Lemmy users across the world, what is your favourite local dish ?
Lemmy users across the world, what is your favourite local dish ?
Thought I'd ask this because I want to discover more foods from across the world
(Also I shouldn't have to say this to americans, please state where you are from and state where you are from without acronyms or shortened names because I've seen US Defaultism on lemmy and not all of us are going to know your acronyms considering we're global users)
Chicken nuggets.
Potage au bonne femme.
Bunny Chow - South Africa (does not contain any bunnies)
It's a ¼ or ½ loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with curry
There's a version called kota (certain groups pronunciation of quarter, for quarter bunny) that is filled with chips (thick cut french fries), polony (bologna, I think), viennas (a frankfurter i think), cheese, tomato sauce, atchar (mango pickle), and sometimes russians (kolbasa, not the people). It's the ultimate comfort food for me
Robbers roast (rosvopaisti) in Finland. I suppose other countries have something similar, but it's a piece of meat cooked in a ground oven. First dig up a small hole, line it with rocks, keep bonfire going in the hole for couple of hours, scrape the coals out and put meat wrapped in parchment paper, wet newspapers and foil in to the hole, fill it with sand and set up a new bonfire on top of the sand. Throw onions, garlic, carrots and whatever you like to accompany/season the meat while you're at it. Things like potatoes or sweet potatoes doesn't really work as they just turn into a mush, at least unless you individually wrap them, but the process isn't consistent enough, just cook whatever sides you want separately.
With meat include pieces of fat on top of it and season however you like. It's traditionally made out of lamb, but I prefer cow (or moose if it's available). Pork works just fine too. The whole process takes 10-12 hours, so it's not for your wednesday dinner, but it's very much worth the effort.
When the weather is good and you do it right the meat just breaks down and you'll almost need a spoon to eat it. Absolutely delicious. And as you have bonfire going for all day you can cook sausages on a stick and have a 'few' beers while feeding the fire. It's an experience with absolutely delicious food in the end.
Just be careful that you don't pass out on all the beer while cooking and miss the fun part.
Gooey butter cake. Dessert from St. Louis, Missouri, USA
I love Gooey butter cake but I think toasted ravioli is our best food. (Hi fellow Missourian! I'm from O'Fallon though.)
Canada doesn't really have a local cuisine, unfortunately. Too much mutual cultural exchange with the US and too little history. Of the like three dishes to choose from, I do love a good Nanaimo bar. (That's a layer of chocolate, on a layer of an icing-like custard concoction, on a thicker base of a coconut-chocolate crumbs)
I forgot about Nanaimo bars. Omg I need to make some immediately.
I went to a bar in Nanaimo once. It was the Tally-ho. It was really divey when I was there. But it was that or go back to Cedar and hang out, and there was NOTHING to do in Cedar.
The baked treat is wayyyy better. Har har.
But it's true -- we've acquired a lot of different foods from people as they moved here, without a real image of our own. At least we can create mishmash of cultures and pick and choose some winners.
- dim sum with truffle oil and foie gras sounds a little posh
- street vendor $7 hot dogs with teriyaki and seaweed
- the iconic nanaimo bar
- candy-smoked coho
I guess someone's gonna have to barbecue a gooeyduck street-side and call it iconic. I'm at a loss
jucy lucy. it's like a cheeseburger but the cheese is inside the patty
Living in Valencia, paella valenciano is great, but for me the duck with rice is just... Amazing
Vegemite and butter on bread.
Sourdough, toasted, then add some avocado smashed with a fork, maybe some cheese, fresh or sliced, alphalpha sprouts if you're feeling fancy and a dash of lime juice.
Zang, thats great with morning black coffee.
Adana Kebab
Minced meat mixed with peppers, onion, garlic and tail fat, then cooked in strips covering the skewer. Served with lavash bread and onion salad, and if you're grilling it you can grill tomatoes and peppers to go alongside with it.
With some fresh ayran on the side.
I'm Aussie but spent a few weeks in Turkey and I was in Heaven.
This sounds amazing
Daeji Gukbab(돼지국밥)! You get it all over Korea but it's especially famous in Busan where I live. It's pork bone broth with meat served with a few toppings and a bowl of rice on the side. I always order the one with meat, intestines, and blood sausage. It's very rich and savory and comforting. It's also very cheap and often open 24hrs
TexMex though really it stretches from southern California to Texas. Good tortillas alone are amazing but throw in beans and some kind of slow cooked meat like green chile pork and it’s perfect!
székelykáposzta - its a hungarin stew with cabbage, i totally love this stuff
Königsberger Klopse are big boiled meatballs served with a white sauce with capers and boiled potatoes. Super delicious.
Nanaimo bars! I love sweets. Unfortunately.
I'm from France, if I had to select one dish for you to try it would be duck confit with sarladaise potatoes (cooked in duck fat). In terms of calorie density it makes me think of Homer's "I only eat food in bar form" meme. But so worth it.
It tastes awesome!! Look up images of it if you want. Black beans + sausage + carne seca (dried meat) is an amazing combo and I love this dish @w@
FYI your link formatting needs work, the closing brace is not used.
It works on my end (web client)
Nam ngiao is a cotton flower and noodle soup from north Thailand and it's the best thai dish you've never heard of!
It uses dried cotton flower, beef or pork broth, a bit of tomatoes and of course a combination of thai spices.
It's an incredible mix of the golden triangle cultures (Thailand, Burma, Laos, Yunan China) and whenever I go there I do a little Nam ngiao tour as it's a bit lole with Japanese ramen - every shop as their own recipe and flavor.
