The Taste of a City!

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

For me, Los Angeles is about many things, since I lived there for awhile.

In N Out Burgers (!!)
Astro Burger's Buffalo Burgers OR Ostrich Burgers AND fried zucchini
The Formosa Cafe's Mai Tais

Since I've moved back to this coast I've become a vegetarian, so when I'm in LA in a few weeks I can't indulge in the first three.

 

[DancingSweetie]

Wow, I haven't been to all the wonderful places some of you lucky folks have mentioned. My sweetie johnnydnh took me to New Orleans about 3 years ago and I will always remember the very best martinis at the Bombay Club, and the best fried chicken at a hole in the wall place we found.
As much as I hate Las Vegas we had some great Mexican food and margaritas at the Mandalay Bay hotel.
I also think of sourdough bread and Ghirardelli chocolate when I think of San Francisco, and am close enough to get those when I need to. San Francisco also has the best Italian and the best Chinese food I've ever had.

 

[Kt Templar]

Mouthwatering thread Hem!

It's really difficult choosing one dish in some cities because in some places they just go lot's of food so well.

But let me try.

In San Francisco, you're right the dungeness crab is amazing, I like the Crab House upstairs at Fishermans' Wharf they do a garlic roasted crab platter there that is so good, they also do a crab chowder there that is amazing. I had some beautiful dungeness crab in chinatown in SF too, cooked with salt, pepper and chilli... If you are really looking to pig out on dungeness crab and happen to be in Lake Tahoe, I recommend the seafood buffet Pacifia in Harveys casino mmmm.

In Hong Kong the steamed shell on prawns they sell by the pound and serve with light soy and chillis are sweet and delicious, and they were live up to a few minutes before they get to your table!

If in Vancouver try the steak at Gothams I have never even seen let alone attempted to eat a 24 ounce steak, but the porterhouse there was so tender, perfectly aged and perfectly cooked that I found I ate every last bit. The sushi in Vancouver is amazing too.

Salv, I suspect we live quite close to one another I remember you talking about Murrys in Ham... well there is a Manze's in Sutton if that's anywhere near to you and they make a great mug of tea. But London is fish and chips eaten out of newsprint on Richmond Green sharing a few of the chips with the pigeons.

Paris... well it has to be escargot or french onion soup.

Portugal, didn't know about the Bacalu, will try it next time! The Portugese like lots of offal too but their suckling pig is amazing. So suckling pig in Lisbon.

Edinburgh, deep fried haggis

Bangkok, pho!

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I moved to Omaha from SoCal last year, and how I miss In n' Out!!

Anecdote - We were on our way back from a suare this evening and we got to the corner of Balboa and Devonshire, to our right was an open McDonald's with an EMPTY drive thru; to our right, In N' Out, with a line of cars down the driveway and onto the street! Gotta love the little guy!

 

[Salv]

...
Salv, I suspect we live quite close to one another I remember you talking about Murrys in Ham... well there is a Manze's in Sutton if that's anywhere near to you and they make a great mug of tea. But London is fish and chips eaten out of newsprint on Richmond Green sharing a few of the chips with the pigeons.
...

I'm in Staines, so Sutton is a bit of a trek for me. My nearest pie and mash shop now is Cooke's in Goldhawk Road - my mum is from Hotting Hill so that was our 'local' pie and mash shop. There was a very good place in Ashford last year, just a few miles from home, but it never took off and the owner sold up; and there was one in Kingston a few years ago on the corner of Fife Road and Castle Street - I think there's a pizza place there now.

But fish and chips on Richmond Green! Nice one. I've done that a few times but I've shooed the pigeons away.

 

[Lady Day]

Rice A Roni, the San Francisco Treat

No, kidding.
Because Im one of those veg-a-tear-e-ins, my outlook on what the city has to offer is quite different.

This place has a couple of High Upscale vegetarian/vegan restraunts. Greens, and Melinium (which I live three blocks from ) come to mind.

