Is good food always regional?
 

I couldn't figure out how to word the topic, but bear with me. I have a question, Black people, and I need yall to help me out. This is long, bear with me, lol. :)

What I need to know is this: Are there some things that you can only get in some cities? Examples, in Cleveland, we have Polish Boys (Like, spicy kosher hot dogs with french fries, bar-b-q sauce, and cole slaw on top), Ham Fried Rice (at the Chinese restaurants), and we have the BOMB corned beef sandwiches. These are things that people from other places have no clue what we're talkin' about.

Now, I want to tell yall how the corned beef sandwiches are in Cleveland. Then I'm going to tell yall about my horrific experience buying one here in Columbus. I couldn't wait to come ask yall about this.

Ok, in Cleveland, the corned beef is served warm, on rye bread, with swiss cheese melted (if you request) on it, and there is only mustard on the bread. That's it. Meat (a lot, PACKED on the sandwich), cheese, mustard, and RYE bread. It's served with a pickle spear. If they serve them like this in your city, I apologize, but after you read my experience, you'll see why I just had to explain.

Y'all, today, I had to have a corned beef sandwich. I'm going home (to Cleveland) for the holiday on Sunday, but I couldn't wait that long. So off I go, into the "hood" to get me a corned beef sandwich. I order it, with swiss cheese, the lady says, "We don't have swiss cheese." I shoulda left right then. But no, I'm determined I'm gonna get this sandwich. She brings it out, it's in a styrofoam container. Sticking out of the container is lettuce. I was like, WTF? So me and my friend get to the car, we open the containers and were just appalled. The sandwiches were on buns. Deli kaiser type buns. AND, they had mustard, but they also had LETTUCE :eek: wtf, TOMATO :eek: wtf, ONIONS :eek: wtf, and pickles. Not a pickle spear, sliced pickles on the sandwich. I'm tellin you, I was PISSED. Today is the day I truly understood the phrase, There's no place like home.

So, my question is, do yall have corned beef sandwiches in your cities like we have in Cleveland, or is Columbus just wack? I like that word, wack, lol. :p And what do you have in your city that if you live somewhere else now, you miss, and can only get it when you go home. Man, when I go to Cleveland, I always get a corned beef sandwich or ham fried rice or a polish boy, no cole slaw. And oh, the ribs at Mt. Pleasant or Hot Sauce Williams.

:) Sorry about the length. :)

all that over corned beef... lol
 

im sorry, but i feel u... MAANNN i just wanna go home to my gramma's house, im comin outta the south and im up here in flippin upstate new york with they nasty lookin GARBAGE PLATE's and for those who dont know.... they really do look like garbage and you will never catch me near one...:eek: WHY DO PEOPLE EAT THAT MESS:confused: i call my gramma or aunts n stuff be like can you PLEASE send me some corn pudding and some corn bread and some corn, and some WATERGATE SALAD cuz peeps up here dont even know what that is and believe it or not ive met people who dont even know what candied yams are WTF... cmon your black i know you got a grandma some where... now im hungry... poor college student cheese sandwhich time... :(

Pondering
 

:confused: :confused: :confused: WHAT is a WATERGATE SALAD??????

Ideal, I know what you are talking about. People in different regions of the country do make things differently sometimes. A few years ago, I dated a guy from Pennsylvania and we always had disagreements about the "correct" way certain foods should be made. lol :p

He also had problems with the combination of foods I ate. I'm from Charleston, so shrimp and grits is something we eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He couldn't understand it. No need for me to ever offer him some Frogmore Stew. He just didn't know what he was missing. :D

However, I think I was right when I told him Krispy Kreme are better than Dunkin Donuts. It just took time for the rest of the country to be introduced.;)

But, I've never had a corned beef sandwich!

Re: Pondering
 

Does it have apples in it?

KK are NOT better than DD!! GET OUT OF HERE!! LOL Sugary mess!

With ALL DUE RESPECT ;). . . .Dunkin Donuts is the BOMB!!!

Ideal08 you need to get your soror.


This is all jokes, except the FACT that Dunkin DONUTS are THE BOMB!!!

