I´m finally going to USA...

[Sinster]

An "old timer" (real Maineiac) told me McDonalds isn't REAL labstah, it is Canadian labstah.

East Coast Canadian Lobster is the same as Maine (New England Lobster).

You need some fiddle heads in butter and vinegar

[Milkman]

If you were to cone to Ottawa, I would have to set you up with some tail.....

Beavertail, that is!

https://beavertails.com/products/

But before that, I’ll stuff you full of poutine and a pint of beer or three!

[andrewsrea]

In St. Louis we could meet up with @golem & Jim Shaffner. For starters St. Louis toasted ravioli with a marinara dipping sauce, along with an adult beverage. Being a crossroad of the US, I consider our BBQ to be plagiarism of the best across the US - some hints of the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee. So, a stop at Sugarfire for some awesome and sometimes very creative BBQ. Perhaps a Big Muddy smoked-meat sandwich: brisket, jalapeno pork sausage, two types of sauce, pickles and lettuce. St. Louis folks love their flat-crust Imo's Pizza, which to most people not from St. Louis - isn't pizza, it is a pizza like snack worth trying.

If we were to meet in South Eastern Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my life, I'd recommend cheesesteaks from Tom's Pizza (Aston, PA) and Inside-out pizzas from Double Decker, in Ridley Park, PA! The latter starts with a pizza dough that has a bit more sugar than normal, is let to rise a bit, then covered in pizza sauce, toppings of your choice, mozzarella cheese, then folded shut and crimped (like a turnover), deep fried for a few minutes and finished cooking in a 600 degree stone oven. A cheesesteak alternative favorite of mine is the pizza steak sandwich, with fried onions. If I got to choose last meals, that would be it.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting St. Louis

[Zipslack]

In Mississippi, it could be any of a thousand places to get fried chicken and/or fried catfish, potato salad, turnip greens, lima beans, and cornbread.

Then drive down to Louisiana for some gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya.

[glasshand]

If you were to cone to Ottawa, I would have to set you up with some tail.....

Beavertail, that is!

https://beavertails.com/products/

I thought this was going to be about actual beaver tail.

[glasshand]

New York is a bit of a tough one, because we don't have our own specific cuisine so much as we have all the other ones from around the world. I mean, this is a town with, to give just one example, multiple Uzbek restaurants: how many other cities in the US can say that? You can hit one of multiple Chinatowns for excellent dim sum, you can have lamb from a halal cart on the street, you can get great Ethiopian food, you can get world-class seafood (although to be honest I don't like our native clam chowder as much as I like New England clam chowder), you can hit Little Italy for some excellent pastries, get papaya juice and a hot dog at Gray's Papaya or Papaya King, you name it.

But for stuff you are less likely to find elsewhere - this is where to get a proper bagel. I'm not saying you can't necessarily get a proper bagel in other cities, but your odds of getting one somewhere else are very low, whereas your odds of getting a bad one here are very low. And you can wash it down with a celery soda.

[Sinster]

In St. Louis we could meet up with @golem & Jim Shaffner. For starters St. Louis toasted ravioli with a marinara dipping sauce, along with an adult beverage. Being a crossroad of the US, I consider our BBQ to be plagiarism of the best across the US - some hints of the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee. So, a stop at Sugarfire for some awesome and sometimes very creative BBQ. Perhaps a Big Muddy smoked-meat sandwich: brisket, jalapeno pork sausage, two types of sauce, pickles and lettuce. St. Louis folks love their flat-crust Imo's Pizza, which to most people not from St. Louis - isn't pizza, it is a pizza like snack worth trying.

If we were to meet in South Eastern Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my life, I'd recommend cheesesteaks from Tom's Pizza (Aston, PA) and Inside-out pizzas from Double Decker, in Ridley Park, PA! The latter starts with a pizza dough that has a bit more sugar than normal, is let to rise a bit, then covered in pizza sauce, toppings of your choice, mozzarella cheese, then folded shut and crimped (like a turnover), deep fried for a few minutes and finished cooking in a 600 degree stone oven. A cheesesteak alternative favorite of mine is the pizza steak sandwich, with fried onions. If I got to choose last meals, that would be it.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting St. Louis

The Brick House by Spirit of St. Louis airport and Schlafly Tap House are some of my favorite places in St. Louis

[aullucci]

In St. Louis we could meet up with @golem & Jim Shaffner. For starters St. Louis toasted ravioli with a marinara dipping sauce, along with an adult beverage. Being a crossroad of the US, I consider our BBQ to be plagiarism of the best across the US - some hints of the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee. So, a stop at Sugarfire for some awesome and sometimes very creative BBQ. Perhaps a Big Muddy smoked-meat sandwich: brisket, jalapeno pork sausage, two types of sauce, pickles and lettuce. St. Louis folks love their flat-crust Imo's Pizza, which to most people not from St. Louis - isn't pizza, it is a pizza like snack worth trying.

