If you are outside of the US, what is your home state/province/town/area known for?
If you are in the US, was your state well represented? What should have been there?
Alright, this one is specifically for scrimetime but I'm guessing you all have your equivalent and I'd be interested to hear about it. I give you J.J's Chicken Fried Steak from the Oxford Saloon and Cafe -Missoula MT: At the University of Montana, the Oxford was where you went after the bars, very late at night, to eat and there was only one item on the menu that was acceptable to order -JJ's. I don't think I ever had JJ's sober, not once. Just wouldn't seem right. You can read a description of the Ox here What was(is) your late night place to eat?
Mmmmm fried okra :-) Goes down well with pork ribs and some iced tea.
fried okra is delicious and you are right, it pairs up nicely with some great pork ribs and iced tea. I think it's funny that they misspelled Oklahoma on the graphic. I mean, come on!
Have you ever had "fry bread"? http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread I haven't and I have a feeling I'm missing out.
Yes, fry bread is good stuff; it's nothing fancy though. Usually sold as "Indian tacos" - fry bread with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, and salsa.
With food, more often than not, "simple" is the way to go. Looks damn good!
My state (Or.) is known for hazel nuts and salmon. My city is known for food carts. All over town vacant lots and the sidewalk side of parking lots have been converted into food cart clusters. If you can think of a cuisine it's probably represented somewhere in town. Because they don't have extensive menus they specialize in a few things which I believe often increases quality. Off the top of my head I can think of Cuban, various South American, SE Asian, Mexican, Polish, Greek, African, BBQ, Southern, Korean/Mex fusion, Vegan, Lebanese, Fried Pie, Breakfast, Pizza, Czech, Indian, Japanese and many more that I've never tried or even seen, there must be a few hundred food carts around now a days. It's amazing. http://www.foodcartsportland.com/ has a small round up of some of the carts, but as I look over their site I see many gaps in their knowledge, it would be a full time job to keep on top of it.
The link is great, thanks. Himalayan Food -great idea for a food cart. Pretty broad category to pull from and just a great name. The Indian Food cart looks damned good too. -If I knew of a place where I could quickly walk up and get "Dosa" from a food cart, I'd likely do it once a week. I wish they had more food carts where I live. Have you ever been to Austin? They also have a great food cart scene. Some of the most exciting cuisine happening in cities these days are happening in food carts imo. I love the lack of pretension. We have some here, but not many. There's a cool bar/venue here called Motorco that has live music every Sunday with some food trucks in their parking lot. It's always a good time. Korean/Mex Fusion sounds interesting...
Austin and Portland also share the "Keep Austin/Portland Weird" slogan. Not sure who came up with it first, but they seem to be sister cities in a lot of ways. I've not spent too much time in Portland, but I know Austin pretty well. Awesome town in a lot of ways, but maybe Portland is better since you don't have to deal with 110º in the summer.
Here's my fav local food (NZ) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green-lipped_mussel Cheap as chips (as we say), you can get enough to feed many people, for just a couple of bucks. You buy them, live, in any grocery store. Put them in a big pot with a little water (or maybe some white wine and a bit of garlic if you're feeling fancy). Steam them until they open, pull off any stray 'hair' (they are a little bit erotic-looking ;-), and eat 'em up. Only one internal attachment, so they're easy to eat. Very common first course for any BBQ.
The beard is inside the shell sometimes, at least partially.
This link shows the "beard" (sorry for the long link) :
those are really beautiful. I love to eat/prepare mussels, that's why I asked about the beard. I always de-beard prior to cooking and it's a bit of a pain because you really have to tear at them and I feel bad knowing they're still alive. I usually prepare them with some white wine and garlic too. Delicious!!
Well, the Netherlands are of course known for cheese (and beer, but Belgium is also great with beer). Gouda cheese anyone? Noord Brabant, the province where I live, is known for "Worstenbroodjes". These are similar to sausage rolls, but with different bread and spices. You can see one in the photo. If you ever come to Noord Brabant, you'll have to try one.
As someone who can never pass up a corn dog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_dog ...I want one of these.
That looks really, really good. How can you go wrong with a place where they wrap sausage with different breads and spices and have some of the best beers in the world? Sounds like perfection.
Well, not perfection, but we're near ;-)
The rest of Dutch Cuisine (as far as you can call it cuisine) is either deep fried or really simple, mostly with potatoes and vegetables. Ever heard of the frikandel (first image) or a kroket (second image)? A lot of myths about the questionable contents of these snacks are going around, some saying that the meat is actually offal and butchering waste. So, do you still think this is paradise? :P
Frikadel sounds like it could be pretty good actually. So much of the meat that is eaten is made from "byproduct" these days. It's still part of the animal, right? When it gets gross is when they start using fillers and binders that are disgusting or preservatives that are bad for you. I will say that it looks an awful lot like a turd. They say we "eat with our eyes", so I guess it may not be 100% paradise. But close.
Here's Canada's contribution: Poutine. French Fries, Cheese Curds, and Gravy.
Although pasties are a great representative for Michigan, they are almost exclusively the provenance of the Upper Peninsula. Coney dogs are a good choice for a food of the Lower Peninsula: Hotdog, bun, chili, onions, and mustard. A Boston cooler is also a good choice with Detroit roots: Vernors Ginger Ale and vanilla ice cream.
Great calls mk. A little Boston Cooler history:Vernor operated a drug store and soda fountain on Woodward Avenue near what is now known as the Boston-Edison historic district, the main thoroughfare being Boston Boulevard, hence the seemingly disconnected name. Though houses weren’t built and occupied in the area until the early 1900s, the mixture of vanilla ice cream and Vernor’s ginger soda was popular as far back as 1880.
from UndergroundDetroit
That's the first thing I thought of too when I saw that they selected pasties. For those of you seeing the photo and saying "that's just a chili dog". Think again
khaaan, From your photographs and some of the conversations we have had, it seems to me you come from a wonderful part of the world. What is your corner of the globe famous for food wise? Just curious.
Id written about 3 paragraphs then i closed the window by mistake so heres the wiki article sorry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire#Cuisine
ill edit this entry when i get more time
Yorkshire pudding is something I have often heard/read about but have never tried. Is it any good? Toad in the hole would be worth trying simply because it's an awesome name. I drink a beer from your neck of the woods called "Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout", it's very good.