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No one's saying we don't have a lot of great restaurants here--we do. What we don't have in the DC area (not just NOVA) is something that we can call our own. .. To simplify it, Philadelphia is "known" for its cheesesteaks amongst many other good types of "fun" food. Chicago is known for its pizza. New York is known for its pizza, bagels, and many other things. In New England, where most of my family is from, the bakeries with their . ..
Alright, I think this is a little off topic, however . . . Isnt' there a tradition in sports when one team from one city exchanges food with another (kind of like a bet but with food and not money)? I'm not into sports so I am sure someone can clarify this. For example, in the recent World Series (NY Yankees and Philly), they were calling it "cheese steaks versus cheese cake." I thought in the past, that DC was represented by Ben's Chili Bowl? Wouldn't this answer the question of calling something "our own"?
I'm surprised Alicia hasn't mentioned the atrocious supermarkets here. Safeway and Giant are just horrible. But I also found that the Kroger/Albertson brands is Philly/RI to be absolutely terrible too (rotten meat regularly, lackluster/small variety of fruits-veggies, etc..).
New England is saturated with Stop & Shop, and that is the same thing as Giant. Literally - same company, same products. But I think New England got "Super Stop & Shop" (bigger, cleaner, more variety) long before "Super Giant" became common here. So in that way, New England had a slight leg up.
My mom used to shop at Almacs. I have no idea if they were any good or not, as I was young and didn't care, but small grocery chains like that have just been annihilated all over the country.
What this area also lacks (and Rhode Island lacks, too) are good-quality discount grocery stores. Shoppers is *vile* compared to Super Saver in Nebraska.
I thought in the past, that DC was represented by Ben's Chili Bowl? Wouldn't this answer the question of calling something "our own"?
But that's DC. Nova is evolving and it's time to be more than just an extension of DC... like a teenager who's grown into a young adult and becomes more than just an extension of a family. It's time to develop a distinctive dish that's identified with us. The question is.... what kind of food will that be?
The Inn at Little Washington is one of the top restaurants in the country, and just outside DC. I agree with the other posters who identified the DC area ethnic offerings as DC's "foodie" culture.
I live in the midwest now , about 90 miles east of Chicago, and there is virtually no "foodie" culture here. No pho, no tapas (there used to be a tapas place here, but the customers complained that the portions were too small -- no joke), no dim sum, no wood-fired pizza place. No Korean BBQ. No local coffeeshop. Even in Chicago, we have yet to find authentic Vietnamese food of the sort that can easily be found in dozens of strip malls in the DC suburbs. There are, however, lots of chain restaurants and pancake houses. And lots of fat people, too. We are literally minutes from Amish farm country, yet there is no thriving network of farmer's markets or much local produce in the grocery stores. There are no stores such as Sutton Place or Whole Foods where you can find "foodie" ingredients -- you have to mail-order or drive to Fox & Obel in Chicago.
We do have two awesome local "artisan" bakeries, and there is a terrific wood-fired pizza place up near New Buffalo MI that will probably close for lack of business. Otherwise, this is definitely NOT foodie heaven.
It's just funny because I think the Midwest is totally lacking in foodie culture, and I think it's because the OP and I have totally different conceptions of foodies in mind. She focuses on the lack of cool specialty stores here, which is one aspect of foodie culture, and I focus on having a lot of options from cuisines around the world, which is another.
Where, specifically, in the Midwest have you spent time, Stephen? (This question is compounded by the fact that the term "Midwest" is so ill-defined, generally speaking.) Ever been to Chicago, for instance? I think Chicago's best Indian restaurants put D.C.'s to shame, honestly. And just because a restaurant focuses on a non-American cuisine doesn't make it "foodie" - I've been to some Korean-run Chinese places around here that are just gross. (And, I shouldn't have to beat this into the ground, but, yes, there are plenty of totally *awesome* immigrant-run Asian restaurants around here.) I suggest you check out the chowhound boards yourself if you doubt that there amazing immigrant restaurant communities in many Midwestern cities.
One little story: Columbia, Missouri, the tiny little college town where I spent a good part of my young adulthood, sports *three* (at one time *four*) pretty darn good Indian restaurants. In 2007, The first Indian place to move into College Park (the home of UMD's flagship campus, but all of you probably known that) in quite awhile had to call their naan "pita" because (in the words of the owner) "College Park people would not know what naan is." AFAIK, the place is now out of business. Also, I asked my server at the California Tortilla on Baltimore Ave. in College Park to "leave the pico de gallo off" my burrito, and he went into hysterics because "he'd just never heard anyone say that word before."
Last edited by Alicia Bradley; 11-10-2009 at 04:51 PM..
The Inn at Little Washington is one of the top restaurants in the country, and just outside DC. I agree with the other posters who identified the DC area ethnic offerings as DC's "foodie" culture.
I live in the midwest now , about 90 miles east of Chicago, and there is virtually no "foodie" culture here. No pho, no tapas (there used to be a tapas place here, but the customers complained that the portions were too small -- no joke), no dim sum, no wood-fired pizza place. No Korean BBQ. No local coffeeshop. Even in Chicago, we have yet to find authentic Vietnamese food of the sort that can easily be found in dozens of strip malls in the DC suburbs. There are, however, lots of chain restaurants and pancake houses. And lots of fat people, too. We are literally minutes from Amish farm country, yet there is no thriving network of farmer's markets or much local produce in the grocery stores. There are no stores such as Sutton Place or Whole Foods where you can find "foodie" ingredients -- you have to mail-order or drive to Fox & Obel in Chicago.
We do have two awesome local "artisan" bakeries, and there is a terrific wood-fired pizza place up near New Buffalo MI that will probably close for lack of business. Otherwise, this is definitely NOT foodie heaven.