But for me, a veggie on a budget, I frequent a wonderful vegan Vietnamese restaurant called Golden Era. Its super delicious and they use no egg, dairy, meat, or MSG in anything. AND they are a block from me
They have the best Pho I have ever had. mmmmmmmm....pho.....

LD

 

[Roger]

Portugal, didn't know about the Bacalu, will try it next time! The Portugese like lots of offal too but their suckling pig is amazing. So suckling pig in Lisbon.

Oh you must try the bacalao when in Portugal it is a true delicacy. Yes, suckling pig in Lisbon is excellent.:eusa_clap Also, you must have some coffee when in Portugal, afterall it was us who introduced the coffee bean to Brasil. So who is better to make the perfect cup of coffee than us?lol (sorry for being a little ethnocentric)

Roger

 

[Harp]

Hawaii Luau

Hawaiian deep-pit baked pig is another favorite.

 

[carebear]

I was a guest at a BBQ pig "pick" in New Washington, NC. That's a fine meal, the people make the memories though.

 

[Kt Templar]

When talking about Hong Kong I completely forgot about a huge area... street food!

Whilst you have to be careful where you go and really soft western stomachs many not be able to cope with the local fauna.

The night street markets have an amazing selection from stirfried cockles to different kinds of noodles, there's the morning favourite of steamed sheets of soft rice pasta (cheung fun) that is cut up with sissors and you eat with sesame and hoi sin sauce, wonderfuls stuff. Or the stuffed bell peppers deep fried in a huge vat sized wok that always does a roaring trade outside the MTR stations. More the more adventurous, there the mixed beef offal, (various kinds of tripe liver etc) stewed with turnips (Nau Chap), it doesn't sound or even look appetising but is amazing.



Now in London I wouldn't eat anything sold on the street, avoid, avoid the burger trollys, they are very suspect. The only thing that I'd maybe eat would be roasted chestnuts sold in little paper bags... though you'd be hard pressed to find a vendor in London these days.

And Salv I know the Pie shop you metioned in Kingston I used to love it. It was part owned by an actor... I can't remember who may have been someone from Eastenders or the Bill.

 

[BellyTank]

The taste of London is pie, mash and liquor - a minced beef pie, slightly lumpy mashed potato and a thick parsley sauce, with lashings of vinegar, salt and pepper, and washed down with industrial strength tea.

If any of the visitors in January fancy trying pie and mash during the week of the Boisdale dinner let me know and we can take a trip to Manze's in Southwark.

Hey Salv, I used to dine at the Tower Bridge Rd. shop-
each time I delivered Sarsaparilla to them actually.

The liquor is supposed to have some eel juice in it.
Innit?

B
T

 

[Salv]

Hey Salv, I used to dine at the Tower Bridge Rd. shop-
each time I delivered Sarsaparilla to them actually.

The liquor is supposed to have some eel juice in it.
Innit?

B
T

That must be the special, secret ingredient that Manze's claim is in their liquor.

I have never fancied eels, but apparently my mum had a craving for the jellied sort while pregnant with me.

I so badly need pie and mash now...

 

[matei]

Now in London I wouldn't eat anything sold on the street, avoid, avoid the burger trollys, they are very suspect. The only thing that I'd maybe eat would be roasted chestnuts sold in little paper bags... though you'd be hard pressed to find a vendor in London these days.

Not even these are safe - we bought some recently, on a few occasions, and quite a few were rotten.

 

[Kt Templar]

Not even these are safe - we bought some recently, on a few occasions, and quite a few were rotten.

That's sad, it's not like they are the most expensive thing in the world. My mum discovered some chestnut trees recently and we ended up with buckets full!

As for liquor in pie and mash shops... it reminds me of my Canadian cousin. He came over and i sent him away with an oystercard and said go visit Borough Market, try the pie and mash there...

Now he's a teetotaller and when he saw "liquor" he thought it came with a beer or something and declined! For the record liquor in this case is parsley, flour and eel broth cooked into a sauce and is quite nice. You can choose to have gravy with it instead... that's brown gravy not the white stuff with mince you have with biscuits (gack!) .

