# Lesser Known Local Foods **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 15, 2026, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704 "2026-01-15T05:43:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/201 "2026-01-18T16:54:30Z")
I used those to make a melomel one year - called it “The bitch set me up!” mead. Was sublime. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/202 "2026-01-18T17:06:20Z")
Nah, tri tip steak is a staple in the meat case at Meijer here in Michigan. Now flat iron steak is less available and a better tasting cut imo. Any mention of Pasties, upper peninsula meat pies served with gravy aka ketchup. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/203 "2026-01-18T18:41:43Z")
It seems my info about tri-tip is dated. It’s finally spreading across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/204 "2026-01-18T20:10:40Z")
I assumed that tri-tip was just called something else outside of California. It’s not like we somehow discovered a previously unused part of the cow. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/205 "2026-01-18T20:12:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I assumed that tri-tip was just called something else outside of California. Back when I worked on the Applebee’s account, 20-odd years ago, one of their popular dishes (I can’t remember which one) used tri-tip, but they called it something else on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/206 "2026-01-18T20:15:08Z")
I think the distinction is that ranchers on the Central Coast found a way to take a less desirable cut of beef and make it a delicacy using a specialized grill and red oak. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/207 "2026-01-18T20:33:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > There’s a large Amish community that we used to drive through on the way to a country cottage up north. I remember their distinctive horse-drawn buggies but I don’t recall any Amish shops or food or produce stands, though there may have been some. My wife is from Mennonite territory (she has some Mennonite blood) and we have a couple of Amish and Mennonite cookbooks. There was a Mennonite food stand in the food court near the convention center in Philadelphia. The dish from there I haven’t seen anywhere else is pig’s stomach - which is the stomach of a pig stuffed with sausage and potatoes. We had it in NJ because there is a place we could get the stomach. When we moved to California the Housewife’s Market in Oakland had it, but the pig stomach had holes in it, and so wasn’t terribly useful. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Popeye’s is a nationwide fast food chain. While they no longer serve it, for years they had jambalaya. Sit-down restaurants with Cajun food are pretty common all over the country, and they’re all going to serve jambalaya. It’s not something that’s obscure or hard to find at all. > > Etouffee and po’ boys, granted those aren’t nearly as common and I’d concede those as being pretty good examples. But jambalaya is something you could find in a restaurant in any major city, most mid-sized cities, and any good-sized grocery store. It’s a pretty mainstream food item these days. When I moved to SW Louisiana in 1977 jambalaya and etouffee were totally new to me. Yes, they are more common now after the Cajun food fad. I’m going to have Zatarain dirty rice tonight, but it was also pretty much only available in Cajun country then. Po’ boys are basically subs, so I wouldn’t count them as unique, but muffaletta’s definitely. Still haven’t seen them around anywhere. The example I was going to use is boudin, which is only available from a few authentic Cajun restaurants I’ve been to. The last time we went back to Lafayette we had grocery store boudin, good but not like Boudin King. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/208 "2026-01-18T21:53:06Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I was going to use is boudin, which is only available from a few authentic Cajun restaurants Mrs. and I just came back from NOLA, where we’d also done a side trip to Avery Island, where Tabasco sauce is made. We did the tasting menu at the restaurant there at the start of our trip, and started our tasting with boudin, and OMG we fell in love with that stuff, had it repeatedly at various restaurants in NOLA in the following days. Wish it could be gotten near me in the midwest. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/209 "2026-01-19T01:06:55Z")
