riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (11/02/83)
Many thanks to all of you who responded to my eggplant question. There
were enough answers by mail and by news to keep me busy slicing oblong
purple things for months.
The response was so encouraging that I've decided to post another question.
This time, though, please post replies to the net: the goal is to stimulate
discussion, not to fill up my mailbox here on ut-sally.
THE QUESTION: One of the nicest things about USENET is the way it is spread
across a very wide geographical area; if you had to choose one regional dish
unique to your area to share with the rest of the net, what would it be?
To get the ball rolling, I'll contribute something that, to my knowledge,
can be found only at a single establishment here in Austin and nowhere else
in the world. This is liable to draw fire above all from other Texans, given
the variety of cuisine which may be more representative of Texas (Tex-Mex
dishes, chili, barbecue, southern cooking, and what have you). My only
defense of my choice is that I like it and that it seems to nicely combine
the various influences on Texas cookery.
My choice is the infamous Reality Sandwich of the Hole-in-the-Wall (opposite
UT on the Drag). A Reality consists of a tasty chicken-fried steak on a
bun, topped (hamburger style) with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayon-
naise and (brace yourselves) jalapen~os and your choice of cheddar or swiss
cheese. This is served too hot to handle on a bed of fries. Lowbrow food
indeed, but damned good!
----
Prentiss Riddle
{ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
riddle@ut-sally.UUCPseifert@ihuxl.UUCP (D.A. Seifert) (11/03/83)
I can list yummies from two areas: Evansville, Ind. : barbecue Chicago area: deep dish pizza do not, under any circumstances, order barbecue in the Chicago area. It reeks. from the mildly opinionated keyboard of Dave Seifert ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert
rcj@burl.UUCP (R. Curtis Jackson) (11/04/83)
Most people (including the Eastern Airlines 'Review' flight magazine) will tell you that Stamey's Barbecue in Greensboro, NC has the best barbecue anywhere. I tend to disagree, but it is DAMN good. Gulf Coast: >Shrimp spaghetti at Frenchie's in Ocean Springs, MS >soft-shell crab po-boys (submarines to some, hoagies to others) at Lil' Ray's Po-boys anywhere along the MS Gulf Coast >Begnets (sp?) and Cafe du Monde coffee at the Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter in New Orleans >fried crab fingers at someplace on the beach in Destin, FL (sorry about that one) Memphis, TN is supposedly the rib capital of the world. Again, I disagree with the ratings given to restaurants there such as The Private Eye and (hmmm) the walk-down place adjacent to the Peabody Hotel (can't remember the name right now). If you want DRY ribs, go to one of these places. If you want good greasy flavorful ribs, go almost anywhere in the southeast portion of Memphis. The best steak in the world: McClintock's on the Coast Road in Morro Bay, CA overlooking the bay and famous Morro Rock. Well, I've certainly rambled on enough. Two last strange ones from Florida: smoked lisa (smoked popeye mullet), and breakfast there can often consist of cold fried fish fillets from the night before covered with pancake syrup. Sound bad? What about glazed ham, lamb chops with mint jelly, syrup that gets on your sausage and bacon when you eat pancakes, etc. It is a nice contrast. -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3814 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ floyd clyde ihnp4 mhuxv ]!burl!rcj
bnp@ihldt.UUCP (11/04/83)
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of food available in some places but not in others are Philadelphia style cheesesteaks and hoagies. (Not submarines, grinders or torpedoes, but hoagies!) A cheesesteak is a hot sandwich of thinly sliced beef, with melted provolone (I think?) cheese. A modification is the cheesesteak hoagie which includes sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, LOTS of raw onions and optionally, hot peppers. It is served on a long hard Italian roll and is invariably swimming in its own oil. A hoagie is a mixed cold meat sandwich, also served on a long Italian roll. The contents usually include several types of salami, several types of spiced ham, provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, oil and optionally hot peppers. NO pickles! Again, this is low brow eating, but for anyone who has ever spent time in Phila., its Heaven on Earth. If you're ever in the area, I would suggest Pudge's on DeKalb Pike (Rt. 202) just north of Norristown, Pa. Why am I in Chicago? Bruce Peters ...!ihnp4!ihldt!bnp AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, Ill.
keesan@bbncca.ARPA (Morris Keesan) (11/04/83)
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I think there are two foods which are quintessential to Boston and New England.
1) Fish (or clam) chowder. Made with hunks of fish, potatoes, and MILK
(none of that imitation Manhattan stuff with tomatoes in it), and
with lots of fresh-ground pepper and melted butter put in at the table.
2) Indian pudding. This is more specifically a Boston dish than a New
England one, and the definitive indian pudding is of course that
served by Durgin Park. Indian pudding is basically a concoction of
corn meal and molasses, cooked and served hot, but this simple
description can't come close to capturing the flavor.