If we were to meet in South Eastern Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my life, I'd recommend cheesesteaks from Tom's Pizza (Aston, PA) and Inside-out pizzas from Double Decker, in Ridley Park, PA! The latter starts with a pizza dough that has a bit more sugar than normal, is let to rise a bit, then covered in pizza sauce, toppings of your choice, mozzarella cheese, then folded shut and crimped (like a turnover), deep fried for a few minutes and finished cooking in a 600 degree stone oven. A cheesesteak alternative favorite of mine is the pizza steak sandwich, with fried onions. If I got to choose last meals, that would be it.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting St. Louis

I lived in St Louis for a while, too. Imo's is not pizza. It's not bad, I've had it many times, but it's a weird pizza-flavored cracker thing. And you could not possibly drag anyone through a culinary tour of St Louis and not stop at Ted Drewe's for a concrete (please tell me concretes at Ted Drewe's are still a thing; it's absolutely the food I most crave that can only be gotten properly in the Lou). The apple pie concrete is just devastating

In Rhode Island, we basically take whatever we find from the ocean and deep fry it. It's so good.

[RiverDog]

Maybe drive down to Philadelphia to get a cheesesteak....NOT Pat's or Gino's...someplace real Philadelphians eat...

NOW you're talking!!

Tony Luke's, Jim's South Street, Dalessandro's... Mmmmmmmmmm

@sabasgr68 There's nothing around here I'd go crazy over but like @thepezident, I'd meet you in Philly for a cheesesteak, roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe, or an Italian hoagie with ground cherry peppers.

[Milkman]

I have only one rule for restaurants when I’m in the US… I never eat at any place I’ve seen a commercial for.

I like when I can see the people who are cooking my food, and I really like when I ask them to bring me whatever they think is best and they don’t even hesitate.

Salmon in the northwest, Mexican in the southwest, barbecue and fried chicken in the south, all manner of sandwiches in the east, pasties in the mid-east (?), seafood in the north east and burgers all through the middle. Of course, you can get this stuff throughout the States (and Canada), but when I’m in these areas, this is the type of stuff I get a hankerin’ for.

On a motorcycle riding aimlessly across the States… sigh…. We gotta get back to normal soon!

[sabasgr68]

Grimes's Chicken in Lexington KY. Well actually "Grimes's Fast Food". They're just an old fashioned American diner, killer chicken and potato wedges.
I haven't been in ages, but it's damn good food and super affordable.
I'll edit a picture from their Google or social media page in a sec.

Edit: here ya go.
2016-11-14.jpg
2018-01-21.jpg
2020-09-26.jpg
Chicken4.jpg

They have all kinds of delicious food, but man, their chicken's where it's at. I'd recommend stopping by to anyone passing through Lexington.

Also if you're tryna get some Tacos, I'd recommend "Tortilleria y Taqueria Ramirez" also in Lexington, I'd actually recommend making a trip JUST to go there. Little hole in the wall of an old strip mall, but everything's fresh and absolutely delicious.

Deal! Sign me up for each one of those! Oh my God...

[sabasgr68]

Coincidentally, I have been waiting to offer up an "AGF Summer Retreat" to Steamboat for a week of jamming, gigging, outdoorsy stuff (if that's your thing), cool summer nights, etc. I hope to post a thread soon to gauge interest.

Regardless, you and everyone else are invited to pop in anytime. It's a resort town so we have a myriad of restaurants on a vibrant Main Street and more on the river a block away. However, nothing tastes better than a good dinner by a campfire (mandatory dutch oven dessert) or a potluck among friends.

Hope to see you soon.



STC3030a-Carousel_FIN-_0009_Town.jpg

I´d be more than happy to go to Steamboat for that AGF Summer Retreat and do all those things in my hypothetical trip to the US! That place looks beautiful.

As long as there are no wild bears showing up, I´d enjoy outdoor camping

Bears galore.

In addition, you probably don't want to travel for thousands of miles to eat hypothetical pot luck food.

Well, staying at Steamboat town should be great! Close encounters with bears give me the creeps..!

[sabasgr68]

I'd take you to my hometown...Nazareth, PA.

There - we'd visit Martin Guitar factory

Maybe drive down to Philadelphia to get a cheesesteak....NOT Pat's or Gino's...someplace real Philadelphians eat...

Yes to both! Visiting Marting Guitars factory should be awesome, and then heading out for that cheesesteak and a beer would be hard to reject!

[sabasgr68]

If you were to cone to Ottawa, I would have to set you up with some tail.....

Beavertail, that is!

https://beavertails.com/products/

But before that, I’ll stuff you full of poutine and a pint of beer or three!