Singapore here Nasi lemak is to die for Coconut rice with a side of fried fish/chicken,fried egg,deep fried anchovies and peanuts topped with sambal (a sweet chilli paste) Used to eat it for breakfast daily Bring on the heart disease !!
from the Arabian peninsula; Shawarma, bukhari or mandi.
Bonus: Foul and tamis, but those are from afghanistan iirc? They're very popular here though
I'm from Cleveland Ohio. Our local dishes are heavily influenced by Eastern Europe, plus Italy and Ireland. Pierogi are universally enjoyed all around north east ohio, but Cleveland is the center. And fat tuesday just went by, which for Cleveland is pączki day. Something that is always found at the baseball game that is unique to Cleveland is the Polish Boy. It's kielbasa, either deep fried or grilled, on a bun with coleslaw and french fries on top. This town also loves corned beef, if you ever come here, Slyman's is an institution and is a must visit. And something that I did not realize was local until recently is a romanburger. Essentially put a burger patty in an Italian sub. The exact recipe has variations, generally has to have mortadella and salami in addition to the burger, and a vinegarette sprinkled on instead of the usual burger sauce. We aren't afraid of calories here.
Beef Rendang (Indonesia or Malaysia) - a v unique curry unless you've had indo food before
Char Keow Teow (Malaysia) - great Fried rice noodles
Equally as good as the chow fan is id say the char siew wanton mee in Penang/Ipoh 🤤
From Bulgaria, banitsa, it's a bit difficult to describe, but it's sorta like layered dough with cheese and eggs, though this description really doesn't do it justice...
My wife spent 18 months in Bulgaria. When she talks about the food banitsa invariably comes up as something she desperately misses.
Looks a lot like the moldovian Vertuta. I bet they taste similar.
I am from the southeast US. I don't necessarily believe any of these dishes are unique to my area, but I really enjoy them.
- Grits. Sort of like oatmeal but corn. There are plenty of ways to make it, some make it sweet, some make it savory, some do a little of both. Shrimp and grits is a popular dish, but I think it's more associated with Louisiana specifically.
- Divinity. A very rich, sugary treat. I haven't had many chances to have this, but it's very good. It's the sort of treat I associate with big family dinners on Thanksgiving from family members who "haven't seen [me] since [I] was this big" who have long since passed away.
- Reindeer Mix and Diddly Doos. These are two winter treats my family makes. I don't believe they're local dishes or anything, but because my mom makes them I do consider them cultural. Reindeer Mix is essentially home made Chex Mix you mix a few forms of Chex cereals with other ingredients and drizzle a savory sauce over it and bake it. Tastes best warm. Diddly Doos are basically cheese biscuit/crackers. Think "cheese straw" but shaped in a disk. I think some people call them cheese doodles.
Grits were my first thought. I can’t believe how many people don’t like them, but then I remember the glue they serve at diners like Waffle House. It just needs to be prepared right. I spent two years on the west coast and I couldn’t stand how hard they were to find! A southern friend I met there even had a care package sent from their mother that had grits in it; just a testament to how much of a comfort food they can be… when made correctly. South Carolinian here.
A buddy of mine loves sweet tea and was upset he couldn't get it up in Ohio anywhere. However he did like that they served warm unsweet tea so he could get the sugar to dissolve lmao.
A number of places serve instant grits which are just horrendous. If that was one's first experience I could see how it is a turn off. Sometimes it is from places you don't expect. I remember ordering cheese grits as a side at one BBQ joint in North Carolina and they were instant grits with a pinch of shredded cheese dropped on top.
Hmmm. I will extend it to anything Norwegian. "Pinnekjøtt" usually a Christmas dish.
Cured (salted and/or smoked) sheep ribs. (Often lamb)
The ribs are then separated to individual ribs.
You water it for 16 hours, changing the water once. Or they will be too salty. Then you steam them until the meat releases from the bones (3ish hours)
Serves with mashed swedes, sausage, and potatoes, using the water as a sort of gravy (it's full of fat)
mashed Swedes
Tell me, Dr Hannibal Lecter: what is a 'mashed Swede'?
Heh, I see my autocorrect gave it a calital S. But since you askes, I believe the american word is rutabaga. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga?
Also jokingly called the "Nordic orange" because of its high content of vitamin C.
I forgot to mention that we so add a carrot and milk to make it more orange puree
Interesting. I've had fårikål but that sounds more interesting to me. Probably on account of the use of cured meat, particularly smoked, likely giving a more complex flavor to the lamb.
Tbh I think Fårikål is a bit bland. At least if you don't give it a day. Don't know why it is, but the dish is often better the next day. And I think some people use to lean cuts. Fårikål needs fat as it is often slow cooked for several hours. That just makes for chewy blandness if you use lambchops or other "better" cuts. Personally I make it "French" by making a red wine version.
Louisiana, US - Crawfish Étouffée.
From Almeirim in Portugal, there's "sopa da pedra", translates to "soup of the rock". It has several kinds of meat, beans, potato, and it's usually eaten with bread (some say even a specific local bread type, but I'm not picky on that). It used to come with a stone in it traditionally, but for higiene reasons restaurants are not allowed to anymore. Some people at home still do it, I believe.
With it there is an old tale:
There was once a poor friar that was traveling. Once it came time to rest, he knocked on someone's door and asked for their hospitality in exchange for a soup. His hosts let him in and they see the friar pulling an old smooth stone from his pocket and putting it in a pot, along with water.