I just read through this entire thread and cannot believe that Nanaimo bars have not been mentioned. Coconut, graham, chocolate and custard in layers. Named for the town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia where they originated. Magic. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/210 "2026-01-19T01:14:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > did the tasting menu at the restaurant there at the start of our trip, and started our tasting with boudin, and OMG we fell in love with that stuff, had it repeatedly at various restaurants in NOLA in the following days. I fell in love with it (white boudin, not black) from a NOLA transplant friend who’d brought it back with him. Luckily I found a local butcher who’ll have it on hand if I let them know ahead of time. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/211 "2026-01-19T02:11:52Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It’s not like we somehow discovered a previously unused part of the cow. If Wikipedia is to be believed, it was typically considered scrap and just ground up into hamburger, until a butcher at a Safeway with a surplus of ground beef decided to try marketing tri-tip as a separate cut. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/212 "2026-01-19T19:31:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Mrs. and I just came back from NOLA, where we’d also done a side trip to Avery Island, where Tabasco sauce is made. We did the tasting menu at the restaurant there at the start of our trip, and started our tasting with boudin, and OMG we fell in love with that stuff, had it repeatedly at various restaurants in NOLA in the following days. Wish it could be gotten near me in the midwest. When I lived down there you never ate Cajun food in New Orleans, since the only even reasonable place was Don’s, a branch of a restaurant also in Lafayette. Of course during the Cajun craze lots of place opened there to get money from those unclear of the difference between creole and Cajun food. We went there on eating trips often, and ate at Antoine’s Galatoires, Cafe du Monde and had breakfast at Brennan’s before it went downhill. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/213 "2026-01-19T21:29:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > When I lived down there you never ate Cajun food in New Orleans, since the only even reasonable place was Don’s, a branch of a restaurant also in Lafayette. We did get educated about the differences between cajun and creole when we were on Avery Island south of New Iberia. The chef emphasized his food was pure cajun. Damn, it was good. While in NOLA this time we had good meals at Antoine’s and Court of the Two Sisters. Those places make absolutely magnificent french onion soup and turtle soup respectively. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/214 "2026-01-19T21:44:12Z")
I kind of feel like I could travel to Wisconsin and eat for a week as if I’m in a completely different country. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/215 "2026-01-20T03:48:46Z")
turtle soup in NOLA from Commander’s Palace–it used to be popular in NYC back in the day, ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/216 "2026-01-20T05:49:16Z")
When I lived in NYC/Long Island area, the Jewish delis had hot dog knishes (aka - “hush puppies” - but not the southern kind). These were potato knishes, each with a hot dog (Hebrew National) stuck through it. The hot dog was longer than the knish, so the ends stuck out. However, the quality varied with the quality of the knish - the rectangular, mass-produced knishes were not nearly as good as the roundish, freshly-made ones. That, dipped in deli mustard, was quite a treat! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/217 "2026-01-20T08:47:46Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > I just read through this entire thread and cannot believe that Nanaimo bars have not been mentioned. Coconut, graham, chocolate and custard in layers. They’re delicious and not hard to find in Washington State. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/218 "2026-01-20T19:42:34Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > We did get educated about the differences between cajun and creole when we were on Avery Island south of New Iberia. The chef emphasized his food was pure cajun. Damn, it was good. We’ve been to Avery Island several times. My wife worked for a company that made a competitive product, though the factory she worked in did canned vegetables, not sauces. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/219 "2026-01-26T17:57:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, the point of square-cut pizza, in my estimation, is more as smaller portions of pizza to pass around during a party, or to eat at a bar. It edges pizza more towards finger food. Plus if you want to try a variety of pizzas (as there often are at a party), you can have a slice of sausage, a slice of mushroom, a slice of pepperoni without commiting to eating half (or almost half) a pizza. My family and I were just talking about this when reminiscing about a popular pizza place in our hometown. The square cuts were very specifically for parties and especially KIDS parties. Kids will take a slivce of pie-cut pizza, take two bites and put it down leaving half slices of gross, germy, kid chewed pizza everywhere. Squares are the perfect size to get a kid eating the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704/220 "2026-01-26T18:12:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > When Buffalo Wild Wings first launched, they were “Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck,” commonly abbreviated as “BW3.” They eventually dropped the beef on weck sandwiches, They brought them back for a short time about 10 years ago. I had one but don’t remember that it was anything special. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesser-known-local-foods/1026704.md?page=12)