What is your local favourite? Something where you live or where you grew up, but cannot get anywhere else it seems. You might be stuck somewhere where they have never heard of food-X, and you will forever live in misery, perhaps getting the ingredients from your hometown in care packages or covert smuggling operations.
You might expect me to say "poutine", but you'd only be partly right. I'm not from Montreal originally, and while a high-quality poutine is a mighty delicious way to a stroke, I have other favourites from my homeland of the Maritimes.
First up is a Nova Scotia classic - the Almighty Donair and all donair-variants. You might have heard of a "doner" or some imitation in the US, usually passed off as a sort of gyro with a bunch of veggies or salsa on it. This is wrong. A true donair is a fast food delicacy found only in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - dripping in grease, made from spiced beef loaf that is sliced thin and refried, stuck into a soft pita, covered in a few token bits of onion and tomato, then smothered with the most delicious sweet sauce I've ever come across (it's milk, vinegar, sugar and garlic). Out East we have donair burgers (see above but substitute hamburger buns for a pita) donair pizzas (donair sauce instead of tomato sauce, layer of mozza, then slices of the donair meat on top) and donair panzerottis (take the basic donair formula, fold it into a chewy crust, and bake the whole thing). All are stupendously tasty, even though anyone who is told about a donair usually cringes and changes the subject.
Next up is the OTHER poutine - Acadian poutine rapée (that means grated, not raped). This is an east coast classic that is hard to make, and the best is always produced by some leathery skinned old woman in a farmhouse who sells them out of her porch and is always sold out before noon. Poutine rapée is a large ball of grated potato flesh with a core of seasoned ground beef or pork. It's rolled into a delicate ball and boiled until it becomes a big grey ball that looks as appetizing as a skinned armadillo. But looks are deceiving - slice it up to expose the heart of meat, and then pour a little pile of white sugar on your plate. Roll the chewy potato in the sugar and savour the starchy sweetness. If you say "poutine" east of the New Brunswick/Quebec border, they understand this thing. West of that they think of fries, cheese curds and seasoned gravy.
Anyone else have any site-specific favourites? Spiced cajun alligator tail is one of my "never going to find that again" favourites from the South.
Prickly pear cactus fruits are finally getting ripe up here in the highlands of Arizona, so last night we finished making a first batch of prickly pear syrup. It's simply splendid on waffles, pancakes, ice cream, etc. It's got a shocking magenta color to it and a taste that's similar to apple or pear but with a very different twist to it. We'll be making more, but it's nice to have some put up in the canning jars.
And while we're talking cactus, another tasty bit from the prickly pear is the green pad itself, at least the young ones. Called nopal or nopales (the plural, I guess?) in Spanish, they're common in Mexico and easy to find canned in the supermarkets, fresh at the local Mercados and in several dishes on the menus of Mexican restaurants here. Most common preparations are huevos con nopales (eggs & nopales) or carne con nopales (beef & nopales). The flavor is really yummy -- crunchy, tart and fruity (at least the fresh ones) with a mucilaginous texture just like okra. Yeah, I know -- but I LOVE okra...
One item of local fare I haven't yet tried: javelina, though there are fresh tracks under the mailbox most mornings; think anyone would notice if I set up one night on the porch with my bow?
My socal favorite.
Birria:
Birria is made using a base of dried roasted peppers. This gives birria both its characteristic savoriness as well as its remarkable variety, as different cooks will chose different peppers to use for the broth base. Birria is served by combining a bowl of broth with freshly chopped roasted meat of the customer's choice. One eats it by filling a corn tortilla with meat, onions and cilantro, seasoning with fresh squeezed lime juice, and then dipping it into the broth before eating it. The broth itself is also eaten with a spoon or by drinking from the bowl.
Also Fish Tacos in Ensenada. [thumbsup]
I'm located in the South, Charlotte in particular. Here are some things I can't really find elsewhere.
Nilla Wafer and Banana Pudding:
Layer Nilla Wafers and sliced bananas with vanilla pudding. Top with whipped cream. Mmmmmm *drool*
And Carolina BBQ (Eastern and Western). I have major trouble finding it anywhere else.
