wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (03/14/84)
The inquiry about Buffalo Chicken Wings brought a question to mind. What are some other local speciality food items -- things that are very common in one area but unknown outside it? For example, here in St. Louis, every Italian and many other types of restaurant has toasted ravioli on the menu. This is meat-filled ravioli which have been breaded and deep-fried or baked so they are crunchy. They are served as an appetizer with a bowl of red sauce. Growing up here, I just assumed that everybody everywhere knew of and ate toasted ravioli if they liked Italian food. Since then, I have discovered that such a thing is practically unknown elsewhere, and that it is a local dish of unknown origin. Of course, the communication and travel explosion of the past few decades has eliminated much of the isolation that kept such specialities local, but there must be many other such items. The Philadelphia "cheese steak" sandwich, New York egg creams, etc., have become known outside their originating areas, but what other items fall in this category? Send info on your local specialities to the net; I'd like to know what I'm missing! Will Martin
ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (03/15/84)
I once ate in a restaurant in Chicago named R. J. Grunt's. Not a bad restaurant. They even offered what they called a "real New York style egg cream." Unfortunately, they put ice in it...
ishizaki@saturn.UUCP (Audrey Ishizaki) (03/15/84)
regarding locally available foods-- I was born and raised in San Francisco; I don't know how people outside the Bay Area survive without access to fresh sourdough french bread! The stuff you get at the airports or encased in plastic in no way compares to the Real Stuff I can pick up warm at the bakery. *sigh* I still go to SF regularly and get my bread fix. audrey ishizaki hplabs!ishizaki