[Food] Regional Foods

There are two things that - as far as I know - are almost exclusively here in the Maritimes:

Garlic Fingers


I discovered the hard way about the former when I tried ordering my usual pizza and garlic fingers when I had first moved to Toronto. No one had a clue what I was talking about and kept asking if I meant garlic bread or garlic sticks.
There is a pizza shop near me that makes excellent chees-ey garlic bread that looks extremely similar to this.
 


This is the hush puppies that a local catfish place made. They are not the good kind. My brothers called them Lincoln Logs. I don't remember if it was for the looks or the taste.

But I do miss them from time to time.[DOUBLEPOST=1397163266,1397163168][/DOUBLEPOST]That reminds me more East Texas food.

Frito Pies
Fried Catfish.../drool[DOUBLEPOST=1397163387][/DOUBLEPOST]If you have not seen a Frito Pie

My wife loves the Catfish King things... they're not hushpuppies to me. We do the Hushpuppy Olympics here each fall, and those would be laughed right out of the competition.

Frito Pies are a staple of my Friday night football excursions. Love a chilly night with a high school football game, a large Coke and a Pie. I'm ready for fall already.
 
There are two things that - as far as I know - are almost exclusively here in the Maritimes:

Garlic Fingers
Donairs

I discovered the hard way about the former when I tried ordering my usual pizza and garlic fingers when I had first moved to Toronto. No one had a clue what I was talking about and kept asking if I meant garlic bread or garlic sticks.
We have donairs in Winnipeg but I wouldn't classify them as a regional food in my province. Also from what I understand from my friends who have moved to and away from Toronto, they do things a bit different from the rest of Canada hehe.

As for Winnipeg foods:

Winnipeg Rye Bread is pretty well known and I have heard people will import the bread(particularly expat Manitobans.) I love rye bread.

Kubasa and Perogies are pretty popular here due to heavy Ukranian population.


I didn't realize Fat Boy style burgers were a Winnipeg thing but:

http://www.usedeverywhere.com/spotlight-on-winnipeg-fat-boy-burgers/


Maple taffy at Festival du Voyageur gets long lines:



Also Slurpees from 7-11 are a staple among Winnipeggers and are drank all year round. From Wikipedia:

"Worldwide consumption[edit]

Slurpees are offered in many but not all covered countries. Canadians purchase an average of 30 million drinks per year. Manitoba was crowned the Slurpee Capital of the World for the fourteenth year in a row in 2013. 7-Eleven stores across Winnipeg sell an average of 188,833 Slurpee drinks per month. The rest of Canada sells an average of 179,700 per month, which makes Winnipeggers the world leader of Slurpee sales. Unlike their counterparts in America, Canadian Slurpees are not injected with air."

Also:
http://metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/978460/winnipeggers-fill-their-own-slurpee-cups-with-gusto/
 
There are two things that - as far as I know - are almost exclusively here in the Maritimes:
Donairs
Donairs are huge in the West as well. I will give credit to the Maritimes for making the Canadian adaptation of the middle-eastern food (or Greek, as a Gyro is practically the same) (Wiki), but they are huge in the west as well. Mr. Donair, Subcity Donair, to name just two CHAINS that have them out here.


And Sin, Cod Tongue! Had some when we were out there house-hunting. Was actually pretty good.
 
Still trying to inject southern cuisine into the local area, so I'm making gumbo and cornbread for a potluck at work tomorrow. Should be interesting.[DOUBLEPOST=1397611539,1397611393][/DOUBLEPOST]@sixpackshaker and @Tress, I haven't forgotten about your recipe request. Let me get through this week and I'll get it for you this weekend.
 
Lots of local ads flying around for smelt fry's right now. For some reason it's a pretty popular fundraiser in this area. It's basically just fried minnows. I never learned to like them.
 
Speaking of which, I'm back in Montreal at the end of May for 4 days :D
Coincidentally, so am I. Except it's not "back". Hmmm.