"Some seasoning would make this soup better... Do you happen to have any chouriço?" [best translation I've got is "meat", or maybe "sausage"] asks the friar. And so his hosts find him some chouriço that they throw in the pan.
"It's looking great! Now this soup would really improve if we could thicken it up a little. Do you happen to have some potatoes or beans leftover from yesterday?" And some potatoes and beans have indeed been leftover from yesterday. The friar adds it to the soup.
The friar asks for a few more spices, olive oil, and soon there is a delicious smell coming from the pot. What a nice soup!
They eat and once the soup is finished the friar fishes out the stone, washes it and puts it back in his pocket. Tomorrow he'll knock on someone else's door along the way ;)
chouriço reminds me of "chorizo"
Wonder if there's some related etymology there
Chorizo is the Spanish variant, our neighbors. Chorizo and chouriço are not quite the same, but similar. AFAIK they have different seasonings.
Gallo Pinto. Start with white rice and black beans and go from there.
I recently tried the Caribbean version of Rice and Beans which has coconut oil in it, but I don't like it quite as much. Fun mix that I hadn't had before though.
I love my local dish: crab cakes. I hate my local seasoning: Old Bay. Never bought a can in my life.
Old Bay has the amazing ability to smell dusty and stale even when it's fresh from the tin.
From China, boiled dumplings/water dumplings. Preferably stuffed with pork and garlic chives with a little bowl of black vinegar and sesame oil to dip in.
My favorite food of all time. If it was possible to have dumplings every meal and be healthy I 100% would.
I love Chinese food so much. I've visited twice, and always make room for food.
My favorite street food is probably sheng jian bao, the pan fried buns with soupy pork filling sealed in.
In terms of a single standalone dish, it's hard to say. I like noodle dishes, like Taipei style beef noodle soup. Or Wuhan style re gan mian.
And for the type of meal where there's a lot of dishes on the table to be shared, my favorite dish in that setting is probably Mapo tofu. I did a food tour of Chengdu once and just everything Sichuan is so good, but Mapo tofu is just all my favorite Sichuan things in a single dish.
Portuguese tipical dish: Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
Pure Bliss 😀✨Cant you get chicken cooked in it's own blood in Portugal? Why ist this your favourite?
We have so many top dishes to choose from, it's just nostalgia I guess. The one you're talking about is named "Arroz de Cabidela":
Swedish meatballs, brown cream sauce, lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes. Vegan in my case, but doesn't matter, it's fucking great either way.
Also, Semla.
Pepperoni rolls (which Ive never had but it is a regional favorite)
Pawpaw bread
Home-fries with ramps
Strawberry rhubarb pie
Germany: Kesselsknall. Imagine a potato cake with bacon and sausages, baked in a cast iron casserole.
I could imagine that all day.
edit: It's telling that someone downvoted me expressing interest in food. Don't ever change, reddit.
Vegemite on toast is just good.
Foreigners always fuck up the ratios.
Vegemite is good. I like Promite better.
I bought a small (20 g) jar at an international store on a whim. I followed the advice I'd seen of lots of butter and just a tiny bit of Vegemite and I have to say it was pretty tasty. I then had the intrusive thought to really slather it on and... yeah, if that had been my first experience I'd be convinced it was the most vile substance known to man.
I'm not Australian, but I guess the ratio is at least 1:1
It's like spicy. If you aren't from the country, take it easy.
For most foreigners, molecular-thin to start with.
You start with "surely I need more than that" amounts of vegimite and "surely I dont need that much" amounts of butter and adjust inwards over time until you hit your preference.
"Braaibroodjie" - South Africa
It's a Toastie made on a wood fire, usually containing tomato, onion, cheese and buttered on all sides
The Bobbie from Delaware, USA!
Delaware is a small state on the Delaware River on the east coast of the United States, just south of Philadelphia and across the bay from New Jersey. For the comic fans, Gotham is somewhere near Cape May, NJ and Metropolis is near Lewis, DE.
Another great treat from this area is scrapple. Don’t look it up before you eat it. It’s deliciously horrifying!
Too late, American pork offal mush. At least the name is enticing.
So I'm from North Carolina, for the uninitiated this is one out of fifty of the United States of America, which is a nation located on the continent of North America bordered by Canada to the North and Mexico to the South. If you were paying close enough attention you might have heard of us in the news recently. North Carolina is located on the Eastern coast, that's adjacent to the Atlantic ocean, you'll find it just across the Northern border of South Carolina, to the South of Virginia, and to the East of Tennessee. We also share a relatively short stretch of border with Georgia to the Southwest. You might find us after a few hours examining a globe.
North Carolina is almost as famous for our barbecue as we are for our barbecue. Two distinct styles of pork barbecue emerged in North Carolina, the Eastern style characterized by smoking a whole hog prepared with a dry rub and served with a spicy, thin, vinegar-based sauce, and the Western style characterized by smoking pork shoulders basted with and served at the table with a sweeter tomato based sauce.
In both cases, shoulder meat will be coarsely shredded simply by pulling it apart with forks or bare hands, done right it's more tender than cooked hamburger. Piled high on an inch roll slathered in barbecue sauce and topped with coleslaw and you've got a pulled pork sandwich, serve it with a side of hushpuppies.
Fun fact: A candidate for North Carolina governor once lost the race because he was heard saying he was getting sick of barbecue. Nope, you don't get to be chief executive Tarheel like that. That ain't gonna work.
