Foods I can't find in my present location and regional specialties.

[Mike in Seattle]

One thing I'm missing in Colorado is pot stickers. These are a kind of dumpling that are usually filled with meat, and are boiled and then pan fried. They are fairly standard fare for Chinese food in California, but I am having a heck of a time finding restaurants here that offer them! [huh]

Safeway and Costco both carry frozen - they're pretty easy to fix from that point!

 

[Viola]

I thought of this thread today as I was at a thing for my brother's school and they catered with soft pretzels and water ice. lol

-Viola

 

[Joie DeVive]

Safeway and Costco both carry frozen - they're pretty easy to fix from that point!

Thanks Mike! I'll have to take a look for them. It may be our only source for potstickers out here!! I will miss having them at restaurants though.

 

[LadyStardust]

I thought of this thread today as I was at a thing for my brother's school and they catered with soft pretzels and water ice. lol

-Viola

At first I thought I had nothing to contribute to this thread, but you reminded me! No soft pretzels here, either, and it kills me! They're so good, and I had such bad cravings when I came back from Minnesota this winter where they have AUntie Anne's and other pretzel vendors on every corner.

 

[jamespowers]

I have complained about this one before---Cactus Cooler. Geez, I used to work for Coca Cola up here and we made the dang stuff in the city where I live. Where does it end up going? The southwest. :eusa_doh: The distribution is so stupid that they sell it in Southern California but not where its made in Northern California. :eusa_doh: :rage:
The QM event means I buy a case and indulge while I am there. Have to make sure the room has a fridge like last year though.

Regards,

J

 

[dhermann1]

Well, of course every New Yorker complains about the lousy bagels they make everywhere outside of NYC, but the one thing I still have fond memories is passionfruit juice. When I was in the USMC I spent 2 years in Honolulu (yeah, poor me). I shared a crash pad with a couple of other guys down on Waikiki, and I would get a lift to work on the morning. There was a vending machine right on Kalakaua Blvd that had papaya, guava, passionfruit etc. I could get a 12 ounce can of PURE PASSIONFRUIT JUICE for 30 cents.
If you look at the various "Hawaiian Punch" type drinks out there you'll see no more than about 5% passionfruit juice. It's the passionfruit that makes the drink, and there is NOTHING like the pure juice. My mouth still waters at the very thought, even after 38 years.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Well, of course every New Yorker complains about the lousy bagels they make everywhere outside of NYC, but the one thing I still have fond memories is passionfruit juice. When I was in the USMC I spent 2 years in Honolulu (yeah, poor me). I shared a crash pad with a couple of other guys down on Waikiki, and I would get a lift to work on the morning. There was a vending machine right on Kalakaua Blvd that had papaya, guava, passionfruit etc. I could get a 12 ounce can of PURE PASSIONFRUIT JUICE for 30 cents.
If you look at the various "Hawaiian Punch" type drinks out there you'll see no more than about 5% passionfruit juice. It's the passionfruit that makes the drink, and there is NOTHING like the pure juice. My mouth still waters at the very thought, even after 38 years.

mmmmm passionfruit...

Its super common in brazil....and thus super cheap......

Have you tried places like Whole Foods Market? Health food stores...they have passionfruit juice there..not for 30 cents....but they do have it...

And some import places have whole bags of frozen puree......try finding brazilian areas of town....they will have it....maracuja (mar-ah-coo-zh-ah)....


Good luck finding it!

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm very surprised that nowhere in this thread have I read about BBQ.

I lived in central TX for 13 years and traveled much of the state - and Texas style BBQ is an education in itself. During that period I also traveled to such paces as Kansas City, Atlanta, Louisiana and other spots that pride themselves on BBQ - but I confess I like Texas style the best.

To a kid who grew up in the Pacific NW, it was a surprise to learn that "REAL BBQ" is smoked. Further, sauce is a side issue. What really, truly counts is how it's smoked, how long it's smoked, and what kind of wood (invariably Mesquite in TX) is used to smoke it. I know Texans who eat their BBQ with no sauce at all, because the way the meat is smoked is sufficient.

After leaving Texas for Colorado, I quickly went into BBQ withdrawal - and most BBQs here really don't understand the concept of smoking meat 12+ hours to get it RIGHT.

Therefore, I bought my own New Braunfels smoker, cleared and bricked a pad for it in the back yard, installed it, and learned to smoke my own meats. Turkeys are a snap - but to make really good brisket (the king of Texas BBQ) is a trick. It's hard to get a big enough cut (3 to 5 pounds, at least) to do it justice, and keeping it from getting dried out over 12+ hours of smoking also requires technique and appropriate foil wrapping.

But it's a great learning task, and I persevere.