But what WHAT WHAT WHAT is FROGMORE STEW?!!?!? :eek: :eek:

I have family from Gaffney, SC but they have never served SHRIMP and GRITS or this FROGMORE Stew!!

Thank you, Carla
 

LOL! Yep, Soror, I don't know what to say about that one, lol. Dunkin Donuts is the bomb. And yes, enlighten us, what is Frogmore Stew??

Omigosh! Y'all sound just like him!!!:eek:

Now, why would I want DD's big, hard, dried out doughnuts when I can have sweet, moist, warm KK?:p

Frogmore Stew
 

Frogmore Stew is a combination of shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage, and potatoes boiled in a big pot with onions and seasonings. My mom likes to throw in crab legs, too. Yummy!

Re: Frogmore Stew
 

I see but where does the frog part come from???:confused: :confused:

12dn94dst calls it a Low Country Boil.

I tell you, oyu learn something new everyday.

Thank you kindly.:p

First the Josephine Johnny :rolleyes: :p ;) and now Frogmore Stew!! LMAO

Grrrr
 

WHAT IS WATER GATE SALAD... DOES IT HAVE APPLES :eek: :eek: :eek: Say it aint so... yall makin me cry.... :( watergate salad is like lil marshmellows and pistacio pudding mix and cool whip and pecans and pineapples... and its good and its green and my gramma taught me how to make 50 differnt things with coolwhip... from watergate salad to lemon tarts... ps. in my last post i think i forgot to mention that good ole BANNANA PUDDING

My DDs were the BOMB
 

Man my DDs were always WARM, Soft and scrumptdilyicious :p :D

Re: Frogmore Stew
 

Re: Re: Frogmore Stew
 

Frogmore, SC! lol When I was little, I thought there were frogs in the stew. :o

Re: Grrrr
 

I love Cool Whip, like marshmallows and pineapples but NOT ALL TOGETHER!!

I love Banana Pudding though. LOL @ this convo.

FROGMORE, SC -- Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm that is all I will say on that!!:p

Re: Grrrr
 

I feel you, girl... we have Watergate salad every holiday. I'm surprised nobody else has heard of it. :)

KRISPY KREME, KRISPY KREME, KRISPY KREME....
DD? They don't even exist anymore around these parts.

Folks will drive forever and a day to get KK in the BR. Shucks, I'd drive 70 miles for some. Now, we have our own in the NO.

What is watergate salad and that other stuff you all are talkin bout?

Sounds yuck! LMAO :D

Garbage Plates
 

I was waiting for someone to comment on those, but since no one has, New Yorkers, Please tell me what a garbage plate is. That just sounds like some mess.

Speaking of New York, Soror LadyAKA, where are yoooouuu?

CORN BEEF SANDWICHES
 

Y'all are so crazy, it's unreal. I am over here dying laughing. People talking about stew with frogs, salads named after political scandals, corned beef sandwiches with lettuce and tomato. You all are a trip.

To add my contribution, nobody does pizza like Chi-Town. Here, you can have it thin, thick or stuffed. It's hot, cheesy and it melts in your mouth. On the south side, there is no place like Italian Fiesta pizza. Downtown, you have to try Gino's, Uno's, Giordano's or Edwardo's. I can' eat pizza in any other place in the country. It's just plain nasty.


And, I have to go with the Krispy Kreme people. Dunkin Donuts here are mostly run by foreigners, and I'm not too keen on eating the food of people who don't wear deodorant. Plus Dunkin donuts do tend to be dry. They even stopped playing those "time to make the donuts" commercials years ago. So, those bad boys ain't been fresh in a while.

Thank you, Miss Mocha.;) This thread is funny. I have heard of watergate salad and I've seen it, but I've never tasted it.

No Ideal; there isn't a lot of regional difference.

