Local Foods

[ladiedeathe]

No. Ky/Greater Cincinnati Area
Gliers Goetta (no other brand will do!)- best served with real maple syrup to dip it in.
Cincinnati Greek chili- Skyline, Gold Star, Empress. Served at a chili parlor. No resemblance to Tex-Mex chili
Aglemesis or Graeters Ice Cream
Montgomery Inn BBQ Sauce

[MERUNCC13]

Reporting from the other side of NC (the Great State of Mecklenburg!)

Fried Chicken from Price's Chicken Coop - a Charlotte institution and a must for anyone visiting the city, also Bubba's BBQ, which serves great Eastern NC Style BBQ (can you tell which way I lean in the NC BBQ wars?)

Soul Food which is southern food with heart and soul cooked in.

Any snack foods made by Lance Crackers.

[Cyradis]

Corn Soup!

It's a staple of public fetes, cricket matches, Carnival, Parrang parties and weekends at the beach. It's filling and good!

Recipe: http://www.simplytrinicooking.com/2008/09/corn-soup-trini-style.html

[Sharnita]

I have to say, I had peanut soup somewhere or another out east and was very excited to try the local specialty.  It wsa one of the worst soups I've ever eaten.  It seems like something that is an aquired taste.

[jayhawk]

I've been in Atlanta almost 10 years & I've yet to have either boiled peanuts or shrimp & grits (or any grits for that matter).  But I'm from Kansas City & Atlanta doesn't have REAL BBQ...  I don't know what they do to the poor sauce...

Preach it, sistah!! 

[Poirot]

Hmm.  I don't think Philadelphia has any local foods.

Okay, now that I've surgically removed my tongue from my cheek...   

The Cheesesteak.  Description found here:  http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=90832.msg2403785#msg2403785
The soft pretzel.  Jury's out on whether Philly did it first, but they do it best (and most... a common job for preteens used to be hawking pretzels.  You'd load a box/basket/milk crate up with pretzels, 11 for $1.  Then you'd sell them for $0.25.  On a typical weekend, or any day in the summer, you could hear the kids calling out "Fresh pretzels... all ready... fresh pretzels.  On a decent day, you could make $5 or $10.  My personal best was $25 at a streetside flea market.  I just circled the block and the money poured in.)
The hoagie.  It's got its roots in Philly as much as anywhere.  You might also know it as a po' boy, a sub, or a hero, but a hoagie is a long Italian roll, upon which is lettuce, tomato, onions, oil, meats, and cheese.
The Tastykake.  This is a company, but around Philly, you'd be hard pressed to find much int he way of Hostess goods, Tastykake rules supreme.  Pies, cupcakes, angel food cakes... all soft and delicious.  A Philly lunch might consist of a hoagie, a Tastykake, and a Frank's soda to drink.  Yes, it's fattening, but we don't eat like that every day.   

(Edited to format for easier reading)

All of the above, plus you forgot cream cheese (Philadelphia, the best in the world!), Tony Luke's Roast Pork and broccoli rabe and Crab Fries from Chickies' & Pete's!

[HermioneGranger]

Another Marylander here.  Pit Beef.  Or Pit Ham.  Or Pit Turkey.  They're all good.  There's a place in my neck of the woods that's so awesome it's been on the Food Network several times.  Every time, though, they very carefully film so as not to show the strip club that's located directly behind it and shares the parking lot.   

[Betelnut]

A true Southern Maryland local food:  Stuffed Ham.  I had never heard of it until I moved here.  Usually it is homemade but a few locally-owned stores sell them during Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.  I've only had it a few times and it is interesting.  Very much a family/traditional food with variations based on family recipes.

From Wikipedia:

Stuffed ham is a variety of ham in which cabbage, kale, onions, spices and seasonings are chopped and mixed, then stuffed into deep slits slashed in a whole, corned ham.

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6754.shtml

[Nibsey]

A true Southern Maryland local food:  Stuffed Ham.  I had never heard of it until I moved here.  Usually it is homemade but a few locally-owned stores sell them during Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.  I've only had it a few times and it is interesting.  Very much a family/traditional food with variations based on family recipes.

From Wikipedia:

Stuffed ham is a variety of ham in which cabbage, kale, onions, spices and seasonings are chopped and mixed, then stuffed into deep slits slashed in a whole, corned ham.

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6754.shtml

This sounds awesome!!!

