# Foods and/or resturants you didn't realize weren't universal **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 29, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836 "2020-09-29T21:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/61 "2020-10-01T16:17:51Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > More specifically on iced tea, having grown up in North Carolina I was absolutely horrified the first time I ordered an iced tea out-of-state and it arrived unsweetened. > > Just . . . why? Slightly off topic, but your post reminded me of when my very Polish mother first moved to Texas. Delighted to see “tea” on a menu after a couple of years in Connecticut (where tea was a rare drink for furriners like the British) she was utterly confused & disappointed when presented with Southern swee’tea … which is so very far from the hot, bitter concoction she was hoping to receive. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/62 "2020-10-01T16:43:10Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > More specifically on iced tea, having grown up in North Carolina I was absolutely horrified the first time I ordered an iced tea out-of-state and it arrived unsweetened. > > Just . . . why? I feel the same way but the exact reverse. My mother’s sun tea was never sweetened and I don’t understand why anyone would add sugar to a perfect beverage. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/63 "2020-10-01T16:54:02Z")
Frappe pronounced frap in New England (particularly in Massachusetts). I grew up there and loved them. You have to ask for a milkshake elsewhere in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/64 "2020-10-01T16:58:44Z")
Canada has a few foods that are (or were) less popular elsewhere: butter tarts, toutiere (a pork pie best with added beef and veal), poutine, spruce beer, bagged milk. A dull list. I guess the thing which sticks out the most is French Fried with _vinegar_. In other countries, you can settle for mayonnaise or find new uses for salad dressing. There are certainly American specialties I would love to see here. Cheesesteaks, Italian beef sandwiches, Cioppino, Lobster rolls… ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/65 "2020-10-01T17:05:33Z")
> [@solost](#): > > When I was a kid growing up in the Detroit area I assumed White Castle was a national chain like McDonalds and Burger King. Then a girl I was friends with moved to Virginia, and I found out from her letters how much she missed White Castle burgers (turns out it’s a midwest thing); Not just the midwest. They’re all over the NYC area as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/66 "2020-10-01T17:44:07Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Canada has a few foods that are (or were) less popular elsewhere: butter tarts, toutiere (a pork pie best with added beef and veal), poutine, spruce beer, bagged milk. A dull list. Ever since watching Letterkenny I’ve wanted to try All Dressed chips, but just can bring myself to pay the exorbitant price of having a bag of chips sent air mail and go through customs over national boundries. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/67 "2020-10-01T17:51:13Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > watching Letterkenny I’ve wanted to try All Dressed chips, but just can bring myself to pay the exorbitant price of having a bag of chips sent air mail and go through customs over national boundries. I’ve seen those at Wal-Mart and Target in the US before, and I have bought them. It seemed like Ruffles was trying to introduce then in the US. I haven’t looked for them lately, So I don’t know if it was just something like a limited trial, or whether or not they are available nationwide, or if they’re still available. ETA: [https://www.ruffles.com/products/ruffles-all-dressed-flavored-potato-chips](https://www.ruffles.com/products/ruffles-all-dressed-flavored-potato-chips) ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/68 "2020-10-01T17:51:52Z")
Do you mean a slab of beef, often breaded, hot peppers, sometimes sweet peppers and onion, sometimes chopped olives, usually a thick hunk of provolone, and a good smattering of tomato sauce? Absolutely ubiquitious here in toronto. ETA I see Chicago style is different… ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/69 "2020-10-01T17:52:47Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Canada has a few foods that are (or were) less popular elsewhere: butter tarts, toutiere (a pork pie best with added beef and veal), poutine, spruce beer, bagged milk. A dull list. > > I guess the thing which sticks out the most is French Fried with _vinegar_. In other countries, you can settle for mayonnaise or find new uses for salad dressing. > > There are certainly American specialties I would love to see here. Cheesesteaks, Italian beef sandwiches, Cioppino, Lobster rolls… Are you kidding? Y’all have poutine: French fries. Gravy. Cheese. Add a beer and you’ve created the perfect guy meal. (And I strongly suspect beer played a significant role in the conception of poutine…) ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/70 "2020-10-01T17:56:24Z")