 

[Panamabob]

Piura, Peru: Anticuchos- A marinated beef heart grilled on a stick. The wood that was used on the grills was smoky. The ladies fanned the wood so fast it made you laugh.

Arequipa, Peru: Lomo Saltado (beef loin, french fries, tomotoes, onions and rice) and Cola Escocesa.. Pisco sour.

Montecristi, Ecuador: Seco de carne: Beef stew in a chili/tomato sauce, rice, fresh squeezed juice and all the flies you'd care to see.

Quevedo, Ecuador: Fried chicken and french fries with mayo and ketchup, aji de onions and hot peppers, and a really gold Fanta strawberry. Flan that was out of this world. Or Polla de Prisa, a pollo a la brasa from street vendors.

Any real Chinese restaurant in Quevedo, the Chinatown of Ecuador.

 

[Mojito]

Singapore: Chilli Crab, Salt and Pepper Prawns, real Satay Sticks, and Deep Fried Baby Squid

Scarborough, UK: Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

New York: Hotdogs with everything, Pizza by the slice

Vienna: Roast Suckling Pig

New England: Steamers (never had them anywhere else...they haunt my culinary dreams more than 20 years later)

London: Bangers and Mash, those cheap jugs of Wetherspoons cocktails! (I was often living paycheck to paycheck)

Dublin: Bacon and Colcannon Mash, Duck at the Oliver St John Gogherty, Guinness close to the source (when it's at its best).

 

[Mike in Seattle]

The taste of London is pie, mash and liquor - a minced beef pie, slightly lumpy mashed potato and a thick parsley sauce, with lashings of vinegar, salt and pepper, and washed down with industrial strength tea.

Hmmmm - the parsley-vinegar-salt-pepper sauce idea definitely intrigues me - know of any recipes anywhere? Haven't heard of a sauce (or gravy as we'd call it "here in the States) like that before.

 

[Barry]

Pie and Mash was one of the things I was looking forward to enjoying this January. I also wanted to try a steak and kidney pie at the Guinea Grill. I will make it over in August provided that I am allowed to take vacation by then.

Washington, DC is such a transient city. While we do have many nice restaurants I can't think of one item that really screams "Washington, DC." I guess some people would mention "Senate bean soup" or a "Chili Smoke" at Ben's Chili Bowl.

I miss Boston. I like the fact that I could walk down the hill to a little pizza place on the corner and order a slice of pizza. Sure, some of the places were dives but the pizza was decent.

Barry

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I'll have to toss in Seattle for clam chowder and salmon. Loads of great seafood restaurants around the region - in fact, there are even drive-through fast-food and food court versions of Ivar's. Ivar's has always been great at getting publicity and got in a legal battle with Kevin Costner in 1990 over their Dances with Clams campaign. One of those cases where he claimed he held all legal rights to the words "Dances with" and he lost. I was just groaning at their slogan for this holiday season - "Have a Salmonchanted Holiday!" And it's just not Christmas for me until I've seen Clam Lights. A restaurant in West Seattle, Charlestown Grill, won the world chowder cook-off several years running, but I think Ivar's and Duke's are far better. Personally, I think the lobster-pernod chowder at Duke's Chowderhouse is unbelievably wonderful. And since Barbigirl mentioned it, I'm dying to try the Saltaire in downtown Seattle.

But it's hard to beat salmon simply prepared - broiled with a little vermouth, grilled on a cedar plank, or baked in a foil packet with a slice each of of lemon, bacon & onion, with a bay leaf.

 

[Kt Templar]

I must admit I'm not a great fan of Ivars, I've been there twice. Once about 15 years ago and the food was good enough but when we got back to the UK found that they had charged our credit card twice. We got our money back after a lot of hastle.

I was in Seattle again this year and decided to try them again... they seem to have positioned themselves more up market and as such the prices have become pretty inflated, the clamstrips were sort of dry and rubbery and the clam chowder whilst tasty was not particularly hot, all in all not particularly impressive.

This was the one near Pike Market.