And Price's Chicken Coop. Nationally known for their fried chicken. There's fried chicken everywhere but this place has been mentioned all over nationally. I think its unique to Charlotte.
I have spent the last 10 years traveling all over the country with my job, a few months at a time in each place. I'm from Memphis, and though Memphis bbq tops the list, I now have cravings from all over the country. I get angry when a place represents itself as serving Memphis BBQ, then I go in salivating, only to find they serve swill.
A few that top the list:
New Mexico green chile. Green chile cheese hashbrowns. Mmmm!!
Hot lips pizza and voodoo donuts in Portland.
Smoked fish and chowder (best I've ever had!) at the Smokehouse in Brookings, Oregon.
+1 to Prickly Pear jelly. I have one jar from a friend in Tucson. I'm hoarding it.
Coffee in Seattle - for some reason, it all just tastes better when I am there. Also, Dick's burgers in Seattle.
Gator bites/gator on a stick from New Orleans.
Fried green tomatoes.
I'll be eating at my favorite place in Indy when I go to GP. Then I'm headed to Memphis for BBQ. Last time I went home, I ate bbq for every meal, every day for a week. [puke] It was divine!
mmmm... poutine.... :) :) :)
I'd have to say spam musubi, for something... decidedly local.
not a huge fan of ethnic hawaiian food, but I like to eat it from time to time. everything else is heavily every-asian/western mixed.
From VT, where I grew up: White chedar cheese....milk is white, therefore cheese should be white, NOT orange. (not really that hard to find) and Sugar on snow.
From AZ, lived at Arcosanti: anything made with prickly pears (juice, sauce, jelly, etc), food at Tara Thai II in Prescott Valley, YUMMY!!!
From Buffalo, now home: Bison french onion dip (best with dorritos), and of course, wings.
We've got nothing unique... :'(
Well, Rocky Mountain Oysters, many fine rattlesnake dishes, Rocky Mountain Rainbow Trout... and the birthplace of Chipotle Grill and Good Times Burgers (made with local Coleman Beef). ;D
What we do have is more microbreweries per capita than anywhere else in the country [beer] [beer] [beer] [beer] [beer]
(and we host the annual Great American Beer Festival)
Iowa Chops. Both the super thick cut pork chops and the farm league hockey team.
And sweet corn. And I don't give a make the beast with two backs what you say, we ARE the corn state and NO corn in the world beats Peaches and Cream sweet corn. Been to 48 of the 50 states...had corn in each and every one of them...Iowa sweet corn *IS* the best.
The nilla wafers and banana pudding thing is popular here too.
Quote from: ZLTFUL on September 09, 2008, 02:28:46 PM
The nilla wafers and banana pudding thing is popular here too.
Shush! It only exists where I say it exists!
;D
Growing up - my mom's cooking. I'm lucky not to weigh 300+lbs. From travels/various places lived, see below...
Fish tacos - Ensenada, right by the docks, wait for the fish to come in, out of the sea, into the batter & fryer...
Pizza - NYC, Grimaldi's / John's / Vinnies
Street food - Thailand, delicious, but paid for it for a few days following....
Paella - Barcelona, can't remember the restaraunt, but best I've had
Steak - Bueno Aires
French Fries (pomme frites) - Maastricht
Pat's King of Steaks - Philly
Ben's Chili Bowl - DC
La Taqueria burritos - Mission, San Francisco CA
Boiled green peanuts.
I grew up in the South and they were made fresh at roadside stands, small stores, and some gas stations.
Here in the West (Seattle now, but CA and OR) we do not even get them in the can. I have to order them from the Lee Brothers web site.
Name that city: Black Bear Soda, squeeky cheese curds, Usingers Sausage, kringle & Sprecher Beer
Hint: Yah der hey!
+1 on the New Mexico green chile. This is the one thing I miss most about NM. It is much like [bacon] in that no matter what you put it on, it always makes it better.
Quote from: Nitewaif on September 09, 2008, 01:51:32 PM
I'll be eating at my favorite place in Indy when I go to GP.
Which is??
