I wish like HELL I could get good Eastern North Carolina barbecue here in Northern Cal. And I don’t mean that stuff that calls itself Eastern NC BBQ - I mean the real stuff that you get in weird little hole-in-the-wall places in NC, where it’s served with Brunswick stew and slaw (NOT cole slaw, slaw) and hush puppies. I double dog LOVE that stuff, but as far as I know, you gotta be within 2 hours by car from Lizzard Lick, NC to get it.
Dayum. Now I’m hungry.
Jack n the Box. Every time I go home, I eat it whether I am hungry or not. This is a college town - Jack n the Box would make a KILLING, especially at night! Great drunk food! I’m glad we at least have Sonic.
Good restaurants? I still haven’t found one here. I miss good pizza, good “bar” food (greasy and fatty - I miss the Locker Room with it’s fried cheddar cheese balls!) anything not crappy. Every place but Booches I’ve eaten at here has been dismal.
H&M. A bigger Target (though I am thankful we even have one - this is a Wal Mart town).
Fresh seafood. Sure, we can get quick frozen stuff, but it isn’t the same. Near the coast, you can get fish and shrimp that was swimming a few hours ago. My dad used to chuckle at folks that ordered Maine lobster in Florida.
Around here, if you know some fishermen, you can get batter-fried bluegill in somebody’s garage (if you bring the beer.) That’s heavenly, but it isn’t safe to eat it often. We aren’t quite as far as possible from the oceans and the Guff, but we’re close.
There’s no Sonic anywhere around here. Why would you play those commercials all the time and leave your customers confused and helpless like that? I can’t even decide if I like it or not.
Wow, a place with good catfish would be nice. Otherwise this city is well blessed, I think.
What I really want is some Coco Garapiñado. Will that alluring foodstuff ever pass my lips again? 
:eek: That’s what I guessed it was. I went to the Chinese restaurant in North Andover when I used to visit the Western Electric plant there - no chow mein sandwiches.
I must say that this is the only thing I have ever run across to make me glad that I now live many thousands of miles away from New England.
When I was in college, I lived practically next door to the old wooden Joyce Chen’s on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Suffice to say, no chow mein sandwiches there either.
Beer, beer, and beer. I do think both Sierra Nevada and Craftsman turn out really fantastic beers, but I miss the stuff I drank on the East coast.
I want:
Magic Hat
Long Trail
Otter Creek
Anything from the Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington
Catamount
Yum.
I’d like a right and proper Harvey’s. Not one that’s been added to Home Depot as an afterthought, but a freestanding Harvey’s, within a reasonable distance of home.
After having sampled the Drippyburgers of Carl’s Jr in California, I’d like to see them cross the border and choke my arteries even further.
I’d also like it if restaurants of all types in Alberta realized that fries require vinegar. In Ontario, every restaurant that has fries with any dish has vinegar, sometimes both malt and white, usually already on the table by the salt and pepper. Here in Alberta, a request for vinegar for the fries results in either a “We don’t have that” or a “I’ll check,” followed by a ten minute search in the kitchen while the fries get cold.
They carry them at Publix when they’re in season. I bought some a while ago but they’re waaaaay expensive.
I love Checkers fries, but I heartily disrecommend the Deep Sea Double. Just don’t.
And What Exit?, I cannot imagine living without a Sweet Tomatoes nearby. :eek: What would be the point?
As far as things we don’t have around here, I need an IKEA and I’m told I would love Trader Joe’s. Most of the common ethnic groups are represented in our local restaurant scene, and I can’t think of chain stuff I’ve loved when I’ve been traveling that I missed when I came home. So just IKEA.
There used to be a Harvey’s across from Marlborough Mall on 36th. Also, on 17th Avenue SW around 20th Street.
I’m trying to think of something I can’t find in Manhattan…
Oh, I haven’t yet seen a Wal-Mart. I always wanted to go to Wal-Mart, just to see what the fuss is about.
Oh, yes. And smoked salmon, especially the jerky kind. (Is it okay to call it Squaw Candy? That’s what they called it in Seattle, years back.)
Fresh corned beef, flank steak, and chicken hearts. I have no idea what they do with the chicken hearts around here, but I can’t find them anywhere.
I also miss J. K. Gill’s, for their wonderful assortment of writing instruments.
Our cheese shop closed a few years ago. I like super ,super sharp cheddar.
Well, you’ll want to add a slice of velveeta cheese and some thousand island dressing.
You can get crabcakes in Reno (it’s less than four hours to San Francisco), but there’s nowhere you can go to get an honest to god, Baltimore style crabcake made with more backfin than breadcrumbs. The dungeness crabcakes out here just don’t cut it.
Krispy Kremes. I’m sure there’s one somewhere in Chicago, but there are none in our neighborhood. Just as well - if there were one in walking distance, I would no longer be able to walk. 
I would happily trade several of our mexican resturants for just one Detroit area Coney Island/Greek place.
I would also love St. Louis favorites Imo’s pizza, White Castle, and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard to follow me wherever I choose to move in the country.
Krispy Kream.
I kind of doubt your cite, Ginger, especially since “Les donuts de Tim Horton” just isn’t French. (“Doughnut” in Quebec French would be “beigne” or “beignet”.)
Everything. (Well, almost.)
The short list would be to note what I can get. Some of the stuff I crave when I go back to the States is:
[ul][li]Decent pizza; Woodstock’s is preferred, but I’ll take Pizza Hut if I have to. Any American pizza (other than Domino’s) is better than the best Japanese pizza I’ve had. And, yes, I’ve never voluntarily ordered a squid ring, corn, and broccoli pizza with mayonnaise sauce, so that doesn’t even count on the side of not-good pizza in Japan.[/li][li]Mexican food; a couple places in San Diego where I used to live have some killer non-standard dishes like fish tacos and burritos. One place served nachos de pollo asado that probably have your USRDA of fat for the next three days and have half your daily total calories in one delicious box.[/li][li]In ‘n’ Out burgers. Mmmm Double-Double.[/li][li]Fresh, ripe, navel oranges.[/li][li]Turkey or roast beef sandwiches. I like Togo’s sandwiches better than most, but even having the lunchmeat to build my own would rule.[/li][li]Barbecue sauce. A back yard or porch or even a park to grill in would be nice too, while I’m wishing for stuff.[/li][li]Beer that isn’t a metallic tasting lager. Sapporo, Asahi, and Kirin all taste like ass, even when they’re pretty fresh. I love the microbrew trend in the US. I used to go to a couple places that had dozens of beers on tap, most of them really good, and would sample a few different ones every time I went. I really, really miss that.[/ul][/li]
On the other hand, I can occasionally get good sushi, and I know at least one place that makes divine tempura. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to get most of the good nihonshu (otherwise known as sake), shiso-katsu (breaded, fried pork cutlet with a minty herb), or be able to find basashi (raw horse meat) anywhere in the US.