Morris Keesan
decvax!bbncca!keesan
ihnp4!wjh12!bbncca!keesanpc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins) (11/07/83)
re: Philadelphia Cuisine Hoagies are a treat. Two KEY aspects of The Hoagie which were not mentioned are: 1. Seasonings: something like oregano and basil, with a little black pepper. Add this to any sandwich and it's an improvement! 2. Bread: The Italian bread (not sourdough or French) should have a little of the interior bread removed. These two factors are essential to the Philadelphia Hoagie. As for Cheesesteaks... my mouth waters to remember them! Again, Italian rolls are a must. However, the ones I remember had "smothered" onions, not raw ones. (Smothered onions are lightly sauted onions, seasons slightly with salt and pepper, cooked in the same oil used to brown the steak.) Born and Raised in Philly, Patricia Collins hplabs
twt@uicsl.UUCP (11/08/83)
#R:ut-sally:-30400:uicsl:3800013:000:1613 uicsl!twt Nov 7 23:54:00 1983 Everyone knows that Chicago is famous for thick-crust pizza, but I would like to take this opportunity to plug my FAVORITE restaurant in the country. There is a German at 17 west Adams St. in Chicago called Berghoff's. They make their own beer which is very good. But my favorite meal is Breaded Veal Cutlet (Weiner Schnitzel?), with German fried potatoes and YUM - creamed spinach (and I do NOT like spinach). Top it off with a glass of May Wine and Black Forest Cake. I live for the place. Someone mentioned Clam or Seafood Chowder in New England. Might I suggest the Seafood Chowder at a placed named No Name. It's on one of the piers, in Boston VERY reasonably priced, not at all touristy and another place that even though I do not know when I again might go there, I look forward to my next trip. BTW, they do not serve liquor, so I suggest you stock up your cooler with your favorite beer/wine. In Lancaster County Penn., there is a restaurant called Good 'N Plenty. I went there once with my folks and remembered it so well that the next time (years later) I went through Penn I looked the place up. I found a pamphlet on it in a tourist information area. They serve family style meals of your basic chicken, beef etc. fare. The food itself is rather plain, by that I mean that the chicken tastes like chicken and the beef tastes like beef, without a lot of fancy stuff thrown in. But the food is very good and the prices are excellent. I suggest going on a fast before you head there. These are the places I would go if I was where they are. Mary I should know, I LOVE to eat.
donn@hp-dcd.UUCP (11/09/83)
#R:ut-sally:-30400:hp-dcd:18500001:000:1432 hp-dcd!donn Nov 7 15:48:00 1983 On the issue of regoinal cuisines, Hawaii has more than just about anywhere. I won't mention (directly) specific ethnic foods, which you would expect from a place like Hawaii, but rather some Hawaii-only combinations. Lunch in certain areas of Honolulu is an experience. You are all aware of the sandwich truck lunches found nationwide. The Hawaiian version is a bit different. Its a panel truck with a hole in the side. You get a hot plate lunch typically like this: Main entrees (one of): Beef Tomato (Chinese) Beef Long Rice Hekka Pork or Beef Lau-lau (Hawiian) Stew (American, more or less) Chili (See below) Side dishes: Rice (indispensable) or Macaroni salad (American) Teriyaki beef (Japanese) Kim Chee (Korean) You get chopsticks unless you ask for a fork. (I'm getting hungry.) The chili in Hawaii would give a Texan fits, but if you treat it as something distinct from Texas chili, is interesting in its own right. Its a bean-and-meat chili, but sweet. It doesn't taste hot, initially, but can delay for as long as 10 seconds (after swallowing) before hitting you (often hard). My wife picked up a recepie for a (Japanese, I'd guess) stir fry that consists of Kamaboku (fish cake), asparagas (sp?), and (take cover) hot dogs! Its actually quite good. My stomach is now wondering what its doing in the middle of Colorado. Donn Terry ...!hplabs!hp-dcd!donn
bnp@ihldt.UUCP (11/09/83)
Someone recently mentioned Maryland and its crab/seafood specialties. If one is interested in MASS quantities of good, simple seafood, I would recommend the "Chesapeake Bay Seafood House" in McLean, Va. This is in fact a chain of franchised "all you can eat", seafood restaurants. The special thing here is the true "all you can eat" nature. When you purchase an all you can eat entre, you can get seconds of that entre, or any entre that is equal to or less than the cost of the original entre. In addition, they had free seconds of French Fries, hushpuppies, cole slaw and soft drinks. Beer is available, but seconds are not free. Stories of entering and eating continuously for 2 or 2.5 hours are not uncommon! Bruce Peters AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, Ill. ...!ihnp4!ihldt!bnp
wombat@uicsl.UUCP (11/11/83)
#R:ut-sally:-30400:uicsl:3800015:000:397 uicsl!wombat Nov 10 14:51:00 1983 Not as exotic as Hawaii, but here's the official Springfield, IL sandwich -- the Horseshoe. It's your choice of meat (bacon, ham, turkey, etc.) on toast, covered with french fries and all buried under a win-cheese sauce. (Forget what everything represents, but the fries are the nails.) The best ones are at Norb Andy's TaBarIn, just a few blocks from the Capitol. Really good stuff. Wombat
usadaca@uiucuxc.UUCP (11/26/83)
#R:ut-sally:-30400:uiucuxc:2500008:000:858 uiucuxc!usadaca Nov 25 09:41:00 1983 best steak is a tie between a porterhouse at the Blue Ox in Santa Barbara California and a KC Strip from the Hereford House in Kansas City, Mo. For barbeque lovers, try the barbeque at Zarda's in Blue Springs, Mo.... especially the burnt end sandwiches(with a COLD beer and dill pickle). Other barbeque worth going back for.... little place in Indianapolis on Northwestern Ave. Sorry, I don't remembr the name but it's heavy on hickory smoke and pepper. For the best pro I mean pork chops, I nominate Stevensons on Hwy 40 just East of K.C. Mo. Best coconut cream pie if you can get an invitation to a Samoan families' supper in the San Francisco area.. you'll swear you've been drugged. I mean this stuff is GOOD!!!! For a commercial establishment, try the Holiday Inn Coffee Shop on 13th Street in Kansas City(baked by a real dessert chef no less).