Local Hawaiian fare : 'opihi (limpets), butterfish luau, poke, lomi salmon/other fish, AND the Spam musubi
+1 NM green chilies
Malaysia : Penang laksa. Holy crap, I love it. Actually, I love most Malay food.
New York Bagels
NY slices
Does beer count? if yes than Yuenling (only sold on the east coast, unless someone really likes it to distribute it on the west coast)
Rare VOS, NY brew
Oh and this one is kinid of odd. its called Yummy bread. Its a REALLY thick and buttery sliced white bread. Weighs close to 1lb for a loaf. Its not quite like a loaf of pound cake, but it weighs similar to one.
Quote from: ZLTFUL on September 09, 2008, 02:28:46 PM
Iowa Chops. Both the super thick cut pork chops and the farm league hockey team.
that is such an awesome team name! right up there w/ Macon Whoopee ;D
Quote from: SacDuc on September 09, 2008, 03:20:39 PM
Name that city: Black Bear Soda, squeeky cheese curds, Usingers Sausage, kringle & Sprecher Beer
Hint: Yah der hey!
Too easy. Say hello to Laverne and Shirley for me please!
Taylor Ham/Pork Roll
It's a New Jersey thing, but can also found in Philli and NY.
Its a pork "sausage" product, cut into round slices, that you fry and eat for breakfast. Usually found on a Taylor Ham, egg and cheese sandwich at a 24hr. diner.
If we are going to list best restaurants, I'll throw in mine:
In my hometown (Moncton New Brunswick) there is a microbrewery/pub called the Pumphouse. It makes fantastic beers on site (if you spot any Pumphouse Brewery beer at a liquor store near the border, buy it) and some of the finest dry-aged steak you can get for less than 15$. Plus they make a mighty tasty wood-fired pizza, beer battered onion rings (notable because you can actually taste the beer), and during mardis gras they make some great cajun stuff (that's where I had alligator tail, only place I ever found it).
In Montreal, everyone HAS to go to Schwartz's deli. Their smoked meat is not so much smoked meat as it is tender corned beef brisket that is heavily seasoned and smoked. It's phenomenal and has no comparison, the name smoked meat is simply too generic to describe this stuff. 5$ gets you a "sandwich" which is actually a 3 inch high pile of hot, just-sliced meat with a couple of slivers of bread throw on. And if you sit at the 50s style counter you can watch the grizzled old guys haul around slabs of meat and snap at indecisive customers. There is always a 20 foot lineup out the door at any given time, and for good reason.
For the best poutine in Montreal, La Banquise is hard to beat. It's a 24h fast food joint that serves over 20 varieties of poutine, with everything from green peas to sausage and hot peppers thrown in. This is the real deal, poutine that tastes fantastic even to someone who usually doesn't enjoy it.
For interesting burgers at a reasonable price in Quebec, the Frite Alors chain is a good bet. They serve Belgian-style fries with a variety of mayo sauces, but it's the burger menu that really grabs your attention. How about spiced lamb? Bison? Too simple? Well there is their caribou burger, which is about as good as a fast food burger can get. Just make sure they hold off the dijon otherwise you'll be too busy fighting off a stroke to enjoy the meat. On top of that they serve a great house beer that seems to be laced with a little bit of honey. Mmmm.
hmmm... montreal is on my list of places to be before I die...
you'll have to play tour guide whenever it is I make it up that way [thumbsup]
Maryland Crab Soup.
Steamed Crabs
Crab Cakes
You just have to come here to experience it all.
Were also know for Terrapin Soup too, but I've never had it and to be honest dont think I want to either.
+1 for Yuengling!
I think their Lager is just as good as Sam Adams and it's half the price. And I like Sam Adams alot.
I just finised off a sixer of Yuengling Porter. So far the standard Lager is there best offering. The Lord Chesterfield Ale is not that good. The Porter is good, but its a bit thin and watery for a Porter. Sam Adams gets the edge here with their Porter.
I wish Yuengling would come out with a Hefe.
I'm glad to see that someone finally mentioned MD blue crabs....one of the the best things in the world and by far the best thing about summer on the east coast!
[beer] love Yuengling too, there's always a keg of it in my garage!