Yes, sir, let´s do it! No problem at all!

[zisme]

Well if you come to my town, Norfolk, VA, you should head downtown and try to catch a concert at the NorVA - they are starting to book shows again for this Fall!

This Mae & Juliana Theory show would be a good one to see. Mae is a band from Norfolk that has done pretty well for themselves throughout the 2000s. Their guitarist is also in a local band called Demons that should be playing out again soon

https://www.thenorva.com/events/detail/400289

You have a lot of options for food here, but since you mentioned pizza specifically - you can't go wrong with Cogans! There are two locations - the original in the historic Ghent neighborhood and their newer spot Cogans North (walking distance from me). Order the Pirate's Booty and enjoy the excellent beer selection.

images.jpg (13.9 KiB) Viewed 2197 times

There's also several craft breweries sprinkled throughout the city with a variety of atmospheres, great food trucks, and local music acts

[sabasgr68]

In St. Louis we could meet up with @golem & Jim Shaffner. For starters St. Louis toasted ravioli with a marinara dipping sauce, along with an adult beverage. Being a crossroad of the US, I consider our BBQ to be plagiarism of the best across the US - some hints of the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee. So, a stop at Sugarfire for some awesome and sometimes very creative BBQ. Perhaps a Big Muddy smoked-meat sandwich: brisket, jalapeno pork sausage, two types of sauce, pickles and lettuce. St. Louis folks love their flat-crust Imo's Pizza, which to most people not from St. Louis - isn't pizza, it is a pizza like snack worth trying.

If we were to meet in South Eastern Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my life, I'd recommend cheesesteaks from Tom's Pizza (Aston, PA) and Inside-out pizzas from Double Decker, in Ridley Park, PA! The latter starts with a pizza dough that has a bit more sugar than normal, is let to rise a bit, then covered in pizza sauce, toppings of your choice, mozzarella cheese, then folded shut and crimped (like a turnover), deep fried for a few minutes and finished cooking in a 600 degree stone oven. A cheesesteak alternative favorite of mine is the pizza steak sandwich, with fried onions. If I got to choose last meals, that would be it.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting St. Louis

I wouldn´t know what to try first, would eat all of them at the same time! Oh yeah, I´d be interested in visiting St. Louis, but you know this is a virtual food trip, just for the eyes Although, who knows? maybe I could be there some day....

[sabasgr68]

In Mississippi, it could be any of a thousand places to get fried chicken and/or fried catfish, potato salad, turnip greens, lima beans, and cornbread.

Then drive down to Louisiana for some gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya.

Well, it sounds great to me! I´m totally in!

[sabasgr68]

If you were to cone to Ottawa, I would have to set you up with some tail.....

Beavertail, that is!

https://beavertails.com/products/

I thought this was going to be about actual beaver tail.

That was my first thought too, but was very pleased - and relieved - that it was sweet pastry!

[sabasgr68]

New York is a bit of a tough one, because we don't have our own specific cuisine so much as we have all the other ones from around the world. I mean, this is a town with, to give just one example, multiple Uzbek restaurants: how many other cities in the US can say that? You can hit one of multiple Chinatowns for excellent dim sum, you can have lamb from a halal cart on the street, you can get great Ethiopian food, you can get world-class seafood (although to be honest I don't like our native clam chowder as much as I like New England clam chowder), you can hit Little Italy for some excellent pastries, get papaya juice and a hot dog at Gray's Papaya or Papaya King, you name it.

But for stuff you are less likely to find elsewhere - this is where to get a proper bagel. I'm not saying you can't necessarily get a proper bagel in other cities, but your odds of getting one somewhere else are very low, whereas your odds of getting a bad one here are very low. And you can wash it down with a celery soda.

Well, I know you can have a little bit of everything in NY! I´ll be there to try those bagels, couldn´t resist!

[sabasgr68]

In St. Louis we could meet up with @golem & Jim Shaffner. For starters St. Louis toasted ravioli with a marinara dipping sauce, along with an adult beverage. Being a crossroad of the US, I consider our BBQ to be plagiarism of the best across the US - some hints of the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee. So, a stop at Sugarfire for some awesome and sometimes very creative BBQ. Perhaps a Big Muddy smoked-meat sandwich: brisket, jalapeno pork sausage, two types of sauce, pickles and lettuce. St. Louis folks love their flat-crust Imo's Pizza, which to most people not from St. Louis - isn't pizza, it is a pizza like snack worth trying.