Sounds amazing ! thanks for the geographical context, I knew about NC but had no idea where to place it
Germany
Gaisburger Marsch
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaisburger_MarschUK, we are the butt of many a joke and several post here talking about our traditional fast food. I will submit that a well cooked roast dinner is the equal of any other national dish, for me its either pork shoulder, skow cooked, or chicken, with parsnips, leeks in cheese, carrots, peas and maybe bread sauce, along with those roast potatoes, crunchy in the outside, soft and milky on the inside, just the right amount of salty crunch with the star of the show, a rich gravy. Even without the meat this would still be an incredible tasty plate of food.
I'm Belgian so only one answer is allowed
Belgian fries with mayonnaise and Flemish stew
Weirdly the replies to your comment won't load on the lemmy instance I'm on, don't know about other instances
They do seem to load on your instance so I'm thinking it's some sort of federation issue
Anyways here's a screenshot for anyone else who can't see the replies
As neighbor Dutchy, I can agree! Delicious.
I pick vol au vent. 😁
Allez, een Américain Frites alsteblief !
Very admirable, it's a good choice
If you take it with fries, of course 😁
This interaction is basically me at a restaurant
Dish born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: the "Kapsalon"
Finland: only had it a couple of times 'cause it's expensive, and takes long and is tedious to make, but loimulohi (fire salmon). It's salmon nailed to a plank and then heated up by an open fire. Very tasty.
Pretty much any big enough fish can be made like that, but I've only had salmon.
In Japan, we usually trade that for skewers and have them staked in the sand around a fire, rotating them every now and again
I imagine there is something like this in a lot of languages, but it's always amused me that Bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef/pork) translates literally to "fire meat"
I'm happy to learn Finns have a similar word!
That sounds amazing
here in the PNW (Pacific North West) of North America, we have lots of different kinds of salmon but wood fired salmon on a cedar plank (like a roofing shingle) is food fit for the gods
the natives have done it for ions and it is something you have to try if you like that fire salmon
also natives make salmon candy, which is dried salmon belly, dude its the best jerky ever made
I grew up in interior Alaska. The hometown food I miss the most is saltine crusted Northern Pike. Very bony but so tasty. Though to be honest a lot of that may be nostalgia as it was something we'd eat camping as an extended family when the fishers in the group had a good haul. Pan fried moose heart and tongue is a simular situation.
If we do the United States instead of my home state I'd say key lime pie for sweet and shrimp and grits for savory.
Moose heart (or reindeer heart) is delicious and often cooked on an open fire after the "moose fall" in Norway
We always camped on some mostly permafrost supported island in the middle of a wetland when we hunted so we avoided open fires. I've got lots of memories of that place. Spiders pelting me as they were knocked off the tall grass by our airboats we rode in, the one black bear my father shot that had been eating so many blueberries that the smell hit you in the face when we cleaned it, or my cousin and I being chewed out for sinking part of 'our' island when we attempted to build a log cabin. That's why I think nostalgia is playing a big part in why I miss the dishes so much.
A few kg of meat, traditionally (in the rhine-area) from horse, nowadays more beef, marinated for 1+ month in a few litres of wine and vinegar, with some vegetables. Slowly cooked so it disintegrates on your fork.
The sauce you get from Sauerbraten is sooooo good, too - goes well with any veggies and/or pasta to eat alongside it.
Yep, we always save a lot of sauce for later in the year, as we (my family) only makes it one time a year, for christmas (on the 25th and 26th). With dumplings on the 25th and noodles on the 26th.
Italy: It's really hard to beat pizza, maybe a good lasagna or a "cacio e pepe" pasta depending on the mood.
Most of the US is a culture pot so the food I like is not really local.
The only things I can think of as a state famous thing is that San Francisco, California is known for sourdough, and Seattle, Washington is kinda known for the Seattle (Hot) Dog.
Steak and cheese sub. Yeah, you can get one in a lot of places, but I haven't had a good one outside of New England.
Northwest US: smoked salmon with a side of berries. Sockeye with little or no sugar added is the best IMO. The berries should be native varieties if you want to try for authenticity, though the invasive blackberries are really tasty, too.
Stamppot. I’m from the Netherlands and I really love stamppot.
It’s basically boiled veggies (usually a type of kale, but it can also be made with endive or carrots (but then it’s called hutspot) and potatoes mashed together. Add a smoked sausage and some gravy over it. delicious!
But it’s best when it’s winter and it’s really cold outside and when you make it, the windows steam up. Then it’s really gezellig
I'm german, but my families traditional recipe was influenced by my uncle from the netherlands. It is basically uienstamppot with bratwurst and applesauce as a variation on "Himmel un Ääd" and it's sooooo tasty. I can never eat normal mashed potatoes when uienstamppot is so much better!
Also dutch and I can't stand the texture of stamppot, and the flavour is pretty meh as well. I'd rather skip dinner than eat stamppot.
Now, zoute haring, that's a true Dutch delicacy!
German here. I don't know if its reaally local, but mine would be a family dish called "Holzfällerpfanne", the "lumberjack skillet". It's made out of fried potatoes, slices of apple, Champignons, fried onion, fried cabanossi and cheese on top (a lot of it).
So you basically slice all ingredients, fry the raw (and peeled) potatoes for a few minutes, add in the champignons, wait a few more minutes, add the apples next, and after another few minutes add the onions and cabanossi. When everything is slightly browned, spread a good amount of cheese on top, cover the pan with a lid and wait until the cheese is fully melted. Tadaa!
