What food is special to your region?

[charbie]

When my husband and I first began dating and I came to his hometown (two hours from where I lived) I learned of a new food I had never heard of before....Goetta (pronounced get-uh.) Now I've never met a person not native to our city who has heard of it or has it available to them. Of course here, everyone grows up with it.
to describe...its a breakfast meat similar to sausage patties that is made of steel cut oats and pork. It has a crispy texture, but is still somewhat soft on the inside due to the oats. Im now a goetta lover and wish I had grown up on the stuff!

So...is there a food where you live that most people never heard of?

 

[Shoopy]

I like threads like this. I have always lived in big melting pot cities so there's nothing I can think of that truly defines the city. For example, Miami has a lot of latino restaurants. The food may be unfamiliar if you've never had latino food but most in the US have even if through chain restaurants. There's really nothing that is just known in Miami.

 

[Jennifer W]

Not a food, but a soda - Irn Bru (pronounced iron brew). It's phenomenal...

One of the best things about it is the adverts they have run over the years, which you can see here if you have spare time

http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/

I don't think you can buy it outside of Scotland and it's probably the main cause of dental decay in this country.

My kid would be in time-out until her 49th birthday if I caught her drinking this, but um, it's really good and I drink it secretly in the car from time to time.

 

[AGBF]

Not a food, but a soda - Irn Bru (pronounced iron brew). It's phenomenal...

One of the best things about it is the adverts they have run over the years, which you can see here if you have spare time

http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/

I don't think you can buy it outside of Scotland and it's probably the main cause of dental decay in this country.

My kid would be in time-out until her 49th birthday if I caught her drinking this, but um, it's really good and I drink it secretly in the car from time to time.

What is it like? Is it sweet? Tart? Refreshing? Recently I like only drinks that I find refreshing. For some reason Coca Cola (although it is sweet) seems refreshing. So does grapefruit juice. Usually I drink unsweetened Earl Grey iced tea.

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Jennifer W]

It's unique. I can't think of anything even similar. It is very sweet, but yes, it is refreshing and slightly tart. When it's ice cold, there's nothing quite like it. It has a slightly metallic tang, hence the name. The colour is like nothing else on earth - the closest comparison I can think of is that really orangey red hair that many Scots have.

Scottish children are brought up on the stuff. Here, we don't debate whether breast feeding or formula feeding is the way to go, it's whether regular or diet irn bru is best for baby. (I'm kidding ...just).

ETA I just read some of the details on the Irn Bru website. It does indeed contain iron.

 

[zoebartlett]

I can't think of anything specific to my state, but in New England in general, we have lots of:

New England clam chowder
lobster
blueberries (from Maine)

My dad's family grew up in MA, in an area where Portuguese food was popular. Whenever we visited his family, we'd have kale soup, linguica (sausage), Portuguese sweet bread, and coffee milk.

 

[iugurl]

Hmm. I have no idea. I don't think there is. I wish there was! I don't know of any Indiana foods lol.

I used to live close to Cincinnati, which I think is known for chili? There were chili restaurants everywhere - Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili and others. I think the Cinci Chili is known for being sweet, with ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate instead of, or more predominately than the spicy ingredients. It is often served over spaghetti. I don't care for it at all.. But A LOT of people do.

 

[stephbolt]

My home state of Maryland is mainly known for crabs and Old Bay seasoning - either steamed whole, or in crabcake form. Yummmmmmmmmm.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

There is some excellent Tex-Mex here in Houston, TX. I can't really think of any specific items though.

 

[charbie]

Hmm. I have no idea. I don't think there is. I wish there was! I don't know of any Indiana foods lol.

I used to live close to Cincinnati, which I think is known for chili? There were chili restaurants everywhere - Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili and others. I think the Cinci Chili is known for being sweet, with ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate instead of, or more predominately than the spicy ingredients. It is often served over spaghetti. I don't care for it at all.. But A LOT of people do.