If we were to meet in South Eastern Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my life, I'd recommend cheesesteaks from Tom's Pizza (Aston, PA) and Inside-out pizzas from Double Decker, in Ridley Park, PA! The latter starts with a pizza dough that has a bit more sugar than normal, is let to rise a bit, then covered in pizza sauce, toppings of your choice, mozzarella cheese, then folded shut and crimped (like a turnover), deep fried for a few minutes and finished cooking in a 600 degree stone oven. A cheesesteak alternative favorite of mine is the pizza steak sandwich, with fried onions. If I got to choose last meals, that would be it.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting St. Louis

I lived in St Louis for a while, too. Imo's is not pizza. It's not bad, I've had it many times, but it's a weird pizza-flavored cracker thing. And you could not possibly drag anyone through a culinary tour of St Louis and not stop at Ted Drewe's for a concrete (please tell me concretes at Ted Drewe's are still a thing; it's absolutely the food I most crave that can only be gotten properly in the Lou). The apple pie concrete is just devastating

In Rhode Island, we basically take whatever we find from the ocean and deep fry it. It's so good.

Well, Ted Drewe´s concretes are on the list! Does he serve hot chocolate too?

[Chocol8]

New York is a bit of a tough one, because we don't have our own specific cuisine so much as we have all the other ones from around the world. I mean, this is a town with, to give just one example, multiple Uzbek restaurants: how many other cities in the US can say that? You can hit one of multiple Chinatowns for excellent dim sum, you can have lamb from a halal cart on the street, you can get great Ethiopian food, you can get world-class seafood (although to be honest I don't like our native clam chowder as much as I like New England clam chowder), you can hit Little Italy for some excellent pastries, get papaya juice and a hot dog at Gray's Papaya or Papaya King, you name it.

But for stuff you are less likely to find elsewhere - this is where to get a proper bagel. I'm not saying you can't necessarily get a proper bagel in other cities, but your odds of getting one somewhere else are very low, whereas your odds of getting a bad one here are very low. And you can wash it down with a celery soda.

NYC has some of its own cuisine. Bagels as you mentioned are tough outside NY and Northern NJ and few have even heard of a bialy. You also have NY style thin crust pizza that few places can duplicate, and unless you make it yourself, finding a NY style pastrami sandwich like Katz’s anywhere else is a long shot.

[sabasgr68]

Maybe drive down to Philadelphia to get a cheesesteak....NOT Pat's or Gino's...someplace real Philadelphians eat...

NOW you're talking!!

Tony Luke's, Jim's South Street, Dalessandro's... Mmmmmmmmmm

@sabasgr68 There's nothing around here I'd go crazy over but like @thepezident, I'd meet you in Philly for a cheesesteak, roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe, or an Italian hoagie with ground cherry peppers.

No need more talk about it, to Philly it is! wow... just wow...

[sabasgr68]

I have only one rule for restaurants when I’m in the US… I never eat at any place I’ve seen a commercial for.

I like when I can see the people who are cooking my food, and I really like when I ask them to bring me whatever they think is best and they don’t even hesitate.

Salmon in the northwest, Mexican in the southwest, barbecue and fried chicken in the south, all manner of sandwiches in the east, pasties in the mid-east (?), seafood in the north east and burgers all through the middle. Of course, you can get this stuff throughout the States (and Canada), but when I’m in these areas, this is the type of stuff I get a hankerin’ for.

On a motorcycle riding aimlessly across the States… sigh…. We gotta get back to normal soon!

Good advice, but your last sentence says it all:

"We gotta get back to normal soon!"

Yes, please...

[sabasgr68]

Well if you come to my town, Norfolk, VA, you should head downtown and try to catch a concert at the NorVA - they are starting to book shows again for this Fall!

norva.jpg

This Mae & Juliana Theory show would be a good one to see. Mae is a band from Norfolk that has done pretty well for themselves throughout the 2000s. Their guitarist is also in a local band called Demons that should be playing out again soon

https://www.thenorva.com/events/detail/400289

You have a lot of options for food here, but since you mentioned pizza specifically - you can't go wrong with Cogans! There are two locations - the original in the historic Ghent neighborhood and their newer spot Cogans North (walking distance from me). Order the Pirate's Booty and enjoy the excellent beer selection.

images.jpg

There's also several craft breweries sprinkled throughout the city with a variety of atmospheres, great food trucks, and local music acts

Elation1-1024x515.jpg

Wait for me there in Norfolk, Zac! Pizza and live music is a hard to beat combination. I´ll enjoy it for sure!

[sabasgr68]

I´m afraid that if this trip to the US to visit you would actually be for real, I wouldn´t fit in my clothes in the first two days of being there. So, I´ll have to include in the list to buy some clothes two or three size bigger!

What kind of money would be needed to visit ten states - at least - and do all the things? Haha this is an unreal trip

I LOVED all the suggestions - except for the wild bears, but staying in town would be great, Tommy! - .

My wife and I used to watch several food programs on cable tv, and wow, each one was better than the other. I was always amazed - still am - at the size of the servings up there. I´m not kidding on the bigger size clothes I´d need!