[Carnation]

Devil Dogs/Ring Dings/Yankee Doodles, all variations of the same product, but soooo  good.   My mother lives within walking distance of the bakery.  (And yet I haven't tried to break in.)

Anyone dare to drink Moxie?

[cattlekid]

I know the place of which you speak.  My sister lives in Baltimore and my husband went to visit her and BIL - he specifically asked to go to this establishment b/c he had seen it on the Food Network.

When he got home, I asked him how the food was at the establishment.  Before he even said one thing about the food, he said "We didn't know it was in the parking lot of a strip joint."

Travel Channel did this to us as well with a place in Washington DC.  When it was shown on TV, we knew the establishment itself was small, but there appeared to be outside seating.  No problem!  We get to the place (cab dropped us off in a slightly sketchy neighborhood), got in line and got our food. Then we realized - the outdoor seating we saw on TV was just there for the TV show (or had been removed for some other reason).  So while we were standing on the curb contemplating sitting on the curb and eating, two older ladies from the neighborhood asked us where we wanted to go.  We told them that we needed to go to the train station to catch our train back out to Maryland.  I knew there was plenty of seating at the train station so they said they would drive us the six blocks.  We were skeptical but they looked harmless so in the car we got.  They dropped us at the train station after a few minutes of pleasant conversation and we stuffed ourselves with some of the best fish sandwiches we have ever had.

Another Marylander here.  Pit Beef.  Or Pit Ham.  Or Pit Turkey.  They're all good.  There's a place in my neck of the woods that's so awesome it's been on the Food Network several times.  Every time, though, they very carefully film so as not to show the strip club that's located directly behind it and shares the parking lot.   

[HermioneGranger]

I know the place of which you speak.  My sister lives in Baltimore and my husband went to visit her and BIL - he specifically asked to go to this establishment b/c he had seen it on the Food Network.

When he got home, I asked him how the food was at the establishment.  Before he even said one thing about the food, he said "We didn't know it was in the parking lot of a strip joint."

Travel Channel did this to us as well with a place in Washington DC.  When it was shown on TV, we knew the establishment itself was small, but there appeared to be outside seating.  No problem!  We get to the place (cab dropped us off in a slightly sketchy neighborhood), got in line and got our food. Then we realized - the outdoor seating we saw on TV was just there for the TV show (or had been removed for some other reason).  So while we were standing on the curb contemplating sitting on the curb and eating, two older ladies from the neighborhood asked us where we wanted to go.  We told them that we needed to go to the train station to catch our train back out to Maryland.  I knew there was plenty of seating at the train station so they said they would drive us the six blocks.  We were skeptical but they looked harmless so in the car we got.  They dropped us at the train station after a few minutes of pleasant conversation and we stuffed ourselves with some of the best fish sandwiches we have ever had.

Another Marylander here.  Pit Beef.  Or Pit Ham.  Or Pit Turkey.  They're all good.  There's a place in my neck of the woods that's so awesome it's been on the Food Network several times.  Every time, though, they very carefully film so as not to show the strip club that's located directly behind it and shares the parking lot.   

The food's still awesome.  If you're ever there, try the mac and cheese, or the loaded potato salad.   

[Maujer]

Devil Dogs/Ring Dings/Yankee Doodles, all variations of the same product, but soooo  good.   My mother lives within walking distance of the bakery.  (And yet I haven't tried to break in.)

Anyone dare to drink Moxie?

I was born in Maine so yes.  I'm not a big fan, but I really want to go to the Moxie festival someday. Moxie ice cream sounds much tastier to me than actual Moxie.

[mechtilde]

From where I grew up- Haslet- a type of cold sliced meatloaf. Lovely, nice and spicy- just like the sausages. Lincolnshire plum loaf (yum) and Haddock and Chips with fish from Grimsby and potatoes from Lincolnshire. Smoked haddock. Wonderful chutneys.

When I came up to the North East I noticed a disting leek theme- pork and leek sausages,  leek pudding. The nearest thing to haslet was savoury duck- much smaller and sold whole. About the size of a tennis ball. Large bread stottie cakes. The wonderful local cheeses.

The one thing I've never had is a singing hinny. Must make some.

[General Jinjur]

Italian beef sandwiches. I tried to like them, I did, but even the most highly recommended ones were gristly beef on a soggy bun (the juice is poured over it). Shudder.

The Mother-in-Law. A tamale in a hot dog bun, topped with chili, cheese, and onions. Never tried this and probably never will.