While we're all thinking of food... (Gardiner, Washington: new home, live in, restaurants)
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oh, no that's just me! Anyway, I spent 3 months in Washington on Whidbey Island in my early 20s helping my best friend and her Navy husband settle in. Truth be told, I fell in love with it and didn't want to come back to Texas, so my trip got extended - several times!
I learned up there that they had no earthly clue what a "Chicken Fried Steak" is. And ask for tea - of course, it's hot. Cuisine across the country does vary considerably. So, those of you have some experience in other states, what am I likely to find drastically different when I order food in our new hometown?
Location: Massachusetts 15 minutes from the Cape Cod Canal
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Oh I got one that puzzled me first time I heard it, walked into a Pats pizza in Gardiner ordered an Italian sandwich girl asks me if I want a ham Italian, I'm like WHAT They don't get it that an italian is a sandwich with different kinds of meat, to this day still cracks me up
In Washington, when I explained to the waitress what a chicken fried steak with gravy is, she ended up bringing me a hamburger patty smothered in gravy. No breading (which is the best part, by the way!) and, of course, hot tea. One girl actually chuckled when I asked for ICED tea. She asked if I knew how cold it was out that day. I was offended at the time, but then I was still only 21 and had never experienced life outside Texas at that point. I was already feeling like an alien, and those folks sure treated me like one, too!
Also, I know from watching the Food Network that in New York and Chicago, they do some strange toppings on hot dogs. I don't eat hot dogs since becoming a vegetarian, but the only way I've ever eaten them was with chili and cheese. Saurkraut??? Ewwww!
It's possible you may encounter different terminology for two food items. I live down near Boston, and I'm not sure how widespread these two terms are across New England. If these terms are not used in Maine, let's hope someone lets us know about that. If they are used in Maine, though, you'll find that what is known in most of the country as a milkshake will often be called a frappe. If Maine uses the same terminology that's traditional in Boston, a "milkshake" is not thick and ice-creamy, but is just flavored milk that has been shaken up so it's frothy, and might or might not have a touch of ice cream added. Another term you might encounter, if this is not just a local Boston thing, is "tonic," which is the word for soda pop. And, speaking of the generic term "soda pop," in much of the country it's called "pop," but in much of the Northeast it's "soda." (If you don't hear it called "tonic," you'll be more likely to hear "soda" than "pop.")
It's possible you may encounter different terminology for two food items. I live down near Boston, and I'm not sure how widespread these two terms are across New England. If these terms are not used in Maine, let's hope someone lets us know about that. If they are used in Maine, though, you'll find that what is known in most of the country as a milkshake will often be called a frappe. If Maine uses the same terminology that's traditional in Boston, a "milkshake" is not thick and ice-creamy, but is just flavored milk that has been shaken up so it's frothy, and might or might not have a touch of ice cream added. Another term you might encounter, if this is not just a local Boston thing, is "tonic," which is the word for soda pop. And, speaking of the generic term "soda pop," in much of the country it's called "pop," but in much of the Northeast it's "soda." (If you don't hear it called "tonic," you'll be more likely to hear "soda" than "pop.")
Yup...when I moved out west I quickly learned that asking for a soda resulted in getting tonic water, a Coke is a pop. You don't ask for a draft it's a draw and they don't have brooks out west they have creeks. Salt and Vinegar potato chips also seems to be a New England specific food thing. It's very warm and humid tonight I would give anything for a cold Moxie right now.
Elcarim, did I get this right that you're moving from Texas? If you live in the interior of TX, seafood may not be a big deal in your area, but if you live near the coast, you've found that seafood is popular. It's also a favorite in New England, but here you'll find different seafood than that in TX. Being a vegetarian now, you of course won't really be consuming seafood yourself often, if at all, but just to fill you in on differences in regional flavor (literally), I think it's a matter of what seafood items live in the nearby ocean and can be gotten fresh. Besides the lobster everyone associates with Maine, you'll also see more cold-water fish on menus in the real-deal, small local restaurants that serve fresh seafood caught locally. They'll serve cod, haddock, bluefish, salmon, tuna steaks, maybe striped bass in season, rather than snapper and sea trout and jumbo shrimp (writing this is making me hungry). Also, a favorite seafood item is chowder (aka, regionally, as "chowdah"), which includes not only the well-known clam chowder, but fish chowder as well.
As for bread, if TX is like areas of the South along the east coast, then the breads tend to be on the light side. In New England, except for pastry, most breads are heavier (maybe because it feels heartier on a cold winter day). One other particular difference is that corn bread here is often sweet. Personally, I prefer Southern corn bread, which seems more like something to have as part of the main meal, while the sweetened corn bread common in New England almost seems like a piece of cake you should be having for dessert, but it's another regional difference in cuisine to be aware of, whatever your preference.
I think food here in comparison to other places I've lived is bland. If you want cold tea you ask for iced tea and have a choice of sweetened or not, plain, raspberry, strawberry and other flavors. We drink soda.
My stomach's growling. I've been craving fried clams. No, I'm not pregnant!
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They don't get it that an italian is a sandwich with different kinds of meat, to this day still cracks me up
Are these terms used in Maine?
