The Foods of Detroit

[filkertom]

Yeah. I still get Better Made chips, Vernors, Kowalski meats (just got a pound of their corned beef -- the only one I love as much as Zingerman's). I have to get out to the Guernsey Dairy for ice cream at some point, and I love going to Coney Iisland restaurants and devouring a Coney special (hot dog, seasoned ground beef, chili on a bun) and those melt-in-the-mouth onion rings. I've got to try a few items on this list. huskiebear has a long-standing love of the Maurice salad; Anne adores Buddy's Pizza. And, ohhh, Sanders.

What are your favorite local foods and brands? Be sure to give us an idea what region we're talking about.

Comments

[hbruton.livejournal.com]

There's a frozen custard place on Telegraph the Steins take me to that I"m compeletly addicted to. It's so rich and creamy and completely wonderful!

[solarbird]

Four Five from Cascadia:

Tim's Chips. So good, so bad for you.
Barrel nr. 51 BBQ sauce.
Siegel's Bagels. omg so good.
Dilettante Chocolates. Best chocolate sauces I've found in a store, setting aside everything else.
I forgot! Mighty O Donuts, the only cake doughnut I've ever genuinely liked. (I prefer the traditional kind, best exemplified in Seattle by Top Pot, but I'm trying to stick to 'available in stores.') They're goooood.

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

All of these, plus:

Aplets & Cotlets (http://www.libertyorchards.com) -- an Americanized version of rahat locum, or Turkish delight (and this company, founded by two Armenian brothers at the beginning of the last century, also sells rahat locum at least once in a while).

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

And now, number one, the marionberry. The marionberry.

[solarbird]

...wait, what, they don't have those other places?

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

Nope. It doesn't travel well.

[laurensa.livejournal.com]

When I lived in PA, visiting family and friends knew to bring us Vernor's and Pinconning cheese. Now that we are back in the A2 area, the only PA thing I really miss is Tom Sturgis pretzels.

Only been back four months, so Ihave not yet made it to Zingerman's, but it's on the list of things that must be done SOON!

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

There's an Ann Arbor thing you should know about, and fortunately it's sold at Zing's and at Monaghan's Fish Market: Clancy's Fancy hot sauce. Like Tabasco, but with a lot more flavor. For that matter, wherever Tios has moved to is the hot sauce capital of the universe.

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

Tastykakes -- when my sister visited from south Jersey over Christmas one year several decades ago, I asked for a case of apple Tastykakes pies for Christmas. (She came through!)

[laurensa.livejournal.com]

Nope. Hostess is better, Hostess owns my heart. We used to take the foil wrappers from DingDongs and make little tiny golf balls and clubs, and play golf on the breakfast bar.

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but as far as fruit pies are concerned, Hostess is just sugar in dough with a bit of apple flavoring. I was never a big fan of Hostess pies, and now that I'm diabetic, just the thought of one raises my blood sugar 50 points.

This of course applies only to fruit pies. I have no business eating DingDongs either, but I have a higher opinion of them taste-wise. (We used to shove them in the freezer for a nice treat on hot summer days.)

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

It's Better Maid chips for me. :) They taste way better than Lays.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I'm in Chicagoland and there's a small brand of soda that makes a product called "Green River". It's a lime flavored soda that is VERY green (as in so much food dye your crap changes color for a few days) and is good. There's also a local brewery called Two Brothers. I don't like all their beers, but even the kinds I don't like I can tell are well made. It's not that watered down crap that's manufactured that dominate the market. And if you try a kind and don't like it, it's still good for cooking.

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

I <3 Green River phosphates. You can get them at a place called the Courier Cafe in Champaign, IL - don't know where to get them in Chicagoland.

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

It's available at Wolfy's near California & Peterson.

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

Being so close to Philly, AKA the Junk Food Capital of the world, I am now thinking of what are some things I love here.
Tastykakes, especially the strawberry pies.
Herrs chips, or Utz's.
For the iconic Philly Food, the cheesesteak, I love Tony Luke's. They also make great roast pork and beef sandwiches. If I can't get there I'll hit Jim's, or head to Romano's for either a cheesesteak or lunch meat stromboli.
Here in the 'burbs there is a great chain of deli's called Mrs. Marty's. They have a sandwich called a Mischagoss witch has corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver on it.
For soft pretzels, there is nothing like a Federal Pretzel.
Wash it all down with a ChampCherry or Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak.
YIS,
WRI

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

Subway be hanged, I haven't had a real sub sandwich since I moved out of south Jersey in the mid-70s. The best ones were sold by a couple of women who ran a 7-11 next to the high school in the town we lived in. A sub and a soda was something like 50 cents back then. Lots better than whatever they were selling in the cafeteria, I'm sure.

[boywizard.livejournal.com]

The G&R Tavern in Waldo, Ohio (just off Rt 23, 40 min N of Columbus) has a fantastic fried bologna sandwich; spicy, rich bologna, sweet onion, candied dill pickle. I get one two or three times a year, even though I can hear my arteries hardening as I eat it.

