Michigan seems spot-on. When we moved to NC, my sister in law sent us a Zingerman's Reuban kit in the mail. I've never had sandwich-fixings mailed to me before. -Fancy stuff. Delicious stuff.
Nope. What's up with OR and WA having Falafel and bánh mì as their respective sandwiches? Also, NH and the Monte Cristo? As far as I can find, that iteration of the Croque Monsieur is attributed to CA. I actually don't really know what sandwich would best represent NH. In fact, there are no foods unique to NH that come to mind. There are some other weird picks and inaccuracies on here too. For example, no one says "Fluffernutter sammie" just "Fluffernutter". Edit: The pick for Maine is odd too. Lobster rolls are mostly for tourists, though Mainers (or Maineacs) do still eat them. I think the Maine style Italian sandwich is more authentic.
Best I can reckon for Oregon is that Falafel sandwiches have become a staple of the crunchy vegetarian crowd, of which there's a large contingent especially in the Portland area. Banh mi is actually spot-on for WA- there's a huge Vietnamese community here, especially surrounding Seattle. The neighborhood I live in is pho joints as far as the eye can see. Oddly enough, I have yet to find a decent banh mi that I haven't made with my own grubby mitts. This map makes me want one bad, though.
There's a big Viet community in the 'burbs of Boston too, though not as big as in Washington or California. I have to say, I haven't had a bánh mì in the U.S. that tasted like the real deal yet. For one, the bread generally isn't cheap or crappy enough. In fact, part of the problem is that the ingredients are too nice. Also, the flavors are tweaked for non-Viet consumers, which I understand. It's like getting a burger outside of North America: it might look like what you know, but there's something about it that just doesn't quite match up.
Or like when restaurants try to make Philly cheese steak sandwiches with provolone and good beef instead of cheez whiz and thin steak leavins'. Just not the same, and not as good. Although the best American fast food style burger I ever had was in Switzerland. So I'm holding out hope for good banh mi at some point in our corner of the globe.
I don't think Or has a state sandwich but if it did it sure wouldn't be the falafal pita. I know of only one place with a really good falafal sandwich in Portland. It's at a cart in the in the packing lot of a gas station, probably only 20 feet from the pumps (kinda gross but I don't let my self think about it). The guy who makes them is an ancient Chaldean guy, I'm usually the only European guy in line every one else is young middle eastern guys from the university. It's a decidedly UN-Oregonian experience.
Minnesota is spot on, the infamous Jucy Lucy. For those unfamiliar, it's a burger where they put the cheese inside of it, and then grill it. There's lots of different styles of it, sometimes bacon crumbles goes in too, or jalepenos, whatever, you get the idea. Lots of places around here have them. There's even a few places, like my favorite, The Blue Door Pub, where they ONLY have Jucy Lucy's on the menu and have numerous ones to choose from. I do have to say that I am glad they didn't name a specific Jucy Lucy from a specific place, because that always starts a local "OMG THATS NOT THE BEST JUCY LUCY IN TOWN" conversation in local forums/subreddits. I would also like to speak up for North Dakota and say I've never even heard of that sandwich or seen it on a menu, but perhaps it's because I'm not 90 years old. It should have been a Grinder from The Red Pepper, which is a place that has locations in Grand Forks and Fargo. ANY ONE who has lived in Grand Forks knows and loves the Grinder from The Red Pepper. The demand is so huge from ex-college students and residents, that they even started Fed-Exing Grinder "kits" anywhere in the nation and even overseas. Another co-worker of mine and I have ordered grinder kits from them before and made them at work for lunch. It's a simple sandwich with deli meat of your choosing, cheese, lettuce, and a big slab of their awesome taco meat across the top. It's a delicious.
Juicy Lucy is right for Minnesota for sure. I couldn't think of what it would be before I looked at the map, but Juicy Lucy is definitely accurate. I'm partial to the Bangkok Blucy from The Blue Door in St. Paul.