Slolumbus is just wack! :D

Okay, here it is. There's a ton of stuff that I can list that's only good at home. But I have a statement regarding the donut controversy. Six years ago, when I arrived in the ATL, I thought KK was off the hook. My boyfriend and I would get a dozen glaze and chocolate iced almost every weekend. They were so warm and sweet. Then that became the problem. Too sweet. So sweet you'll get worms. Now once in a very very blue moon I may enjoy one KK donut. I do agree that DD are pretty good. Well at least my teeth don't fall out when I bite into one. And they have a nice variety. However...

nothing beats the chain Mel-O-Cream Donuts back in good ol' Springfield, Illinois. They have a great variety and the best long johns you will ever eat. Now 'nuff said.

Y'all are so funny. Watergate salad is delish. You can use Cool Whip or mayonnaise.

KK donuts are wack. It's all about Lamar's baby!

KC is the only place to get decent BBQ.

We had a potluck at work today. One of my blanco coworkers says to me "What did you bring?" I say, "Dirty rice." He says "Hmmmm, that's an intersting name" and the look on his face said, "there's no way in h*ll I'm eating anything called dirty." :rolleyes: Oh well, more for me. :)

A NewYorker Chimes in
 

IN BIG APPLE RED...

As long as I lived in NYC (1971- 1996), I never heard of a "garbage plate." Whoever posted that, please elaborate.

As for NYC food claims, I think NY has the best hot dogs, pretzels, and hamburgers around. Although I have never been to Chi, I heard they have good pizza. But nothing beats a good NYC

1) slice of Pizza,
2) corned beef and pastramin sandwich,
3) potato knishes, or
4) a cold Italian ice.

Any folks from da boogie down feel me on this?

Being raised in a American-Caribbean household, I appreciate foods from everywhere- from roti, dumplings, okra, ambrosia, hop-n-john, cracklin cornbread....

And for the record Dunkin Donuts Bavarian Creme donuts are the be all and end all!

pNc

Re: A NewYorker Chimes in
 

Okay see I had to jump in there when pointNclick mentioned roti! Just delicious!

You know what else? There is nothing like FRESHLY made Jamaican patties. Doesn't matter whether it's a beef, chicken, or callaloo pattie. Just as long as it wasn't previously FROZEN! :mad: (I visited my girl in Detroit. I asked for some patties, and she took me to the frozen food section in the grocery store...)


Lastly, Krispy Kreme is cool, but I like having a set of clean cavity-free teeth. (too much damn sugar in them glazed donuts) Dunkin' Donuts...hmm....I can break a window with those hard things. I used to like the powdered donuts from the Farm Store...but now they sell Krispy Kreme Donuts! Go figure...

I went to visit some girlfriends in VA and I wanted some hot and spicy seafood, they went on about this place being so good... this place was a joke next time I'll take a can of Tony Chachere's:D

KK vs DD
 

Sorry CT4, IMHO, KK wins, hands down. :razz: I agree with AKATUDE, DD is just too hard... they taste stale. The last one I went to was in the minimall downtown. Yuk! :(

Now, I've never heard of Frogmore Stew or had a corned beef sandwich. We went to this restaurant in Charlotte and they had Gumbo on the menu. It was supposed to be served over rice. Should've known. I didn't get it, but just looking at the person's plate that got it made up my mind that I wouldn't be trying it any time soon. It didn't have shrimp in it, and they mistakenly served it over "smashed" potatoes. Then tried to bring the person a side order of rice to make up for it. Nasty. They said it wasn't even spicy.

If you live somewhere that they have Shipley's Donuts, they are the only kind to eat. They beat out DD and KK by a landslide!!!!!!!!

more questions
 

How did yall eat salmon growing up? Did yall eat it at all? We had salmon and rice or salmon croquettes. My ex didn't know what a croquette was. I said, lawd, what did yall EAT??? Until he met me, he had never had a plum, never had tuna salad, it was a mess. But I digress...

Also, one of my white friends has never had fried corn! Now, I thought ERE'BODY had had fried corn, you know, SPICY! Do yall eat that where you live?

What about meatballs and gravy? Sometimes, we used to have rice and gravy, and my dad would put big meatballs in the gravy.