As for "best pizza's in the world": dear Celt Z, the Italians would like a word.

As for local food - the obvious ones first:

Belgian Fries: French Fries, but correctly named.
Belgian Chocolate: it's what all the women want*
Belgian Beer: it's what all the men want*
Belgian Waffles: because waffling's what our politicians do best
Vol-au-vent: it may seem strange as this is such a "classic" all over the world, but yes, this is originally Belgian - not French. Again. Bloody French.
Bread. Seriously. There's good bread in France, Germany, most of the Netherlands, and Belgium. All the rest of the world seems only to know how to make crappy mushy whitish stuff only fit for toasting. Yes, even your "regular" bread. Believe me - it doesn't compare. At all.
Speculoos. Type of gingerbread but better.


There's plenty more - many "classic" dishes, usually thought to be "French cuisine" are actually Belgian in origin or have been shaped by Belgian customs and habits.

Special mention: Dürüm

*Not meant in a sexually discriminatory way. please feel free to love both, as I do, unrelated to past, present or future sexuality or gender.
 
Montréal 16 & 17th of May, Ottawa the 18th, Toronto the 19th. That's the nights we're sleeping there, which day we'll spend in which city may vary slightly :)
 
Since they opened one in Morgantown last month, I'm gonna lay claim to the Primanti Bros. sammich as being from "here" :)

That's fries and slaw in there. You're welcome.
 
Not sure it exactly counts as regional food, but I ate at this local chain called Bruxie. They make waffle sandwiches. They are fucking delicious. Highly recommend the BBQ pulled pork sandwich.
 
As for "best pizza's in the world": dear Celt Z, the Italians would like a word.
I was always told that, despite sharing a name, traditional Italian pizza and North American-style pizza are like apples and oranges. Isn't Italian pizza more like an actual pie, mostly deep-dish in a less bread-like crust and a lot of tomato? I'm willing to amend my statement to include an asterisk or the modifier "North American-style".

But I have had the more commonly-excepted North American-style pizza in almost every US state I've been to, and a number of international locations, including Great Britain, Ireland, Canada* and China, and I still stand by my assessment that NY pizza is best. I have known a number of Italians in my life to agree, most of which have tried both.


(*Yes, Jay, some of that pizza was in Montreal, and no, I don't know where it was from because I didn't place the order. 13. YEARS. AGO. I swear to god, if I ever go to Montreal again, I'm saving all my receipts.)[DOUBLEPOST=1397664906,1397664725][/DOUBLEPOST]
Since they opened one in Morgantown last month, I'm gonna lay claim to the Primanti Bros. sammich as being from "here" :)

That's fries and slaw in there. You're welcome.
That's like a mini-version of a Fat Cat! Unless that's not hamburger, then it's more like a Fat....something. I'd have to look at the menu.
 
NY Pizza is the best pizza. That's a fact. The style is the best, and it's best in NY due to the water. While on the subject, I would like to inform people who make Californian style pies that when you feel the need to smother you pizza with toppings all you're doing is trying masking the fact that your pizza is pretty terrible.
 
NY Pizza is a greasy, flimsy mess that you have to fold in half to even eat. It's a street food.

Chicago Pizza is a restaurant food that needs a knife and fork.

Both are fantastic in their own way.
 
I've had italian-style in a place in Calgary, and it was good. Very different than "North American" pizza, to the point I don't compare the two, THAT different.

Never been to N.Y. so haven't had their pizza.


I HAVE been to Chicago, when my brother lived there. Had outright the best pizza I've ever had there. Period. A little hole-in-the-wall place in the 'burbs called Tony's Pizza Peddler's (I think, it was 12 years ago). And yes, after 12 years, I still remember the place. Holy crap good.
 