From my native land - Virginia ham, especially Smithfield. I love ham biscuits, too, which are really served on soft rolls.
From my adopted city - Sourdough bread. For some reason I only like the sourdough made in San Francisco or from Acme Bread of Berkeley . It must be that lactobacillus sanfranciscensis [thumbsup]
My mom is from the northeast corner of Bavaria in Germany and there are a few things that I got to savor when visiting the grandparents that I can't find here. Rindfleischwurst being the best, smokey, beefy spread you can put on hearty german farmers rye bread, topped with pickles of course. Of course the potato dumplings from that corner of Europe are amazing...as big as my head and as soft as angels pillows.
Can't forget the "Wurstlamo", he stands on the street corner selling a lovely pair of Wieners (the long skinny kind, similar to what real hot dog are like) in crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside rolls with German mustard slathered on them.
Good lord! I'm salivating just thinking about those lovely dishes.
Great thread!
T
being born and raised in Texas...there are a couple things I think they do right around here
1. Texas BBQ....you can get BBQ alot of different ways. Memphis, Carolina, etc.....but for good Texas style....you have to come to Texas. Some of the best I've had is from roadside stands...guys just selling out of their pits and pickup beds.
2. Chicken Fried Steak. I'm not sure where it was invented, but you can get some damn good ones here. CFS, mashed taters, and some gravy :o
Quote from: Le Pirate on September 10, 2008, 08:02:58 AM
being born and raised in Texas...there are a couple things I think they do right around here
1. Texas BBQ....you can get BBQ alot of different ways. Memphis, Carolina, etc.....but for good Texas style....you have to come to Texas. Some of the best I've had is from roadside stands...guys just selling out of their pits and pickup beds.
2. Chicken Fried Steak. I'm not sure where it was invented, but you can get some damn good ones here. CFS, mashed taters, and some gravy :o
I like to go native where ever my travels take me. Last time i was in Texas, these items were pretty much all I ate. CFS is best at highway truckstops.
Are you sure your born and raised in Texas? How did you leave off Tex-Mex?
Fried green tomatos
JM
Quote from: DaniD on September 10, 2008, 05:37:33 AM
I'm glad to see that someone finally mentioned MD blue crabs....one of the the best things in the world and by far the best thing about summer on the east coast!
[beer] love Yuengling too, there's always a keg of it in my garage!
+1 Harris Crab House on a warm Sunday afternoon! Drinking Coronas and savoring the crabs. How could it get any better?
Quote from: teddy037.2 on September 09, 2008, 02:10:30 PM
I'd have to say spam musubi, for something... decidedly local.
MMMM... SPAM Musbi. I had a friend who had never had SPAM before in his life ... we gave him some SPAM musubi and he's a convert.
I've done my fair share of traveling around as well:
BBQ - Memphis Style - I actually like the chain Red Hot and Blue.
Steaks - Ribeye - Texas, Salt Grass
Pizza - Chicago Style - Giordano's , NY Style ... Haven't found a favorite yet.
Cheesesteak - Pat's King of Steaks in Philly
Burritos - Taquira San Jose in Oakland, feels like I'm back in East LA
Street Food and Dim Sum - Hong Kong ... hands down.
Gelato - Rome ... seems to be a gelateria on every street corner. :)
Crab Cakes - Baltimore, Timbuktu
Breakfast - This is a toughy, but lately I've liked the Tower of Chocolate french toast at the Bongo Room in Chicago.
(https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2845364639_890f787b8e.jpg?v=0)
Hot Dog - NY - Greys Papaya ... Chicago .... Superdawg.
(https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2845364529_e56035fd22.jpg?v=0)
Burger - Squeeze Inn.. Sacramento. Cheese Halo ... right SacDuc?
Quote from: FatguyRacer on September 10, 2008, 08:11:56 AM
I like to go native where ever my travels take me. Last time i was in Texas, these items were pretty much all I ate. CFS is best at highway truckstops.
Are you sure your born and raised in Texas? How did you leave off Tex-Mex?
