexican food.

jayangel

In Tampa cuban sandwiches are really popular and may I add delicious. I'm not sure if its through out Florida or just in the Tampa area (Jay is from Jacksonville and never heard of it until moving to Tampa). I sometimes make the sandwiches at home but I don't think there quite as good as the ones from the sandwich shops.

ctbride08

little known fact: CT is the pizza capital of the US! 

We have Mystic Pizza (know the movie?), Pepe's Pizza (world famous), Sally's Pizza (some argue its better than Pepe's), and the list goes on. It spoils me because now i can't eat pizza from anywhere else

I also love that just a short drive brings us to wonderful fresh seafood. Lenny and Joes is a CT favorite - LOVE.

And we absolutley can NOT forget the new england fall harvest foods....apples as fresh as you can get 'em, homemade pies, maple syrup, ect ect ect! oh, how i live for fair season!

Skeezon

Of course, we have cajun cooking down here!  Gumbo and Jambalaya (words that half of you don't even know how to say) are my favorites!  I definitely try and cook cajun at home, but nobody does it like my dad!

bluedaisyus

i live smack in the middle of white castle country. for those of you who have never heard of it or tried it: it is little 2-inch square burgers fried up with teeny tiny pieces of onion on a steamed bun, and you can buy them individually or by the sack (10 i think) or case (30). everything they sell comes in these little open-ended boxes, including all the sides. they are so gross. there's a reason why they call them sliders. they're open 24 hours, though, and do have really good coffee believe it or not, so they're really popular after the bars close.

Two*True

I had White Castle when I was in Indiana.  It was yummy.  They sell the burgers in the frozen foods section of our Sam's Club but I've never picked them up.  Somehow I just don't think they'd be the same.

I thought of another Upstate NY thing - cider donuts.  Donuts made with apple cider...yummy...sugar and cinnamon...warm right out of the oven.. :-)

ctbride08

oh yes, cider donuts are huge around here....do you have the little road-side shacks that sell them fresh? love those with a mug of hot apple cider.  and apple fritters - same idea, just fried instead of baked