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

As it happens, my mother and I just had lunch at Buddy's on Saturday. I didn't have pizza, though - just a meatball appetizer and an "individual" salad that together were both lunch and dinner for me.

So, yeah, Sanders bumpy cake and hot fudge sundaes, no question. And I'm with you all the way on coney specials. Plus fresh-pressed cider, which these days I get at the farmer's market at Kerrytown. Wasem, Krapnick's, and a third name I can't remember are all good, though I still miss Frog Holler.

Heather mentioned frozen custard. There's a place in Brighton, near the Costco, called Jack's that does it right.

The one thing Ann Arbor lacks is a good Jewish bakery. So when I saw that the new Bread Basket Deli at Carpenter and Ellsworth had some of the classics I remember, I had to indulge in an old favorite - seven layer cake.

And of course, so many, many things from Zingerman's.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Zing's rye breads and challah are excellent, but they're much more an artisanal bakery than a Jewish one, and the difference is there.

And I'm making it a tradition to get to the Franklin Cider Mill at least once every fall. I really should get out to Wiard's -- it's been years, and I only live near the place....

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

they're much more an artasinal bakery than a Jewish one

Exactly. Though I agree about the rye (especially the onion rye) and challah, and their poppyseeed hamentaschen are fantastic.

And I apologize to the Kapnick family, whose name I mangled above.

[laurensa.livejournal.com]

My kids were tiny when we moved to PA. This fall will be their first time experiencing a cider mill, complete with fresh doughnuts. They know not what a treat they have in store for them!

They've already concluded Faygo is the best pop in the world.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

At least once during the season I need to migrate back home to St Clair Shores to the Grey Goose Inn for there fresh perch. Nothing like it anywhere

And since I count it as still part my stomping grounds gotta get over to Windsor to the Tunnel BBQ. Nothing like it

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts™ - used to be a Southern thing, but got out.

Tastykake. Philly original, but exported.

Pike Place Brewery beer, specifically Kiltlifter (it's a Scotch Ale).

Pagliacci's pizza. Made with as much local stuff as they can With gelato. :)

Seattle roll. Lots of places make'em. Salmon, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, fish roe, in a maki roll.

Eggs Seattle: English muffin, smoked salmon, hollandaise (instead of ham and cheese).

Mellow Mushroom pizza, out of Atlanta. oh, my.

Orca Bottling, makes old-school sodas: Double Cola, Bubble Up, Kist...

Greetings from the Beer Capital of America!

[capt-video.livejournal.com]

Which for me means Schlafly's (http://schlafly.com/index.html) Great beer, great food (nothing better on a cold winter night than a glass of their Christmas Ale and a bowl of bison stew, summer weather demands a Kolsch and barbeque). Did I mention their commitment to being green?

And if you've got beer, you need pretzels (http://guspretzels.com/) My husband gets these on the way to work everyday (he hates Mondays... no pretzels!)

I live in a neighborhood called The Hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hill,_St._Louis) so I would be remiss if I failed to mention toasted ravioli (deep fried ravioli served with marinara sauce for dipping). I like Cunetto's best (http://www.cunetto.com/) but Favazza's (http://www.favazzas.com/) is less likely to be packed to the gills... and they have deep fried artichoke hearts!

Dessert? Glad you asked! Ted Drew's Frozen Custard is our neighborhood custard stand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Drewes) a great place to eat frozen custard and people watch. Try one of the specialty concretes!

Want to sit down and enjoy your dessert? Try Crown Candy (http://crowncandykitchen.net/) Best chocolate ice cream in the world!

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

I'm in Boston, and, next door, Cambridge used to be a confectionery powerhouse. (East Cambridge, the part without the university.)

So, Squirrel Nut caramels, Mary Janes, and especially NECCO wafers.

Oh, yeah -- Sam Adams beer!

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Speaking for Massachusetts...
Local chips of note are Wachusett Sour Cream and Onion, which kick the tail of any other sour cream and onion chip on the block.
While I don't drink it currently because of the high fructose corn syrup, Polar Beverage Co. has a Golden Ginger Ale that I rank right up there, and they sell it in liter bottles.
My current favorite ice creams come from Christina's, a small shop in Cambridge. Their products are to maim for.
Oh, and an unusual one: there's a pickle place in Worcester MA called Regal. They put some fine New York City pickles to shame and I have the in-laws to prove it - they live right next to one of the best delis in the city and I have the better pickles. Some of the best half-sours I have ever tasted, and probably the supplier of the formerly-kosher Worcester deli back when I was young, the place was kosher and had killer pickles.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Koegel's only sells their quality meats (e.g., Vienna snappy-casing hot dogs) within Michigan; so even though I shop Meijer's down here in Columbus OH, I still have to self-import my Koegels from Michigan.

As for Massachusetts, things I miss are linguiça & chourico, Portuguese sausages that haven't diasporized as far as I have yet. Also, Drake's Ring Dings and Ring Ding Jrs, and Smucker's Guava Jelly (although Ii found a good substitute, finally, on the Mexican foods shelf).

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

I miss New York bagels.

