Dan Wallach was recently near me and we met up. Initially, we were going to grab breakfast somewhere, but that ended up being impossible, which was too bad, as I was going to take him to a local place (Big Ed's) that served great local food breakfast.

Anyway, I mentioned to him that they had brains and roe, but that I usually got the country ham. But he had no idea what country ham was, something I hadn't considered. (For the record, it's a dry, salt-cured ham. Very salty -- you have to soak it in water before cooking it, and even then there's still a lot of salt left in it. Same thing as a Virginia ham.)

Here in North Carolina, we also have our own peculiar brand of barbecue. (Actually three, usually pulled pork with either a somewhat spicy vinegar-based ``sauce'', a tomato-based sauce, or a mustard-based sauce.)

What other regional foods are out there that we've never heard of? (And I think we've covered the barbecue issue before, really.)

Another thing that I think is a regional peculiarity is that a real Southern breakfast (although you seldom see it anymore outside Big Ed's) is served with a tomato slice, like in England. No Heinz baked beans, though.

Did breakfast tacos start out as a regional thing somewhere? I don't recall them in Arizona when I grew up and certainly not in New England in the 90's. Now they seem to be everywhere I go...

What exactly is a breakfast taco? Here in california we've had breakfast burritos for years, but I've never seen a breakfast taco.

Matthew

It's hard to know what stuff is regional, as it's just "normal" here! I know iced tea is particular to the south. Are Fajitas a well-known food outside of Texas?

Like a soft taco but usually with eggs, cheese, and meat, sometimes black beans, too. These aren't a burrito because it uses taco sized tortillas

On this topic somewhat, we have an exchange student from Russia staying with us for the year. It’s been great fun introducing her to all sorts of new foods she’s never had before (her eyes bulged when we fried a Turkey this weekend).

I asked her if she’d ever had a hamburger before and she said “yes”, but after some questioning I realized she’d only ever had McDonalds. That very night I grilled up some real hamburgers and she couldn’t believe the difference.

Well, since I've been travelling between Williamsburg and northern Virginia for over four years now, I've noticed regional differences between even these seemingly proximate locales. But that's probably because northern Virginia is like a different state.

The biggest difference comes at breakfast (my favorite meal by far). Anything past about 50 miles south of Washington DC is grits country. I hate grits. Every time my family and friends go out to a restaurant for breakfast in Williamsburg, they're shocked when everyone at the table asks for hash browns instead of grits. Can't stand em.

I'm sure there are more examples, but I can't think of any right now. I haven't had the money to eat out recently

This is what I gathered on the breakfast burrito/taco issue...

If it's wrapped in a flour tortilla, it's technically a breakfast burrito.

If it's wrapped in anything else, it's called a breakfast taco.

This is the trend I've noticed. I think, generally, if you get breakfast from a tex/mex or new mexican place then they're most likely going to call it a breakfast burrito. But, if it comes from more of a Mexican cuisine place that serves tapas, etc... then it's most likely going to be called a breakfast taco.

In NM if it's a breakfast burrito, then it has green/red chile in it. Anything else just isn't right.

- trs

Are Fajitas a well-known food outside of Texas?

I would imagine Fajitas are nown pretty much anywhere there's a Chili's. Which is pretty much everywhere - except for Montana for some reason.

- trs

We used to get "bologna boats" served for lunch in North GA.... A slice of bologna with an icecream scoop of mashed potatoes on top and then topped with a slice of velveta...

Heat just enough to melt the velveeta and enjoy!

Uh. What's brains and roe? We've got a thing called roe over here and it's like a fish egg cake

Well, roe is as you described, and brains is calf brains. Boiled, then fried, IIRC.

Honestly, I've never ordered this, and I've seldom seen anyone else do so, so I don't really know the presentation. The roe may be loose instead of in a cake, and I don't really know how the brains are prepared or presented.

ew

- trs

except for Montana for some reason

true, ive never seen a chilis in montana and i lived there for 21 years. but i do think my mom made the best fajitas ive ever tasted. in great falls theres a place called 'jakers' that makes really good fajitas as well.

i would try brains. im willing to try any food at least once.
kangaroo steaks are awesome

In Maine we used to pick "fiddlesticks" behind our house and have them as a vegetable. They are a type of fern that grow near water and curl up to look like the head of a violin. You clean them by wacking them against your finger and making them uncurl momentarily, releasing the gunk inside, then boil them and serve with butter. I don't know where else they grow, but I've never heard of anyone else eating them outside of Maine.