I was always told that, despite sharing a name, traditional Italian pizza and North American-style pizza are like apples and oranges. Isn't Italian pizza more like an actual pie, mostly deep-dish in a less bread-like crust and a lot of tomato?
Actually the pizzas I had in Italy were very thin crust, tomato, basil and cheese (margherita). I had one that also had anchovies on it at the Vatican. But the crust is so thin and light that you can eat the entire pizza without feeling like you're going to die. It's just a meal rather than a crazy challenge.
 
I HAVE been to Chicago, when my brother lived there. Had outright the best pizza I've ever had there. Period. A little hole-in-the-wall place in the 'burbs called Tony's Pizza Peddler's (I think, it was 12 years ago). And yes, after 12 years, I still remember the place. Holy crap good.
We made a point once of stopping by Gino's East on a Chicago trip back when I was in college. We pooled our money but the best we could do was just a plain old cheese pizza. It was still the best pizza I've ever had. It was deep dish, but it cut, served, and stood up like a pecan pie. The three of us each ate one slice and were done, we took the box back to our room. My buddy who was by to visit ate the last piece in the morning and commented on how good it was. My roommate arrived later that morning, and he actually ate the discarded crusts out of the box. None of that thing went to waste.

--Patrick
 
Actually the pizzas I had in Italy were very thin crust, tomato, basil and cheese (margherita). I had one that also had anchovies on it at the Vatican. But the crust is so thin and light that you can eat the entire pizza without feeling like you're going to die. It's just a meal rather than a crazy challenge.
I'm guessing she's talking about Sicilian pizza, which can be similar to Chicago style deep dish (and Wikipedia claims Sicilian style pizza is somewhat popular in Jersey, so it makes sense)
 
I'm guessing she's talking about Sicilian pizza, which can be similar to Chicago style deep dish (and Wikipedia claims Sicilian style pizza is somewhat popular in Jersey, so it makes sense)
Yep I used to get Sicilian pizza when I lived in NJ, too. Strangely enough I didn't see that at all in Sicily. The area around where my husband was stationed had a pizza that was more like a pie with a double crust rather than Sicilian style like I had growing up.
 

Cajungal

Staff member
Oh my God now I want pizza.

Down here you can try boudin and cracklin. And of course there's all the Cajun food. Thing is, a lot of restaurants serve kind of lousy Cajun food, because they try to make it appealing to a lot of people. That generally means less seasoning (not necessarily spiciness, but flavor too). Your best bet is making a friend and going to their house for dinner.

The worst place in town for seafood is Randall's. People go there to see authentic Cajun dancing, but the food is ridiculous. They think that coating everything in cayenne pepper = authentic. You can't even taste the seafood, which makes me think it's probably not fresh.

Right now the places selling live crawfish are open again, but they're expensive because of all the cold weather we've been having. But a crawfish boil is about as authentic a South Louisiana experience as you can get. Throw some potatoes, corn, and garlic cloves in there. Cold cold beer. Gloves to protect your dry, cracked hands from spice (for me, at least). Best night ever.
 
I'm guessing she's talking about Sicilian pizza, which can be similar to Chicago style deep dish (and Wikipedia claims Sicilian style pizza is somewhat popular in Jersey, so it makes sense)
We have Sicilian all over the place, but I was told traditional Italian was more like Chicago deep-dish. I never thought of Sicilian and deep-dish as the same, since Sicilian is usually a thick but fluffy crust while deep-dish tends to be very dense. Is everything I know a lie?!? (Except that NY pizza is still best, at least until I get to Italy to be sure.) ;)
 
Right now the places selling live crawfish are open again, but they're expensive because of all the cold weather we've been having. But a crawfish boil is about as authentic a South Louisiana experience as you can get. Throw some potatoes, corn, and garlic cloves in there. Cold cold beer. Gloves to protect your dry, cracked hands from spice (for me, at least). Best night ever.
I'm going to do this for my co-workers, except I'm doing shrimp instead of crawfish. Potatoes, corn, greens, cornbread with beignets and café au lait afterwards.

On a good note, the gumbo went over well at the potluck today, until the spiciness hit their wussy Canada palates. Then there was crying. ;)
 
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