Deciding when to add which ingredient so everything is perfect at the same time is kind of key here, so it may help to fry the onions und cabanossi in a seperate pan to not overdo them.
Google search has gotten really horrible lately - I can’t find an English recipe for this one, or even a clean enough web page to use translate. Lots of random unrelated results though
I tried looking for this but google won't give me an English recipe for it
Germany (Rhineland Region) I would go with “Mettbrötchen” even though it’s so plain it’s so unique in its style
Yeah raw pork definitely is quite unique haha
Tex mex breakfast taco.
Egg, bacon, cheese, tomatillo salsa.
Good for any meal. Takes less than 15 minutes from start to clean. Delicious and filling.
Sub tato for the bacon and that's what I have nearly every day for breakfast. Mmm. This damn thread is making me hungry.
Delicious. Can't go wrong with a breakfast taco.
Sometimes my white trash ass will cut up a hotdog saute it and use that.
The true blending of culture lmao.
in Guatemala, the spicy rice tamales are probably my favorite thing here.
but today I'm getting the chipilin tamales, which have little leaves mixed into the dough and are also real good.
Thailand - gaeng tai pla, som tam, mango sticky rice. First 2 are really spicy, so probably not for everyone.
gaeng tai pla
Is it the same as "Kaeng tai pla"?
Yes, just different transliteration. A Croatian magazine actually ranked it as the worst food in the world, which we Thai took offense for hahaha. https://www.nationthailand.com/life/food/40036968
Add to that jungle curry, gaeng pa!!! Also very spicy.
Jungle curry is heaven on earth!
merjimek chorbasy - is a lentil soup, I think it's originally turkish. nohutli et - lamb stew with chickpeas. yantyq - pie with minced lamb fried in a pan without fat. I'm originally from Crimea, Ukraine.
Philly area
Yes cheesesteak, hoagie, soft pretzels.
But I believe strongly that a roast pork Italiano sandwich loaded up with sharp provolone, roasted long hots, and broccoli rabe is the best Philly sandwich.
Go a little out into the suburbs around Norristown, and you'll also find the "Zep" a sort of pared-down hoagie, one kind of meat, cheese, oil and spices, tomatoes, and plenty of onions.
I'm not going to wade into the minefield of which sandwich shops are best except to say Pat's and Geno's are garbage, but maybe worth it for the experience if you're a tourist. Avoid anywhere that advertises as a "Philly Cheesesteak" look for cheesesteak, steak sandwiches, or even just steaks. For a Zep I don't think it's controversial to say Lou's ro Eve's are the places to go.
Tomato pie- close relative of pizza, thick sort of focaccia-like crust, square, thick tomato sauce, dusting of Parmesan cheese, served cold. Staple of many parties here.
Also in the suburbs - Franzones pizza, Bridgeport is the original location, but the original owner sold it to a relative and opened the one in Plymouth/Conshy location and another in Manayunk. You're going to either love or hate the pizza, thin crust, very sweet sauce in a spiral on top of the cheese. There's a few imitators out there but Franzones is the original.
This is the right time of year for them so "Irish Potato" candies. Sweet cream cheese and shredded coconut, rolled in cinnamon. Nothing Irish about them but they kind of look like potatoes.
Zitners Easter eggs- chocolate candies with various fillings.
Goldenbergs Peanut Chews- chewy molasses candy with peanuts covered in chocolate
Mallow Cups- like a Reese's cup but full of marshmallow and coconut instead of peanut butter
Scrapple - don't ask what's in it, just eat it.
Pork roll (kind of a jersey thing, but ubiquitous in Philly too) it's basically round spam
Pepperpot soup- this is old Philly food, like revolutionary war Philly, it's damn hard to find these days but every few years some local restaurant gets the idea to recreate it. It's a hearty, slightly spicy beef and trip soup. There's some Caribbean pepper pot soups that are kind of similar.
I forgot about Irish potatoes. Those things are kind nasty, if you really don't like coconut shavings like me. So why do I have positive memories of them?
Also, shout out for tomato pie.
I have a really complicated relationship with coconut, because I really like the flavor, but hate the texture. The flavor wins out for me but not by much.
And come to think of it, I think a lot of the commercially made ones use some sort of coconut creme filling instead of cream cheese so it's more shelf stable and doesn't require refrigeration. I like the cream cheese ones slightly more.
PORK ROLL!
I personally don't like the stuff, but I'm obligated to endorse it lmfao.
Birch beer is also a thing here. And applejack!
Ah fuck, can't believe I forgot birch beer.
Any time I manage to get someone with any influence at a local brewery's attention I try to put the idea for a hard birch beer into their mind. I don't think it's taken root anywhere yet, but hopefully someday.
Applejack to an extent, I don't think it has quite as much cultural significance to Philly, but maybe to NJ with Lairds.
While I'm on NJ, the Taylor ham/pork roll debate is weird to me, it says pork roll on the package.
And while we're talking drinks, I suppose honorable mention goes to Yuengling. Pottsville is a bit outside of the Philly area, but it's ubiquitous in and around the city, if you order a "lager" you get a Yuengling. Its a solid alternative to the Bud/Miller/Coors big brand beers, but really nothing too special. I avoid buying it myself anymore because Dick Yuengling is kind of a dick, and there's plenty of other great beers being made in and around the city, but I've probably drank more lagers in my life than any other single beer.