I call BS, particularly on the coffee shop and farmers market(s) accusation. What is the name of the town you're living in, clairemarie? I might just have to make use of the "find all posts by" function, Google maps, and other resources this evening. This will be fun!
(Which Vietnamese place in Chicago did you end up trying?)
(And speaking of "fat people", the largest number of obese people I've ever seen in one location was in Ocean City, MD, a few summers ago.)
Finally, thanks for bringing up the wonderful Fox & Obel. What does D.C. have that's equivalent? Whole Foods? Chicago's got way more of them, baby, and they're way better stocked. Sutton Place doesn't exist anymore - it was replaced by the mediocre Balducci's about a couple years ago.
Last edited by Alicia Bradley; 11-10-2009 at 05:04 PM..
I think the Foodie Culture doesn't grow here quickly because people who are involved in Foodie move out of the area quickly. Like anyone else here, foodie people probably have a large population of people who live here 3 years max then move out.
I'm surprised Alicia hasn't mentioned the atrocious supermarkets here. Safeway and Giant are just horrible. But I also found that the Kroger/Albertson brands is Philly/RI to be absolutely terrible too (rotten meat regularly, lackluster/small variety of fruits-veggies, etc..). This is not the case in the Safeway/Albertson/Kroger stores in the MidWest-West and I'm simply dumbfounded as to why. The Whole Foods here is also very limited and has hardly the quality or diversity of its MidWest-West counterparts. What most longtime residents here fail to realize is Wegmans is a step above a normal Vons or Guinardis (sp?). If it was anywhere but the East Coast, It would not be that special. We have had many discussions on this in the General Forums.
Lastly Steven 81, I think you would be absolutely shocked at the variety and range of MidWest-West restaurants. In Chicago, there is a Koreatown/Little India/Little Pakistan/Little Sweden just for starters. I can name the best Pho hole in the wall on the Northside. And of course, the very high end restaurants such as Charlie Trotters. I think you would also be surprised at the food offerings on Wichita KS south side-large Hmong population. This is in the MidWest alone.
The diversity and numbers of those restaurants are simply not in DC. They will never be until DC develops a population that stays/ settles permanently in the area.
To compound this problem is there are a plethora of Steak joints here. 6 Ruths Chris' in the Metro area! There's only 2 in all of San Diego County! And I know why. All the players in DC like to do there political business over lunch at steakhouses (ex: Want to see a high placed Senator? Eat Lunch at Charlie Palmers) DC is simply not like any other city-esp. foodwise.
I thoroughly agree with everything - particularly the rotten produce and the oddly barren Whole Foods. Where the heck is the dried fruit, even, for instance?
In 2007, The first Indian place to move into College Park (the home of UMD's flagship campus, but all of you probably known that) in quite awhile had to call their naan "pita" because (in the words of the owner) "College Park people would not know what naan is." AFAIK, the place is now out of business. Also, I asked my server at the California Tortilla on Baltimore Ave. in College Park to "leave the pico de gallo off" my burrito, and he went into hysterics because "he'd just never heard anyone say that word before."
Did a quick search for olive oil in DC area and this place popped up quickly (the subs don't get great reviews but people seem to agree there's a good selection of olive oil):
If your story about the College Park Indian restaurant is accurate, then the owner severely underestimated the familiarity of local residents with Naan and other Indian food. I can't say I'm surprised it closed down; however, there are plenty of other Indian restaurants that have been serving naan, masala dosas, etc. to satisfied DC area diners for many years.
I'm sure that Chicago has more "foodie" havens than the DC area in total, but have a very hard time believing the Vietnamese food in Chicago holds a candle to the Vietnamese options in this area. Within the past few years, New Yorkers, at least, have worked themselves into a frenzy about a couple of places that serve decent banh mi sandwiches (which along with pho I would be happy to nominate as the official NoVa cuisine), while we've long taken these types of places for granted.
clairemarie, this just took me a few minutes on Google maps and a couple other sites. These coffee places are all within 2 MILES of where you are in Granger (mostly in South Bend, but a few in little towns like Mishiwaka) :
South Bend Chocolate Cafe
Chicory Cafe
Ugly Mug Coffee & Culture
Higher Grounds
Gloria Jean's Coffee
Beanery Gourmet Coffee & Cafe
Coffee Spot Cafe
Spice of Life Coffee & Tea
The Coffee Mug
Sweet Street Corner Coffee
Eve's Coffee Shoppe
Someone's knickers are on fire.
Coming up later this evening: FARMERS' MARKETS
If NoVA had half this many local coffee joints, I'd be in heaven!
"have a very hard time believing the Vietnamese food in Chicago holds a candle to the Vietnamese options in this area."
It doesn't. Believe me, we tried. Went on a Chicago foodie website, got recommendations (even pictures) but the place didn't even have decent spring rolls. And it was in a very dicey neighborhood. Chicago just doesn't seem to have the concentration of Vietnamese immigrants that DC enjoys.
The last time we drove to DC, we went straight to The Four Sisters in Merrifield. Heaven.
Alicia,
I've been to some of the coffee shops you listed -- Gloria Jean's is a chain (they have them on the Indiana Toll Road) that isn't nearly as good as Starbucks. South Bend Chocolate Cafe is primarily a chocolate place in downtown South Bend. Not familiar with some of the others. My favorite coffee spot is the Starbucks inside a Martin's supermarket. Lots of seating, free wifi (don't use it myself, but there it is) and the wonderful Bit of Swiss artisan bakery right there in the supermarket. Even my foodie DH agrees that this bakery beats anything we had in northern Virginia, including Marvelous Market.
DC also has Dean & Delucca for foodies, and the butcher shop at Eastern Market actually sold veal bones, which are very hard to find for some reason.
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