:-\
you are so right...I have shamed my people :'(
as far as tex-mex goes...there is a little place in my hometown called Montes Breakfast Burritos. They ofcourse sell lunch and dinner, contrary to the name [laugh]. If you're ever around Lake Whitney in Texas...stop there for breakfast. Get the Egg, chorizo, and potato burrito. It's on a homade tortilla ofcourse, and comes with their home made salsa (which will blow your mind)
[evil] now I'm hungry AND 5 hours away from there >:(
Quote from: ptam on September 10, 2008, 08:56:17 AM
I've done my fair share of traveling around as well:
Crab Cakes - Baltimore, Timbuktu
Timbuktu is good, but next time skip them and head to Linthicum and dine at The Olive Grove. They are better there.
If you want the absolute best crab cake in all of Maryland, then you need to go to southern Maryland and drop by Stoney's on Solomons Island.
Quote from: FatguyRacer on September 10, 2008, 09:11:42 AM
Timbuktu is good, but next time skip them and head to Linthicum and dine at The Olive Grove. They are better there.
If you want the absolute best crab cake in all of Maryland, then you need to go to southern Maryland and drop by Stoney's on Solomons Island.
I was always pretty partial to the hard crabs at Jimmy Cantler's Riverside just outside of Annapolis Maryland. Even with turn-by-turn directions, I got lost trying to find it the first couple of times, and then only realized we were there when we got in the line of half a dozen stopped cars on the one and a half lane country road, waiting for a parking space to open up in their tiny little lot. And nobody's yet mentioned softshells -- loved the softshell crab sandwich at Eastern Market in DC on the weekends -- deep fried legs sticking out on either side of a sourdough bun.
I also really miss Virginia ham & biscuits -- the further south you got from Northern VA, the more likely you were to find a stack of them next to the cash register at any given gas station. Home made & hand wrapped in plastic wrap, I could never resist, despite the fact that I had no idea how long they'd been sitting there... And fried Virginia ham with eggs and grits for breakfast. Yum.
I used to travel a lot to Iowa and the upper Midwest, working with family farmers & livestock producers throughout the region, and have to agree with ZLTFUL... up to a point. Though I was born in Ames, I have to say that Southern Minnesota gives Iowa a run for the money in the sweet corn department, at least as long as you've got the water boiling before you go out to cut the corn! And pork from all throughout the region was splendid, if you knew where it came from. Much of the stuff that goes into supermarket shelves really ought to be labeled "manufactured meat product, pork flavored," but stick a fork into a pork chop from a fat Berkshire hog that lived with a little bit of sunshine and fresh air in her life, and you're about to wonder what cubicle-bound marketing idiot ever thought people might prefer "the other white meat" to real pork.
The best hard steam crabs i've had are ones we caught ourselves in a crab trap and steamed up. Personally, im not much of a steam crab fan. Too much work for too little reward. Now eating them at a Crab Feast, thats a different story. Then it's not about the food anymore.
Fresh Chesapeake Bay oysters down at the Cross Street Market Raw Bar is another great local favorite. I havnt been there in years.
You know what I really like best of all?
Maine Lobster
When I'm in Maine, I try to make a point of eating something with Lobster for at least 2 out of 3 daily meals.
i started in AL and moved to PA when i was 14. i consider myself to be from both places now.
i miss collard greens, chitlins, and BBQ (smoked, not the mustard/vinegar based abomination the carolinas try to pass off :P). I have had substitutes here, but they just aren't the same. I make my own nanner pudding with nilla wafers and bananna slices, if i really want it. the cornbread is weird up here too.
a point of contention with me(and a lot of other philly residents) is where the best cheesesteak is.
pat's is a tourist attraction just like geno's, the steaks are crap. as much as i dislike this about myself, if someone says they prefer one of those 2 places, i lose a bit of respect for that person. if i'm in the city i go to Jim's on south street (another touristy area, but the steaks are dam good and you don't get as much attitude on the side) sonny's on market is amazing, but a bit pricey.