EDIT: On birch beer, if you ever find yourself up to Ulysses PA in, I think, Potter County, they have the Pennsylvania lumber museum, they have a birch still there, and at least the one time I was there they had a guy talking about it with a little vial of birch oil from the still you could smell. He had a lot of cool information about birch trees/oil, turns out birch trees contain a compound that's similar to aspirin. And the birch oil does smell very much like birch beer.
Norwegian, here. Lutefisk is incredible if done right, but it's easy to fuck up severely. So if someone were to try and cook something based on my recommendation, I'd suggest Fårikål or Pinnekjøtt instead, as they're both incredibly easy to make and quite tasty.
Visited my norwegian family over the new year, and got to try pinnekjøtt. Very tasty, if a bit annoying to get the meat off of the bones.
In my opinion, that means it's not done yet. Since it's mostly a steaming process, you can leave it in as long as you want to. I usually put it on in the morning, and just add a little water in the kettle throughout the day to make sure it does not dry out. Then 20 minutes in the oven before serving.
That way it usually falls off the bone easily.
My ex's mum would make this at Christmas and it was horrifying.
I've lived all over the U.S., so here are some of my favorites:
Texas:
- Beef barbecue. The classic is beef brisket, but a lot of places have great beef rib, too.
- Tex Mex: fajitas hit the spot every time.
- Breakfast tacos, especially with leftover smoked brisket from the day before, or some other smoked meat like smoked sausage. Undeniably Texas, undeniably delicious.
Louisiana:
- Boiled crawfish, with red potatoes and corn and andouille sausage. Some people overcook their potatoes and corn, but even then there's still a charm to it. But the whole experience of a crawfish boil is everything great about food culture: socializing around a big table, making a big mess, teaching kids and newbies how do engage in that task of peeling crawfish. The Vietnamese riffs on these traditions are also great, and Viet-Cajun is a great genre of food in general, too.
The American South in general:
- American Southern style fried chicken. It's just great.
- Pecan pie. Easily my favorite American dessert.
Southern California:
- Burritos. Something about the fresh made flour tortillas in Southern California are just better than everywhere else in the U.S. So a good burrito provides flavor from the fillings, and also flavor from the wrap itself, in a way that all the parts just complement each other.
- Ensenada style fish tacos (yes, I know this originates south of the border but it is "local" to the general region). There's just something refreshing about fish tacos with a crunchy cabbage slaw, fresh lime juice, a crema-based sauce, eaten outdoors. Can't beat it.
New York:
- Bodega style breakfast sandwich. The basic concept is universal across the U.S. (egg, a breakfast meat like sausage or bacon, and cheese on some kind of roll, bun, or even bagel, griddled with generous amounts of butter), but something about the New York bodegas just make these taste better when you're on the go.
Chicago:
- Deep dish pizza. Looks kinda dumb, but it's delicious.
- Chicago style, "dragged through the garden" hot dogs. Every component makes this ensemble great.
- Italian beef sandwiches. I don't know why these aren't more popular outside of Chicago. Get it dipped, get a little messy with it.
Pecan pie. Easily my favorite American dessert.
I love a well done pecan pie but I find myself avoiding it because you never know when some Karo jelly with a few pecans thrown on top horror is going to be what is served you.
I’d go Chicago tavern style pizza over deep dish. Great list though
Does British curry count? Cornish pasties are good too. Also cheese but that is more of an ingredient than meal.
As an Australian, I'm going to say Pavlova because it's the only thing that comes to mind when I think of favourite foods
I call bullshit on new zealand's claim with their so called unnamed chef that probably didn't even exist
I haven't had pav in such a long time. I reckon it's time I learned to make it.
Does chicken salt count as Aussie cuisine? Because who would ever go with regular salt if you're given the choice?
Edit: I just thought of another one, more a Tasmanian specialty since moving here: scallop pie. It tastes luxurious and basic at the same time, subtle and flavoursome, a bit of everything in one convenient package.
Indian with a sweet tooth here. My vote goes to Halwa. It is a broad category of sweet dishes that can be made using different ingredients and each one of them are delicious in their own ways. They range from quick ones made of whole wheat flour, samolina or gram flour to tedious carrot and dry fruit ones. A bowl of home made Halwa is the very definition of comfort food for me.
What about Basundi?
Asking a person with a sweet tooth to choose between sweet dishes is unfair. I sided with halwa because of its versatility and relative ease of cooking. Basundi is mostly condensed milk so it is more of a dessert while halwa with its carbs can make it a complete meal. But why compare? Let me cook halwa, you cook basundi... let's share and double the fun.
With potatoes and mettwurst! Yum!!! Now I need to make Grünkohl before it's too warm outside to eat kale.
Australia.
Nutrigrain with Vegemite instead of milk
From approximately the french Alps: Ravioles du Dauphiné or Tartiflette
Australian here. I'm going with Vegemite with avo and toast. If I travel for too long, I end up missing it a lot.
Never had it with avo. I'll have to try that out.
Used to be Käsespätzle, but i had too much in december and november that i have grown sick of it.
Now i guess it would be A potato soup & apple noodle (not a pasta. A yeast dough with apple cinamon sugar filling
Hard to say. NZ cuisine is like British cuisine, but it got stuck in the 80s.
The Flat White. But that’s not strictly food.
Or maybe a potato top pie.
Brazil: Feijoada, it is a traditional food that is pretty much "just" pork and beans, but its fucking rad lol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feijoada
Looking at recipes and it seems like a pretty diverse dish. Do you have one you'd specifically recommend?