First time I went to a Chinese restaurant in Pennsylvania, they put a basket on the table, sort of like when you go to a Mexican restaurant and they put tortilla chips and salsa on the table. I had never seen fried wonton strips. Supposedly they are in all the Chinese restaurants. I had never been to a Chinese restaurant which had \< 80 % Chinese people in it. My parent’s neighbors took us to Vancouver BC to get dim sum, and then we would go to dim sum in Seattle, once there were good restaurants there as well. We were often the the only non-Chinese. I had no idea there was Chinese food other than dim sum. And I didn’t know that most people had never been to a Chinese bakery. ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/71 "2020-10-01T18:22:00Z")
Re: curds, as mentioned a few posts above, poutine and fried curds are extremely common here in Canada. East of Ottawa they’re practically a staple. Paczki is guite common in many parts of the GTA. I currently reside quite near to some POWERHOUSE Polish grocery stores that do them amazingly. Starsky, and, Eddie’s. We have muffeleta and giardiniera quite commonly in grocery stores. Toronto is a bit of a different beast though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/72 "2020-10-01T18:30:36Z")
Aha, I get it. Yes, a “half” means half a pint. I think a comma should come between “bitter” and “bread.” That would eliminate any confusion. (“Bread and jam” form a unit, so there’s no need for another comma.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/73 "2020-10-01T18:43:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Ever since watching Letterkenny I’ve wanted to try All Dressed chips, but just can bring myself to pay the exorbitant price of having a bag of chips sent air mail and go through customs over national boundries. Where do you live? They’re readily available here in the Cleveland/Akron area. I got some a couple weeks ago. Not sure if I’ve seen them at grocery stores but they’re at gas stations. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/74 "2020-10-01T19:08:39Z")
> [@Drummond\_Bays](#): > > ETA I see Chicago style is different… > **[Italian beef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_beef)** > > An Italian beef sandwich, originating in Chicago, is composed of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, simmered and served au jus on a long French roll. The sandwich's history dates back at least to the 1930s. The bread itself is, at the diner's preference, often dipped (or double-dipped) into the juice the meat is cooked in, and the sandwich is typically topped off with Chicago-style giardiniera (called "hot") or sauteed, with green Italian sweet peppers (called "sweet"). > Italian beef sandwiches ... ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/75 "2020-10-01T19:08:54Z")
There are those who would say that you were correct when you assumed that was the only type of bbq. I’ve learned over the years to love and appreciate many varieties of bbq, but the Eastern NC version is my favorite. Since we’re vacationing in the Outer Banks as I type, I’m fixin’ to go get some. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/76 "2020-10-01T19:08:54Z")
I’ve had breaded veal, but never breaded beef. Where in Toronto can you buy this? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/77 "2020-10-01T19:46:47Z")
I was probably 15 or so before I realized that tortillas weren’t available in every grocery store in the US. I found out by my mom telling me the tale of attempting to explain to a grocer in Ohio what one even was when she lived there in the 60s. Around that time, I learned how to make them myself, however poorly. I couldn’t imagine not being able to have tortillas, they’re a basic food group. I haven’t gone hunting for them in grocery stores outside of Texas in recent years, but I think they’re a lot more common than they used to be. Maybe not a whole endcap or part of an aisle devoted to them like you have here, but there’s probably at least a bag of shelf stable Mission brand flour tortillas in most stores in the US. Is that the case? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/78 "2020-10-01T19:49:57Z")
Poutine can be great - most places don’t use the squeaky cheese curds they use in Quebec. But it’s not completely different from cheese fries or fries with gravy. The best versions, like all foods, use bacon. All dressed chips (tout garni) and ketchup chips are fine. I don’t go out of my way to eat them. If you ate a sour cream, dill pickle and salt and vinegar chip at the same time, the flavour might be close? Non-Canadians don’t see much in catsup. The best Canadian chips, _Mr. Vickies_ are no longer made. England and France have awesome snacks not cheaply available here. But we can get many of the good/strange Asian ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/79 "2020-10-01T19:51:30Z")
Taco-sized shells were popular enough in Western New York in the early 80s that my mom would occasionally fry hard taco shells from them, of course making me think that I didn’t like tacos because the filling would always fall out when the taco would break. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836/80 "2020-10-01T19:54:24Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The best Canadian chips, _Mr. Vickies_ are no longer made. Would they be different from [Miss Vickie’s](https://www.missvickies.ca/product-categories/miss-vickies)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-or-resturants-you-didnt-realize-werent-universal/921836.md?page=5)