You live here in the cities? The Blue Door Pub is my favorite in town for Lucys! Love the Bangkok, love the Blucy classic, and love whatever the one is with peanut butter on it. The regular Bacon Blucy is probaby my most ordered though. I don't get the whole Matts or 5-8 Club fanboyism, they are okay, but I like the Lucys at The Blue Door or The Nook a lot better. They opened a second Blue Door Pub in the Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis with the same menu, which is great, because the one in Saint Paul is always so packed.
I live just off Grand Ave in St. Paul. I've never tried Matts or 5-8 Club, so I wouldn't know! The Nook is awesome. A group of my old college friends go there every Thursday so I'm there all too often. I've had to change lunch/dinner plans many times because of this.You live here in the cities?
I don't get the whole Matts or 5-8 Club fanboyism, they are okay, but I like the Lucys at The Blue Door or The Nook a lot better.
because the one in Saint Paul is always so packed.
Nice, lovely area. I was born and raised in Saint Paul, went to Arlington High School (which people don't believe me how ghetto it was or the storie I have) lived downtown, lived near O'Garas off of Hamline/Summit for awhile, lived in the Como area for awhile, and most recently lived down on W. 7th in those newer apartments by Davern. I prefer the Saint Paul lifestyle to Minneapolis, it's a big city, but it's also quiet and laid back most of the time. Plus it has my favorite bar in the world, The Happy Gnome. I'm no longer a resident though, I bought a house in Eagan with my now wife last year. Chose Eagan because I don't ever want to be any farther than that from Saint Paul. Nice to know there's another person on Hubski from the STP though. :)I live just off Grand Ave in St. Paul.
Amen to all of this! Absolutely love the Gnome. I'm originally from Rochester but moved up here in 2009 to go to school at Hamline. I was hoping to move closer to the Cathedral Hill area but I'm definitely liking where I'm at now. I have a buddy who's living over on West 7th right in that same area. Well if there's ever a Hubski meetup in the area at least we'll know there'll be at least two of us! :)I prefer the Saint Paul lifestyle to Minneapolis, it's a big city, but it's also quiet and laid back most of the time. Plus it has my favorite bar in the world, The Happy Gnome.
Yeah. It was a nice place to grow up and it's nice for families. Safe, decent schools, etc. Just a pretty boring place to be a teenager/young adult. A lot of the city feels like a suburb too, which can be annoying. It sounds like Mayo is really making a concerted effort to bring in young people and make it more of an urban center with better public transit. Hopefully that works out well. Are you from the area?
As far as massachusetts is concerned, I disagree. I was born and raised here. I know "Fluffernutter" is a rather famous product, but no one around here really eats them with any sort of frequency. You can't go to a sandwich shop and order one; there aren't storefronts dedicated to making one. What we do, is the roast beef sandwich. Thin shaved roast beef, cheese, mayo, barbecue sauce is the classic combo. There are many many stores that sell this, and only this. The other odd one is New York. Although lox and cream cheese is my favorite thing in the world, how did they not choose the hot dog? It's as much a sandwich as a lobster roll is.
Avocado Clubs are pretty damn good if they are done right. Just hold the mayo please and let then juicy avocados do it's work. I usually get either a lightly coasted Turkey Club with Avocado or a BLTA which is just a delicious BLT with Avocado. Mmmm...
You could hardly do worse than a Zingerman's Deli Corn Beef in Michigan. But does MI have a pedigree for corn beef sandwiches? I would have though NY, but they've got the lox bagel locked down, so I guess that's why we get it. But to be picky for a second, if Ohio gets a kielbasa sandwich, then Michigan's should just be the coney dog. That is 100% unique to the state. Also AZ gets to bend the rules with a taco of sorts. I'm calling it. MI's best sandwich is the coney dog. This chart is wrong.
Zingerman's Corn beef has to be better than the peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich Tennessee is known for. Supposedly a favorite of Elvis. Still, I expect I'd have to be in a very specific state of mind to find that appetizing. Kind of like fried chicken and waffles. Amazing to eat, but a body just isn't made to ingest that stuff too often. On second thought, I imagine that the Zingerman's sandwich isn't necessarily on an Olympic training diet either.
I currently live in a barbecue state and I've never had a NC Chili Burger in my life.
Same here. A pulled pork sandwich or chicken cheddar biscuit seems like a better fit than the chili burger.