UK here and the best thing I can think of is a full English in a bun, there's a butty van near me where they taste amazing. it's basically a heart attack in a bun with how much oil is on there but it's so good.
Or, just a simple sandwich, good quality thick bacon on fresh white sliced bread, a little ketchup, buttered, its really hard to beat as a treat. British bacon is unlike bacon elsewhere
Do you mean local like within my own city or regionally/by country?
Countrywide: Hotdogs are the first thing I think of when I think "American food."
Statewide (California): The sour dough bread bowls at the San Francisco wharf are amazing as fuck.
In my city: The best thing here are taco trucks. There's even a whole dedicated parking area for a bunch of them to gather downtown called "Grub Hubs."
I almost mentioned the sourdough bread bowls because SF is known for their sourdough and those are tasty.
It’s really tourist food though. The local soup is Cioppino but I never see it served in a bread bowl.
There's not a lot of things I'm envious about when it comes to the US
But good and cheap tacos are one of them
Palt. Potato dumping filled with meat.
Ghormeh Sabzi - or The story of how my SO got me by my belly. Iranian stew mandatorily served with rice crowned with it's Tadigh crust.
Minestrone. Not local to me, but a great dish nonetheless
Katrafutra, fluffy flat bread from Comoros (specifically Mayotte). Sauce your Kange (zebu stew) with it and it's even more delicious.
Not sure if it's "local":
But the "燒賣"
From Guangzhoug, but the first time I remember eating it in a NYC Chinese Restaurant at a family gathering when we dined at the restaurant. So I assume its probably the Americanized version.
Now I'm in Philly, and I still occasionally have some 燒賣
Its not even like an "Entrée", more like afternoon tea-time snacks.
As a Chinese-American, I haven't even tried much "western food" besides the typical Pizzas, Fastfood burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, and I did have some "Hoagies" (aka: subway sandwitches), and a cheesesteak once or twice. Never had like an actual western "meal".
Idk, I feel like I'm missing out on stuff, but I don't know where to start, because I'm a picky eater... 😓
What do you dislike or avoid?
Mission style burritos are tasty.
I also like California style pizza so long as the toppings aren’t too weird.
The picture in the Wikipedia article for california style Pizza doesn't look very appealing
Too much veg on that one. Scroll down for an egg pizza from Chez Panisse.
Hell yeah!
The Seattle Dog.
Basically, a hot dog with cream cheese and sauteed onions.
Its not as common as it once was, afaik you can only get it from street vendors in a few spots, or maybe way overpay for one at a restaurant or two.
... It is from Seattle, Washington State, USA.
Mmmm. Don't forget the Sriracha.
You know, apparently this is heresy in Seattle, but I'm not a big fan of Sriracha.
Its... ok?
Too sugary for me.
Ontario, Canada. For me it's Shawarma poutine.
Classic poutine is already amazing, and there are all sorts of variations, but shawarma poutine just hits the spot like no other. It still has the fries, gravy, and cheese curds, and they add chicken swarma, hot sauce, and toum (garlic sauce).
Maximum comfort food, especially to watch a movie with in the winter.
Damn, that sounds sooo good
Living in japan. Sashimi/sushi would probably be my current fave. Not shocking, but true. Second would be all the lovely grilled fish and seafood we get here.
If from the US, so for that probably anything tex-mex.
🇨🇦 I feel like I’m supposed to say poutine but honestly…
Beef patty in coco bread! It definitely didn’t originate here but it’s a pretty common street food besides bratwursts.
Now for a truly local pick, Beavertails! It’s like a big flattened donut you can put anything on, ranging from simple cinnamon and lemon, candy, or something savoury like cheese.
Chicken Rice - Singapore
A semi local but a "screamer" is pretty great, it's a slush or slerpy with soft serve icecream on top or mixed in and probably the best answer to the flavourless ice you get at the bottom of the cup
Rootbeer is of course a great slush flavour for this
The screamer sounds a lot like the "gelati" from Rita's from around Philly. Good stuff. But it's all fruity water ice (AKA Italian ice).
Sarmale
Czechia and it's a tie between goulash (the Czech variety, not the Hungarian one) and Vepřo knedlo zelo.
Can you explain the difference between Czech and Hungarian style? I only had the Hungarian type.
Well, they're basically an entirely different meal, that probably shares name only for historical reasons.
The Czech version doesn't contain much vegetables, is a thick paprika-based sauce and has onions. Hungarian is more soup-like in consistency and has some vegetables. The Czech one also has dumplings as a side dish.
The Czech one is slow-cooked until the meat is tender, easily taking many hours to cook if you use beef (as is the tradition, but many people use pork because it's cheaper). Beer is sometimes added for flavour.
Switzerland: Fondue!
From Arizona / Mexico:
Birria, especially Birria Ramen. It's slow cooked meat in a broth of spices and a bit of onion and Chiles. It's fall apart tender, and usually served with melted cheese (Queso Birria). But my favorite version is served on top of Tapatio Ramen. So it's fork tender beef with spicy noodles.
Really great on a cold day.
Funny thing is, I'm from the East Coast of the US, so actually have a bunch of favorites from there that are really worth giving a try too.
Especially a REAL Cheesesteak.
Shaved Ribeye cut thin and grilled on a hot surface for a char. Grilled and charred onions and green peppers. Add it to an Italian soft roll that's warmed, NOT toasted. Melt on top of it either Cheez Wiz (an Aerosolized Cheese snack that's awful by itself) or American cheese. Mix it all together on the bun along with a few slices of Italian peperonchinis and a couple dashes of celery salt.