Alas! In seeking an internet photo of my smoker, I learned that New Braunfels has been acquired by Char-Broil - but Academy.com still carries a Hondo model:

To go with it, I experienced the great good fortune of learning that Shiner Bock beer (the REAL national beer of Texas) is available here in liquor stores. I keep a half-case in the fridge at all times.

When an ex-Texan has good BBQ and Shiner Bock, the world's problems tend to recede into insignificance.

And when I'm back in the Pacific NW, I often indulge in a nice round of fresh salmon with lemon wedges.

 

[Harp]

Goat, which is a basic staple in Greece, and is only available here
in ethnic neighborhoods. All the snake, lizard, monkey, tiger, rat, octopi,
shark, and other delicacies the Army forced on me are no longer on
the menu. But I love grilled goat meat.

 

[Viola]

Goat, which is a basic staple in Greece, and is only available here
in ethnic neighborhoods. All the snake, lizard, monkey, tiger, rat, octopi,
shark, and other delicacies the Army forced on me are no longer on
the menu. But I love grilled goat meat.

I love goat. The supermarket has it, hidden in a corner. And a pushcart down by school had it, and I looooved that cart.

-Viola

 

[Harp]

I love goat.

-Viola

and a bottle of chilled Domestica?

 

[Brooksie]

I'm very surprised that nowhere in this thread have I read about BBQ.

Page Number One entry #9 I mentioned how I missed Texas BBQ, I grew up in the Pacific NW also, I lived in Texas for almost a year. There is nothing quite like the Texas BBQ, I had some in restarants but most of what I had was right where I lived at the house. I have spent a lot of time around different parts of the state of Texas also and a lot of time in the South in general and the best BBQ was right there where I lived in Fairfield Texas.

LB

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

Comfort Foods

I'm really missing Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch, Abba Zabba, Woodland's Carolina BBQ, SF Sourdough, New York style Cheesecake, Ripe Avacados, side of the road Orange and Veggie vendors, California Mexican food, and Josephson's Smokehouse smoked Salmon and smoked oysters.

*edit - Forgot the Lumpias at the kiosk in Portland's Saturday market.

 

[vonwotan]

A regional dish I miss from family visits is Schlutzkrapfen. These are spinach stuffed pasta pockets, served like "ravioli," without tomato sauce only topped with melted butter and Parmesan cheese. And, while not impossible to find, increasingly difficult to find is Wiener Schnitzel or Cotoletta alla Milanese. Again, no tomoato sauce as we typically find in the US on our "Italian" food.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Hey Pilgrim!! I couldn't agree with you more about BBQ and a Shiner Bock. Them's slim pickins here in Central PA. I've actually found Shiner Bock at the local filling station in Flint Hill, Virginia of all places. Now if I could only find a good chicken-fried steak with cream gravy I'd be set.

 

[Dinerman]

I can't find penguin biscuits anymore.

 

[Emmababy]

i'll send you over a million, they're just glorified bourbons anyway.

 

[Babydoll]

I'm very surprised that nowhere in this thread have I read about BBQ.

Page Number One entry #9 I mentioned how I missed Texas BBQ, I grew up in the Pacific NW also, I lived in Texas for almost a year. There is nothing quite like the Texas BBQ, I had some in restarants but most of what I had was right where I lived at the house. I have spent a lot of time around different parts of the state of Texas also and a lot of time in the South in general and the best BBQ was right there where I lived in Fairfield Texas.

LB

I married a Texan who tends to be a snob where BBQ is concerned. We found a place here (in Seattle) that he said he would put up against any place back home. It's called the Pig Iron. They have Shiner, too. I'm partial to the brisket sammich, but he loves the 3-way combo with brisket, turkey, and hot links with a side of jalapeno-spinach casserole and sweet 'tater fries.

 

[jazzbass]

Moxie -- yes, the classic early 20th century soda/tonic lives on, with a taste best described as root beer mixed with Father John's Medicine, and then squeezed thru the sleeve of an old corduroy jacket. The locals won't tell you this if you're a tourist, but it's actually very good mixed with vodka.

Ah Moxie elixir--I knew there was a taste buried in there that was not necessarily a food product. I think you nailed it with the "courduroy jacket" filtration. Still, I like the stuff. I think of it as the world's strangest root beer like product.

For those brave West coast people who want to sample it, Bev Mo usually stocks it along with Moxie's more normal faire like cream soda and a (very cherry) cherry cola.



bob

 

[Smithy]

This thread needs to be revived as I was thinking about this today.

I am nearly having a fit as I've got huge cravings for foods from back home.

I could murder a good old Kiwi steak and cheese pie, Arnott's Cheddar Shapes biscuits, roast lamb with kumara, and thick sliced white toast hot buttered with Vegemite.

Sorry for that, just had to get it out of my system. I'm back home in the next month or so, so I'm going to stuff myself with those things as soon as I get back




....Oh and hokey pokey ice cream, feijoas, Bluebird salt and vinegar chips...