pathlesspedaled

Hey everyone, touring through Tucson right now. We just had a Sonoran Hotdog today and made a little vid about it. Not quite super exotic but an interesting mix of flavors. Which brings up the question, what has been some of the interesting regional foods you've eaten while touring?

https://pathlesspedaled.com/?p=1089

Machka 

-- Australian hamburgers ... quite different from North American ones.

-- Croissants and pain du chocolat delivered to your campsite in France.

-- Patisserie food of all sorts in France.

-- Canadian poutine. Mmmmmm!!!

mr geeker

i dont know if this counts as a regional thing or not, but in Pella they have a pastry called a dutch letter. its shaped like an S and is sort of like a sweet, slightly crunchy breadstick.

imi

French baguette, Greek pommes frites... oh and of course english marmite!

Ekdog

Be sure to have the Mexican food there in Tucson. It's some of the best there is.

staehpj1

It is always fun to sample regional foods, whether that means something exotic or biscuits and gravy. I know that on the TA we also got attached to some of the local chains and brands of "regular stuff" as well. Tillamook dairy products especially yogurt are one example. The Braum's chain is another (ice cream, baked stuff, and better than usual fast food). Mexican food in the southwest, crabs in maryland, and even grits in the south are things that must at least be tried.

axolotl

I'll try just about anything when I travel. I've had so many delicious things, and I don't always know what I'm eating. In Malaysia, my friend & I loved roti for breakfast. Roti can be very different in different countries. In Malaysia, it was an oily bread cooked on a griddle in front of our eyes (usually outdoors) served with either a spicy chili/coconut sauce or sometimes a spicy lentil sauce. We loved it so much we ate it virtually every morning. In Laos, lots of pho, a tasty noodle soup. Night markets in SE Asia are wonderful places to look around and select whatever looks or smells tasty. Thailand has some of the best food you'll ever eat! In one night market there, I got some sweet corn fritters with a satay-like peanut sauce. Scrumptuous! I ate them in Nan in northern Thailand and I haven't been able to find them since.

Mexico is another food paradise, and some of the best stuff is the street food there. Few non-alcoholic drinks can beat a papaya licuado. From a little pushcart I got some amazing gorditas (very different from things of the same name in the USA). Tamales also come mainly from street vendors as opposed to restaurants.

"Rice & curry" is the national dish in Sri Lanka. It's a little like a south Indian thali with lots of different dishes and a huge mound of rice. Street vendors sell wonderful fried lentil "donuts".

In the USA I've had great razor clam chowder on the Oregon coast, clam chowdah in New England. Crab cakes in Maryland. A stack (of pancakes) in a cafe in Colorado is unlike a stack in other states. Dinner plate-sized pancakes! Anything "smothered" (with green chili sauce) in New Mexico or parts of Colorado. Shave ice in Hawaii. Frozen custard in Wisconsin. I had wonderful cinnamon rolls throughout Iowa during RAGBRAI. Cheese curds in Wisconsin & Vermont. Birch beer in Pennsylvania (it's basically root beer, i.e. non-alcoholic). Shoofly pie if you can stand the excessive sweetness.

In Canada, particularly in Quebec, the province responsible for it, you've got to try poutine at least once, a revolting mess of french fries, cheese curds, smothered with gravy. Smoked meat in Montreal. Try a bagel in Montreal and compare it to one from Toronto and see which side of the bagel wars you side with. Montreal bagels have no salt in the dough and taste weird IMO.

Wogster

I live in Toronto, but prefer Montreal style bagels, St. Urbains in the St. Lawrence Market (Toronto) 93 Front St E, does a Montreal style bagel, the key is that they are boiled first and then baked in a wood oven. Fairmount Bagel Bakery - 74 avenue Fairmount Ouest, Montreal has raised the Bagel to an art form.

clasher

If you're in the upper peninsula of Michigan, their version of the pasty is worth trying. If you venture into Chicago, the pizza and hot dogs are good..

hodadmike

Crab cakes in Kent Narrows, MD
Skyline chili in SW Ohio
Barbecue in Clinton, MO
Green chili burritos/omelets/burgers in CO

axolotl

ALL bagels are supposed to be boiled (traditionally in potato water, i.e. water in which potatoes had been boiled in) before baking, whether from Montreal, Toronto, or anywhere else. I believe what distinguishes Montreal bagels from all others is their lack of salt in the dough.

It's funny, I do not like salty foods, but I've found that anything made from dough needs to have a bit of salt in order to taste right to me. Obviously lovers of Montreal-style bagels disagree. Chacun a son gout, literally.

MichaelW

I've toured in Ireland a few times and a pub Irish Stew is a winner for evening meal. One year, chowder showed up on very pub's lunchtime menu, maybe its all those Bostonians visiting the ouwld country.

In Northern Spain in Asturia and Cantabria they do a great spicy mountain stew with beans, pork belly, sausage and more. You can see the link between Cantabrian sailor's food and Mexican rice and beans.

One of the real joys of bike touring is eating your way across the country. I understand the reason for self catering with a stove but I try to avoid it and eat in the local bar or diner.

Neil_B

Crabs in Maryland.
Cheesesteak in Philadelphia and its suburbs. (Don't guy the hype about "authentic" cheeseteaks only being sold in one or two tourists traps - Gino's and Pat's. Most of the area knows how to make them.)
Pittsburgh salad - a salad with meat and french fries. From the same region that brought you sandwiches with cole slaw and french fries stuck in them.

Cyclebum

Gumbo and crawfish etouffee, crusty garlic bread, washed down with brewskies in a Cajun ***** tonk deep in South Louisiana.

MadMabel

Cincinnati chili. Very different from the chili in other parts of the country. Cinci chili is made with the usual beef, chili powder and beans but uses unusual spices. Depending on the cook cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate among them. Its served on top of spaghetti.

Strange as that sounds it is good.

Allen

Mustard BBQ in the South Carolina.
She Crab Soup from Charleston to St. Augustine.

jabantik00

navajo tacos/fry bread/mutton sandwich in ut/az (mutton sandwich mlt like in princess bride!)
pork chop sandwichs and pasties in butte, mt
cassoulet in south france, raclette in the alps, brebis in la corse, choucroute in alsace - pretty much any regional food, wine, and cheese in france is kickass
poutine in canada eh. never had "real" quebecois poutine. someday eh... also had a maple and a jelly at timmy's eh.
lobster burrito, tacos pescados in baja

more when i think of some... gotta get out on a ride before the storm.. bbl

pathlesspedaled

wow...thanks for all the regional food tips...going to have to look for some these as we travel.

russ
www.pathlesspedaled.com