Incredibly unhealthy, but quite an experience if you ever get to try one (or make one yourself! I'm literally eating one I made for dinner right now haha 😂)
From central Mexico, my favorite is huaxmole (or guaxmole, "mole de huaje"): pork with a sauce made of guaje (Leucaena leucocephala) seeds, green chiles and, sometimes, husk tomatoes. Other recipes use goat meat, red chiles and can be more like a soup.
Green Chiliburger
It's just a cheeseburger with some good local new mexico green chili in it.
yum
With the good American cheese, not that Kraft stuff
I'm not from Lazaro Mexico, but let me tell you that the Mixtas there are the best food I've ever put down my gullet.
Not exactly a dish, but a Pie or a Sausage roll followed by a Lamington.
Aternatively Tim Tams. (I'd like a chocolate biscuit. How much chocolate? Yes.)
I'm Australian
Dark chocolate Tim Tams are the best, I also like them better frozen
I had entirely forgotten about Lamingtons
Chicago Illinois USA here:
The two foods that scream “This is Chicago” to me are deep dish pizza and a Chicago style hotdog (poppy seed bun and a dog with mustard, chopped onions, tomato wedges, sweet relish, a pickle spear, and peppers, then sprinkled with celery salt).
As to which is my favorite, deep dish is definitely more unique and probably the better answer here, but man can I do love when the dogs are just right.
In terms of popular and well known local dishes, the deep dish pizza and Chicago dog are great. I agree with you there.
The one that people outside of Chicago don't know a lot about, that is still a delicious representation of the city, is Italian Beef.
And the one that is uniquely Chicago but isn't going to be winning over people in a blind tasting, is shots of Malort.
I found Malort to be not all that bad. Not something I'd choose as my liquor of choice but not the concentrated hell I expected from descriptions and reactions.
Oh yeah, I could smash an Italian beef just about any day.
And Malort. I mean, it’s awful, but I never say no when offered a shot. I kinda love that our local drink comes with language of “this is will taste terrible, but you have to try it.”
Furikake shrimp chips.
One that's great just to see reactions to the name: leather britches.
But my favorite? There's something very comforting to having a bowl of soup beans. Chili's humble cousin is far more satisfying than it's got any right being.
For a crowd pleaser, though? Cornbread spread with apple butter. Listen to me, now: Do not sweeten the cornbread. Sugar in the cornbread is just cake.
Soup beans and cornbread is a fond memory from my great grandmother's kitchen when I was young.
South London, UK: doner meat and chips. Optional lettuce, onions and burger sauce.
Bagna cauda, from Piemonte Piedmont north Italy
Delicious in winter, a cream made with a lot of garlic e anchovies, eat warm with vegetables or meat
Burritos. Like most burritos.
Pepperoni rolls from West Virginia, and it's not even close. Simple and easy to make, last unrefrigerated, and I can eat about 40 of em if I'm not careful.
I listed them first too, despite never having had them (raised vegetarian.) Ive been meaning to try my hand at making them with some "vegan pepperoni", but I suspect I'd hate it because Ive spent my life avoiding things that taste like meat.
Veggie burger
Fried rice. Any kind, I just love fried rice.
Ohio.
Cincinnati-style chilli (ie., Skyline). It's an acquired taste but once you like it it's like crack.
I worked for them for a few years and make it at home on the otherr side of the world.
A store-made bagel, with 2 over-easy eggs and a thick slice of a spiced ham product called (pork roll) or (taylor ham), a slice of American cheese, and "salt, pepper, ketchup".
Commonly with bacon, sausage, or regular sliced deli ham replacing the meat. Sometimes with hot sauce instead of ketchup. The bagel can be any type, but is often "everything".
NYC area, mostly north New Jersey.
Boston baked beans. To my taste, good ones are cooked low and slow so that the beans almost start melting together, and they should be both sweet and tangy.
Chicago, rosattis pizza
Their bread bowls with tomato soup and cheese are delicious!
But where do you go for pizza?
If it's any consolation, I freaking HATED rosattis when I moved to Illinois, but it grew on me.
Runner up is MOD, love their Dominic pizza
Oh, now you've gone and done it....
Belgium: vol au vent with Fries
Fish and chips
From Maryland, steamed blue claw crabs, or crab cakes if you don't want to pick the shells yourself. Also Chincoteague oysters. Or actually, just about any Chesapeake Bay seafood is great.
Wish all the online sellers weren't run like a cartel. Would love to get some of those shipped across country. But they all want ridiculous prices.
Very, very tough question...
🇵🇹 Maybe Polvo à Lagareiro or Arroz de Polvo. I really like octopus...
Pork butt roast and sauerkraut. It's a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch recipe meant to bring good luck and fortune to the household on New Years. You simply season a pork butt with salt and pepper and put it in the slow cooker with a large container of saurkraut and cook on low til it shreds. Served with mashed potatoes, peas, and pork gravy. Guaranteed to give you a food coma.
For appetizers, I love beet-pickled eggs. It's essential to pickle them for 24+ hours to ensure the pink fully penetrates the egg white.
Whoopie pies are great but I prefer scrapple for breakfast
Denver, CO
We have really good Little Donkeys
It's more of a food/ingredient than a dish, but Chinook salmon. So good. (Washington)
We don't really have that much locally specific food but oh do I love potica. Estragon or walnut.