My husband is in love with Skyline. We live in Cinci...its eaten over hot dogs, too, and he has it usually 2 to 3 times a week.

 

[Hera]

Hmm. I have no idea. I don't think there is. I wish there was! I don't know of any Indiana foods lol.

I used to live close to Cincinnati, which I think is known for chili? There were chili restaurants everywhere - Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili and others. I think the Cinci Chili is known for being sweet, with ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate instead of, or more predominately than the spicy ingredients. It is often served over spaghetti. I don't care for it at all.. But A LOT of people do.

You forgot that ribs place. I went to Cincinnati and ate ribs for like four days in a row!

 

[Hera]

We have Rolled Tacos here in San Diego. They are called taquitos everywhere else but here, they are called rolled tacos.

 

[JewelFreak]

Don't know why, but mac & cheese is a big thing here in the South. It's everywhere. Grits, of course; I love it. Competing types of barbecue. Banana pudding too -- anybody know why? Ick.

My mother used to laugh when soul food was the big thing. She ate all the same things growing up in Nebraska during the Depression. Gave most to us as kids, too -- grits; kale, collards, mustard, all those greens; cracklin's (ooohhh heaven, she made them in the oven).

--- Laurie

 

[Skippy123]

Well one thing only found in NM is biscochitos (a butter cinnamon sugar, anise cookie).
Posole
Tamales
Hatch Green Chile
Sopapillas ( a friend in N. Cal says she can't get these; I was in shock that they didn't have them out there) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopaipilla
Chicos I think it is just an NM thing. http://newmexico.org/cuisine/recipes/chicos.php
Natillas (I tried this for the 1st time yesterday, a custard that has cinnamon in it) http://newmexico.org/cuisine/recipes/natillas.php
Chicharrónes (pork w/ a bit of fat) so delicious!

Okay my hubby's family is from VA.
I had country and Smithfield ham and was in heaven after first bite. A super salty ham cut very very paper thin. mmmmm
Bill's Limeade (maybe a Southern thing too) http://billsbarbecue.net/
Low Country Boil (mmmmm, I love!)

 

[HollyS]

I'm in Texas, so BBQ (Lone Star style), Tex-Mex, and the inevitable chicken fried steak with cream gravy.

Those are the biggies for regional specialties.

But the truth is, TX has become so diverse, you can find just about anything you want, from nearly any culture in the world.

 

[charbie]

Hmm. I have no idea. I don't think there is. I wish there was! I don't know of any Indiana foods lol.

I used to live close to Cincinnati, which I think is known for chili? There were chili restaurants everywhere - Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili and others. I think the Cinci Chili is known for being sweet, with ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate instead of, or more predominately than the spicy ingredients. It is often served over spaghetti. I don't care for it at all.. But A LOT of people do.

You forgot that ribs place. I went to Cincinnati and ate ribs for like four days in a row!

Montgomery Inn....heaven. You can buy the sauce at grocery stores.
Cinci has a lot of great foods- my fav is Graeters Ice Cream (it will change your life).

 

[iugurl]

Hmm. I have no idea. I don't think there is. I wish there was! I don't know of any Indiana foods lol.

I used to live close to Cincinnati, which I think is known for chili? There were chili restaurants everywhere - Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili and others. I think the Cinci Chili is known for being sweet, with ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate instead of, or more predominately than the spicy ingredients. It is often served over spaghetti. I don't care for it at all.. But A LOT of people do.

You forgot that ribs place. I went to Cincinnati and ate ribs for like four days in a row!

Montgomery Inn....heaven. You can buy the sauce at grocery stores.
Cinci has a lot of great foods- my fav is Graeters Ice Cream (it will change your life).

Hmm I don't know Montgomery Inn. I lived closer to Dayton than Cinci, so I am not as familiar with Cinci as I could be...

I did forget about Graeters. It is good! I like chocolate raspberry kind yum!

 

[somethingshiny]

I don't think we have anything regional. Maybe venison?