neuf - i was introduced to the doner in germany. in fact it's one of the things i'm looking fwd to gettign when i go back over in a few days. i have found nothing in the states that is trying to be that. my friend and i were thinking of opening up a doner stand just so we could get them here. (i'm now drooling)
Crabs and spaghetti. Haven't had it since my dad died. He LOVED it!!! I don't eat the crabs, but they flavor the gravy (red sauce for those without a vowel at the end of their name) and turn it from excellent to a thing worth of the gods. Love to catch crabs - lower the chicken necks on string, wait for the oil slick & the bubble, and pull up slowly. Have the net ready and when in net, hand off to someone who is braver than I!! ;D
Duke's made the best roast pork sandwich. ITalian Market. Closed up a couple of years ago. George's at the Italina Market is good - even if it looks dumpy! Get the long hot italian peppers on it and DAMN!!! that's good eats!! Goomba's on Route 309 in Hilltown, PA makes great sandwiches.
Pat's & Geno's are good, so is Tony Luke's, but it's the local hole in the wall that does the best cheesesteaks. It's the combination of thinly sliced beef, sauteed onions, and a roll that's got some chew (or hardness) on the outside and soft on the inside that is just great. Chees needs to be gooey - whether american or cheez whiz.
Sam's Italian Deli (Route 63, Horsham) makes a great pruscuitta & stinky cheese sandwich. Makes my soul happy!!!! (Stinky cheese is a really sharp authentic provolone cheese).
Jack's deli in northeast Phila makes some mean Jewish delicacies. Corned beef specials are on real rye bread, sloppy with cole slaw and russian dressing and the corned beef is flavorful & just fatty enough to taste great! Love Cabbage Borscht soup. Hard to find the true stuff - it's a delicate blend of sweet and sour (usually brown sugar and lemons) with a beefy base. Should have lots of cabbage and shredded beef. If it's leftover, the flavors blend and turns bland.
Isgro's make the best cannoli's while Termini's makes the best cookies. I'm partial to reginas (sesame), while the hubby prefers pinoles (pin-YOL-es) - fulffy almond paste cookies with pine nuts on the outside.
Philly soft pretzel chains are good. The pretzels are good and they have four mustards - go for the horeradish mustard [thumbsup]
Senior year in high school was at a Mennonite school, so I'm partial to the mennonite/amish cooking. Down home, stick to your ribs, German based cooking. Good thing we're near a lot of their restaurants.
Victory Brew Pub (Downingtown) - Donnybrook stout. Ship's Inn (Milford New Jersey) - Randy's Porter
Both are excellent dark beers -chocolate/coffee flavors the nectar of the gods, neith bitter, wheaty or hoppy.
Too bad I already ate - the burger is sitting like lead compared to the above.
Come visit and I'll take you on a tour of Foodtopia!!
laura
laura,
we need to have a deval gathering at victory. they have a few beers that i know you won't like. [laugh]
personally i like the golden monkey and their summer wheat.
i'm not going to get into the beer because there are so many good ones i can't make up my mind.
Quote from: KnightofNi on September 10, 2008, 12:07:24 PM
laura,
we need to have a deval gathering at victory. they have a few beers that i know you won't like. [laugh]
personally i like the golden monkey and their summer wheat.
i'm not going to get into the beer because there are so many good ones i can't make up my mind.
Is this the same Victory that makes Storm King and Prima Pils and Golden Monkey?
(Never mind. I should read all of it next time)
I wanna go too.
I was not a fan of the Whirlwind. Too citrisy.
Quote from: lauramonster on September 10, 2008, 11:07:20 AM
Crabs and spaghetti. Haven't had it since my dad died. He LOVED it!!! I don't eat the crabs, but they flavor the gravy (red sauce for those without a vowel at the end of their name) and turn it from excellent to a thing worth of
Come visit and I'll take you on a tour of Foodtopia!!
laura
I am a little intrigued by the crabs and spaghetti concept. Are they side by side or intermixed? Spaghetti with crabmeat?
Quote from: rgramjet on September 10, 2008, 01:17:30 PM
I am a little intrigued by the crabs and spaghetti concept. Are they side by side or intermixed? Spaghetti with crabmeat?
Same here ... that sounds tasty.