They don't sell bagels here. They sell round bread that they CALL bagels, but it's not the same thing.

I also miss Grey's Papaya hot dogs...

...and New York pizza.
This is NOT "New York Style" pizza. No place that calls it that is anywhere close to the real thing.

Hmm... I am sensing a 6-hour (each way) Chinatown-bus ride in my not too distant future...

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah - Better Made chips rock! And Vernors (I still remember when Vernors had a kick - so much so that, when you first opened the bottle, you started sneezing). I haven't had Kowalski meats in a long time - next time I visit the parental units, I'll have to pick some up. (Speaking of that, they used to live just down the street from Guernsey. Yow! In the Chicago area, Oberweis icecream is the only thing that even comes close to Guernsey icecream.) Stroh's icecream used to be really good, too (they made *much* better icecream than beer, as I recall). And absolutely nothing can compare to the 'snap' of biting into a Coney Island dog...

[terriwells.livejournal.com]

South Florida region: Skyline Chili. Oh yeah, you can get it in Cincinnati too, but they have two of them down south (a 4-hour drive for me these days, darn it). Not burn-your-mouth hot; just very flavorful, no beans if you want it without beans, and served over spaghetti with cheese (ah, a three-way!). Not enough for you? Get it with beans or onions, or beans AND onions (a four-way or a five-way, respectively).

And Key lime pie. No, *real* Key lime pie. Which, as any true Floridian will tell you, is YELLOW, not GREEN.

Up here we have a hole-in-the-wall-looking restaurant called Redwing...go indoors and you discover it's fine dining, with exotic meats like elk, quail, and more. Try their Hunter's platter of seasonal game...and DO save room for dessert. They do a citrus cake that tastes like a creamsicle...and I guarantee you'll want to go back multiple times to try all of their other desserts. They list Roadkill on their menu, and describe it "anything killed within a mile of the restaurant." They *insist* it's a joke, but Judy's warned them that if she ever runs over a deer near them, she's coming to the restaurant with it strapped to the front of her car, and they'd *better* have someone on hand to prepare it. (Hell, they *have* served deer, so they have no excuse).

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I have not yet found those two Skylines in Ft. Lauderdale, but I will. Oh yes, I will. :)

And our place like Redwing is actually a small chain of restaurants, none of which have the same name. Think of a gourmet Michigan game restaurant if it was a sports bar owned Gaston ("I use antlers in all of my decora-a-ating...").

[poltr1]

As I've often said on my LJ, you can take the man out of Buffalo, but you can't take Buffalo out of the man. On my return trips, I'm sure to visit Anderson's Custard for beef on weck (aka kummelweck, a roll with kosher salt and caraway seeds on top), Ted's Hot Dogs for charcoal-grilled hot dogs year-round, Bocce Club pizza, and Mighty Taco for tacos and burritos. I'd go to Duff's for chicken wings, but I can rarely get a parking space there.

[j-e-richards.livejournal.com]

The Cincinnati ice cream store, Graeters, just released their summer peach ice cream which is heaven...

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Faygo creme soda, yum!

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

Mustard sauce from Melvin's BBQ in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The mustard sauce they have at the BBQ joint in Lawrence is too vinegary.

Butterbean soup from Taylor's Chili in Carlinville, IL.

Here in Kansas City...

Kansas City-style BBQ from Oklahoma Joe's on the Kansas side of the metro. (Don't recall if it's actually KCK, Mission, or something else).

A concrete from Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard.

Boulevard Pale Ale.

Shandy from McCoy's Public House.

Chicago

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

Leona's Italian Restaurants
Dave's Italian Kitchen (Evanston)
Czerwone Jabluszko (Polish buffet) (http://www.yelp.com/biz/czerwone-jabluszko---red-apple-restaurant-chicago)
local Chicago hot dog joints
Devon St. Indian restaurants

I fully admit that I generally omit onions & sport peppers from my "Official Chicago Hot Dog™", and that I'm not crazy about poppyseeds on the bun. And while I LOVE pizza, "Chicago Pizza™" is not my favorite format; I prefer thin crust.

Re: Chicago

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I used to hate poppyseeds on the bun. I am a mature enough foodie now that I want to at least try them again. But toasted sesame seed or onion is still Da Bomb.

[banjoplayinnerd.livejournal.com]

Seattle has several shops that feature piroshkys. My favorite is the beef and cheddar, although cream cheese and salmon and potato, mushroom and onion are close runners up. My favorite place sells a piroshky-ish pastry made with sliced apples that I should never eat as much of as I do.

[debber5.livejournal.com]

Kalamazoo, Mi. area. Mancino's for grinders (hoagies or your prefered word for that type of sandwich). Their pizza is good also. Godfather's Pizza has a unique flavor.
We used to have Bemo's potato chips. but they've been gone for years. On the other hand, even I will have an occasional beer from some of our local micro-breweries-Bell's is the one I can think of now.

[debber5.livejournal.com]

And thanks to a friend, I discovered Sprecker's soda-cream soda, orange soda, root beer. They're from Milwaukee but are marvelous.