 

[les12]

I'm from south Louisiana, and there are tons of regional foods unique to the area. Boiled crawfish, boudin, gumbo, etouffee, beignets, yum!! My mouth is watering..

 

[megumic]

Here in NJ we have pork roll (some people call it by the brand name Taylor Ham.) Sounds like a kind of Chinese food really, but it's actually a breakfast meat similar to salami, but with a tangy flavor to it. Delicious with a little maple syrup. Not healthy at all and its ingredients are questionable. So freaking good -- pork roll, egg and cheese on a bagel -- it's like a heart attack but will cure any hangover.

 

[Kaleigh]

I am going to say scrabble.. Habbersett (SP?) Oh so yummy. Fry it up in a pan, serve with an egg.... Delish...

I would never say cheese steak... I love them I do, I do.... But everyone has had one... Not everyone has has scrabble....

Great thread!!!

 

[manderz]

Buffalo wings. You won't find anything quite like them anywhere other than WNY

 

[artdecogirl]

There are a few things here in rural Minnesota that I have not heard of elsewhere, we have a very large swedish immigrant population in our community (from way back) so at the holidays most of the churches will have a lutefisk and swedish meatball dinner sometime over the season, they will often serve this with spaetzle (small german dumpling) yummy! We also will have a booyah in the fall at local bars and churches (they go together right?) Does anybody else make booyah?
We are also starting to be known in some circles for our icewine, something that has been made in germany but we seem to have the climate here for it also so many of our winerys are making some good stuff.

 

[monarch64]

I dunno...probably grits?

 

[suchende]

Dungeness crab and a lot of berries you don't see elsewhere: loganberries, boysenberries, etc. I give jam as gifts a lot to my midwestern and east coast friends.

 

[AGBF]

Like some others of you, I have been trying to think of what is truly regional for me here in Connecticut. I am not sure that anything is truly unique. Since Connecticut is part of New England, I grew up with some of the New England regional foods that others have mentioned or may not yet have mentioned, but share with Connecticut.

Zoe mentioned blueberries. My family made blueberry pancakes a lot when I was growing up. Sometimes we took the dogs down to the beach and cooked blueberry pancakes outdoors on a grill for breakfast.

My mother told me that an old New England treat was to eat snow with maple syrup, which we sometimes did when I was a child. One only did this with new snow, of course. And usually it was something "one" didn't do, but at least a couple of of kids did together. It was fun to gather snow with someone else, even if it was your little brother! Real maple syrup is big here.

Oatmeal with butter instead of milk and sugar (at times) was something we did. Maybe I'll think of other things!

Deb/AGBF
Yankee

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[ForteKitty]

We have Rolled Tacos here in San Diego. They are called taquitos everywhere else but here, they are called rolled tacos.

I loved carne asada fries when i lived in SD. (midnight runs to coti's and roberto's!) can't find them anywhere in LA, and when you request it, they look at you funny

 

[Hera]

We have Rolled Tacos here in San Diego. They are called taquitos everywhere else but here, they are called rolled tacos.

I loved carne asada fries when i lived in SD. (midnight runs to coti's and roberto's!) can't find them anywhere in LA, and when you request it, they look at you funny

I didn't know that. I'm from L.A so I'm surprised. Are there California Burritos??

 

[ForteKitty]

haha it's probably considered "californian" if the meat is replaced w/ tofu and avocados! come to think of it... aren't avocados considered californian?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Not a food, but a soda - Irn Bru (pronounced iron brew). It's phenomenal...

One of the best things about it is the adverts they have run over the years, which you can see here if you have spare time

http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/

I don't think you can buy it outside of Scotland and it's probably the main cause of dental decay in this country.

My kid would be in time-out until her 49th birthday if I caught her drinking this, but um, it's really good and I drink it secretly in the car from time to time.

lol we had this in scotland, it's interesting for sure! There are chemicals in it that are illegal in the USA so they have a modified version they occasionally sell there I hear. It's very very difficult to get it in the states.