Did yall do "special" things with soul food? Example, neck bones. When I was little, I was embarrassed that we ate these. Now, I haven't had any since my parents died in '93, and I would give anything for some neckbones and some boiled potatoes. Anyway... my mother used to make spaghetti and neckbones! MAN!! It was SO good! That's what I meant by "special," LOL! :)

I know yall are like, lawd, this chile must be hungry, lol, but I have two more.

Does anyone eat fried chicken gizzards? I LOVE THEM!! I haven't had these in a long while, either.

Last one, how do yall pronounce kielbasa? In my house, we called it kaboski (kuh-bahs-kee). I love this, too!

If you grew up in a household like mine, where soul food was served DAILY, do you still cook it today? I don't. :( It's just not healthy. But sometimes, I get cravings, and for like a week, I'll eat fried pork chops, fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, candied yams, greens, potato salad, corn bread... ARGH!!!! I think I'm having a soul food craving!! :( And I have none of that stuff in the house right now.

Sorro Ideal08
 

The chile needs help! lol

Ideal, I ate salmon growing up. My mom used neckbones, too. That flavored the pot.:p Since getting married, I've learned to cook with neckbones. My turnips just wouldn't taste the same.:D
It's really easy to do. Just let me know, and I'll send you an e-mail. However, the one thing I still haven't mastered is okra soup. :( AKA2D probably calls it "gumbo" in "Nawlins". :p

Re: Sorro Ideal08
 

Soror, HOOK A SISTA UUUUUP!!!! lol Send me the email! :)

Re: more questions
 

LMAO @ kuh-bahs-kee

We call it Keel-bah-suh round these parts.

Re: Sorro Ideal08
 

that IS NOT GUMBO.
Now, there is such a thing as OKRA gumbo
Filet GUMBO
and plain ole GUMBO! :p

Okra gumbo does NOT equal okra soup or vice-versa!

Greens, did somebody say greens? um um good! (neckbones, pickled meat, pickled tips) :D

Re: Re: Sorro Ideal08
 

My apologies. OKRA gumbo. I love the way my mom makes it.:p

Okay I am from Mississippi and we just loves to do up the "SOUL FOOD!" Ideal08, I am feeling you on the neck bones, rice and meatballs....what about chitterlings, hog maws, greens w/ the fatback, garlic sausages, and hog head cheese?? Man, I can't wait for Thanksgiving so I can chow down! http://www.plaudersmilies.de/party/cheeburga.gif

I went to Iowa for a summer internship and I was soooo ready to go home! For the 4th, I had to suffer and eat BBQ out of the oven! :eek: I was horrified at not having some good ole grilled BBQ, but I survived only because my Mom promised to cook me an entire 4th of July meal when I got home in August! :D

Also I have been to both NY and Chi, and I have to agree w/ everyone about the deli sandwhiches in NY and the pizza in Chi (Geno's... i think that was the name of the joint...the pizza was bigger than the plate!)

I'm from Philly, and I have to say that I can't get some of my favorite foods outside of the Philadelphia metro area. Philly cheesesteaks are the absolute best. And, as a disclaimer, you HAVE NOT had a Philly cheesesteak unless you have been to Philadelphia. If you bought it in Detroit, you had steak and cheese, not cheesesteak.

Anyway, cheesesteaks are served on fresh Amoroso's Italian rolls. It's a local bakery that only serves Philly and without those rolls, it just isn't the same. The basic cheesesteak comes with salt, pepper, ketchup, fried onions, mayonnaise, and hot or sweet peppers to taste. I've been to Atlanta and a couple of other cities and I've seen them served with A-1 Steak Sauce. Eeeeeww!!! No self-respecting Philadelphian would ever think of marring a beautiful cheesesteak with steak sauce.

Oh, and Philly has waterice too. Everywhere else has icees, and slushees, and shaved ice. But, those aren't any good compared to the real thing. Waterice is finely shaved ice that's blended until it's smooth but not watery. Everything else that I've tried has either been chunks of ice with flavoring or colored water. Nobody can get it right. I miss Rita's!!!

I can't wait to get back home. This thread is really making me homesick.

ttt. . .this was a funny thread. I was just having a KK vs. DD debate.

Chile that's just cause you don't really know what's good! Krispy Kreme is the bomb hands down