Quote from: lauramonster on September 10, 2008, 11:07:20 AM
Crabs and spaghetti. Haven't had it since my dad died. He LOVED it!!! I don't eat the crabs, but they flavor the gravy (red sauce for those without a vowel at the end of their name) and turn it from excellent to a thing worth of the gods. Love to catch crabs - lower the chicken necks on string, wait for the oil slick & the bubble, and pull up slowly. Have the net ready and when in net, hand off to someone who is braver than I!! ;D
I swear reading that reminded me of when I was a little kid on the Jersey shore. My grandfather would take us to the bay and we would catch crabs off of the dock just like that. We had a few traps, but while they were sitting we did the chicken on the string trick. We would take the spackle bucket full of crabs home to my grandmother and she would turn it into magic.
When I was back on the east coast last year in the DC area, I ate crabs every day for 4 days. I LOVE softshells. I finished off the trip with an all you can eat blue crab dinner at Capt. Pells.
my brother and i spent our summer days crabbing on the jersey shore... my dad LoVeD us catching dinner
You quickly boil the crabs and gently lay them in an already cooking pot of sauce. The red sauce (gravy) takes on the crab taste - without overpowering the tomato flavor. You then put newspaper over the table, and pick crabs that have been in red sauce. It's a royal mess - but god! what flavor!! [thumbsup] Not the same as mussels marinara. the crab is delicate, the tomato velvety smooth.
Christ! I'm hungry!
Australians just have this all beat up, really. Vegemite... and tim-tams :).
Hey, we might be the size of the continental US, but we're the population of New York state.
Quote from: Jaman on September 09, 2008, 03:00:05 PM
Ben's Chili Bowl - DC
Yessir... Half Smoke w/ Chili is epic.
Mmmmmm Vegemite..... [puke]
;D
For some reason I actually like Marmite. :D
I almost forgot Singapore/Malaysia (again) chili crab. Sweet, spicy, crab-ey, fantastic, and a big fat mess everytime I have it. The place in Malaysia I had it also served Marmite fish, which was lightly fried pieces of (mystery white meat fish) with a Marmite based sauce (not overpoweringly Marmite-ey mind you).
Im the same way with Gefilte Fish.....I love that stuff!
Quote from: Vindingo on September 10, 2008, 06:28:21 PM
I swear reading that reminded me of when I was a little kid on the Jersey shore. My grandfather would take us to the bay and we would catch crabs off of the dock just like that. We had a few traps, but while they were sitting we did the chicken on the string trick. We would take the spackle bucket full of crabs home to my grandmother and she would turn it into magic.
When I was back on the east coast last year in the DC area, I ate crabs every day for 4 days. I LOVE softshells. I finished off the trip with an all you can eat blue crab dinner at Capt. Pells.
I grew up eating crabs at Capt. Pells! It is was just a couple of miles from house on Rt 50. What a great place [thumbsup]
Quote from: Dragsterhund on September 10, 2008, 09:40:26 PM
Yessir... Half Smoke w/ Chili is epic.
More than you'd ever want to know about the half smoke, DC's own indigenous sausage:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=561 (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=561)
And some cool history & anecdotes about Ben's Chili Bowl and Weenie Beenie, as well as some speculation about just what the Half Smoke is half of.
I grew up eating lobster and seafood on the East Coast. I grew to hate it. The only seafood I can stand is New England clam chowder, calamari, polpo, and grilled swordfish. When you had 5$ a pound lobster every weekend it loses its charm. I laugh at people who pay ridiculous prices for the sea bug up here... Where I come from it was always known as a poor working class person's food until the yuppies arrived.
It's not really regional (I can get it pretty much anywhere) but one of my favourite desserts is Devonshire custard. Preferably pre-made in a can, Bird's is overrated and a pain to make. Heat some up with a few teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, mmm mmm. You can eat it alone or throw it over fresh fruit/icecream/cake/pie...
For gelato, there is a place within walking distance of my place called Leo le Glacier. He makes arty gelatos every week, with funky flavours like lavender, dates, different spices, and of course the classic flavours. It's not typical gelato, because it's just as smooth and creamy as the best ice cream you've ever had. You'd never guess it was gelato.