Blog du Wren

The Other Local Food

We have all, undoubtedly, heard me go on and on about local foods, right? Well, I now offer you a slightly different version of the same concept: foods whose ingredients don't necessarily come from the immediate area, but foods which are closely tied to a place either because that is where they were invented/popularized or for some other reason. I took special care to experience as many of these foods as I could while on my trip. Here's the list.

Chicago in Chicago; Philly in Philly (sold from great little ); scrapple served up by Amish people in Phillie; crab cakes in Baltimore*; , hush puppies, and sweet tea in North Carolina; and New York City * in New York City. Pretty much everything was awesome; each food stuff deserves the recognition it has achieved.

(Also worthy of note, although not famous except in certain circles, is my brief stop in Fredricksburg, VA at ice cream joint. I can't remember who recommended it to me along the way, but what a place. It was a local place that was so hoppin, I had to wait in quite a line for my shake. Totally worth it (both the wait and the riding my bike all over town to find it after a hard day on the road). It is worth including in this post because in my eyes, it captures exactly what a local establishment can be. Anyhoo, if you happen through Fredricksburg, you should definitely check it out.)

Sunday May 4 2008

File under: food, travel

Toggle Comments (9)

comment?

on Mon 05th May, 2008 05:54 am PDT Soup said:
Hey, where's the Ohio love? I'm not saying that I know what our trademark food is, I was just hoping you could tell me so I would know when people ask.
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on Mon 05th May, 2008 08:09 am PDT Saxtor said:
Actually, Ohio does have a rather famous regional food, Cincinnati chili. Also, Anthony Bourdain, rockstar chef who tours the world sampling local culinary traditions, did a whole episode in Cleveland
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on Mon 05th May, 2008 11:16 am PDT Wren said:
I considered pursuing Cincinnati chili, but instead opted for the much touted Graeter's ice cream joint instead. Yeah, yeah, I know it doesn't fit the bill of locally legendary food, but I was in the mood for ice cream; sue me!
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on Mon 05th May, 2008 08:12 pm PDT Sweet Julie said:
Was the Philly cheese steak nearly as good as Steakuuummms?
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on Tue 06th May, 2008 08:29 pm PDT Jule said:
What about Olympia oysters? Dungeness Crab (yes, named after the Dungeness peninsula)? Safeco Field Garlic French Fries!!? Fishtail Ale? Rocky Mountain Oysters? Oh, the list goes on....I know I am missing the point. But if you ever get down here, I will take you out for some of the greasiest hippie food your stomach can take.
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on Wed 07th May, 2008 08:12 am PDT Saxtor said:
When I was looking up southern regional BBQ styles while chatting with Wren about the topic, I was very surprised to see Washington* included on the list. My first thought was, "Huh?!" until I read it and it made perfect sense. And now I really want to try our signature regional BBQ.
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on Mon 12th May, 2008 07:48 pm PDT emma said:
That's really where you experienced the New York bagel? And it was good? Huh.
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on Mon 12th May, 2008 09:35 pm PDT Saxtor said:
(Emma, realize that those who know, know. Please have pity on poor Wren...) Personally, I would avoid tasting the city's "signature food" in the proximity of its most popular tourist destination, as it's unlikely you'd get much more than the foam-finger-souvenir equivalent*. But not everyone is up to the arduous task of sussing out the perfect spot in an unfamiliar place, as I discovered a few times in Japan.
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on Mon 12th May, 2008 11:24 pm PDT Wren said:
I'll have you both know, I ate bagels from prolly 5 different places. I just didn't stop and take a picture at each place. But, for the record, Time Square Bagels was very good, reasonable priced, and actually kind of tucked away.
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