Those would be young fiddlehead ferns, and they're a great spring dish. I've had them many times in NH, VT & upstate NY. I've never heard them called fiddlesticks before.

-Zeke

Burritos are traditionally made with a larger, flour torilla and are rolled. Traditional Mexican burritos don't use rice that is appearently an American addition.

Tacos are traditionally made with a smaller corn torilla and are simply folded in half. In Mexico tacos almost always the meat is beef.

According to a Mexican collegue of mine, the important disctinction is the rolled, round shape versus just folding the torilla in half. Everything else gets into the grey areas.

One of the regional specialties is the Baja style "fish taco", typically a white fish quickly deep-fried (like tempura) with cabbage and a white sauce. grilled fish is also used on occasion, and one bar around here serves a fantastic taco with grilled shark.



--Nathan

Here's another regional food: scrapple. A Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast sausage made from ground pork and grain, cooked in a loaf shape and then stored. Cut into slices and toss in a cast iron frying pan for a while on each side. In the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area frequently topped off with ketchup.

--Nathan

Actually, I've never heard of them being called fiddlesticks either. I think that I got a few past memories confused . They are fiddleheads.

boudin, crawfish, and po boys.

I'm a born and raised Philadelphian, so I must chime in here and say that scrapple is the absolute worst "food" you can ever imagine eating. Even if you don't think of where the stuff comes from (think about the root of the word "scrapple" and imagine where "scraps" of pork come from) the stuff is just terrible, ketchup or not. There's probably a reason the Philly cheesesteak and the Philly soft pretzel have migrated elsewhere, but scrapple hasn't really caught on anywhere else...

and nothing beats a bowl of grits loaded with cheese, tony's creole seasoning, and tabasco sauce.

boudin, crawfish, and po boys

Amen. Nothing better than a dripping roast beef po-boy. Dressed. Although a french fry po-boy comes in second. I assume you've seen the "you know you're from New Orleans" list.

mmmm cheese...
mmmm seasoning...
mmmm tabasco...
ewww grits!

Reminds me, I'm due for another Cheerwine trip...

Oh for the love of god....somebody kill this thread now.

Scrapple, breakfast burritos, poboys, crawfish, cheesesteaks...

Guess how many of those things you can get in France? I won't even get into what I actually got when I ordered andouilette sausage thinking it was in some way related to andouie sausage.

As far as scrapple goes, maybe it is an acquired taste but we use to make our own when I was kid. Its one of the tastes from my childhood that I crave on a regular basis.

I'll throw in decent gravy & biscuits as regional favorite that doesn't travel well. Pizza is another one that I'm amazed by. How one locale can elevate it to a culinary art form and in another, its cardboard with cheese.

Another for the New Orleans list, Cajun Eggnog Daquiris.

Oh well lunch time....I feel I will be disappointed.

For those of a sensitive stomach stop reading now.

In scotland the land of the fryer you can buy certain things that boggle the imagination.

The deep fryed pizza which is a nasty frozen pizza and it is deep fryed letting the bottom absord all the oil and lard etc.

Another chip shop special is the deep fryed mars bar which is a mars bar which is battered and then deep fryed. Scarely enough invented about 10 minutes drive from where i live.

A pie roll which is a scotch pie inside a bread roll.

And they wonder why the scots have a higher heart disease rate then anywhere else.

Ah, yes, but on the other hand: Haggis and Neeps, and that sausage meat and fruit pudding at breakfast, together with Clooty Dumplings - nothing wrong with that lot.

Scrapple, breakfast burritos, poboys, crawfish, cheesesteaks...

Guess how many of those things you can get in France?

You are trolling, right? I mean, saucisse seche, Livarot cheese, cassoulet, rillettes, pave d'ane, confit de canard, bouillabaisse... guess how many of those things you can get in England?

Oh well lunch time....I feel I will be disappointed.

Are you sure you're in France?

Peter