I Never Heard of These Regional Foods – IOTW Report

I Never Heard of These Regional Foods

If you live in the area, let us know if it’s a “thing” or not-

Slopper β€” a burger covered in chili sauce and typically eaten with a knife and fork (Pueblo/Colorado Springs, Colorado)


Slinger (St. Louis) β€” two eggs, hash browns, and a meat patty (typically ground beef or sausage) topped with chili, cheese, and onions

The cannibal sandwich (Wisconsin)β€”raw beef with onions on rye. Every year the health department begs people not to eat these

Snickers salad (Upper Midwest)

Chop suey sandwich (Salem, MA)

Garbage plate (Rochester, NY)

Scrapple (Mid-Atlantic states, often associated with Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine) β€” a loaf made from pork scraps combined with cornmeal, wheat flour and spices, typically pan-fried before serving

(Scrapple I’ve heard of – bfh)

Frogmore stew or low country boil (South Carolina)

The chow mein sandwich of Fall River, MA

Kentucky Hot Brown (Louisville, KY)

Livermush (Western North Carolina)

pork tenderloin sandwich (Indiana)

81 Comments on I Never Heard of These Regional Foods

  1. Pork tenderloin sammiches are the best deal at local auctions around here in Illinois. For 6 bucks, you’re full before eating your way to the bun. Usually served with just pickles under the bun.

    7
  2. My Dad used to eat Scrapple he was from Pennsylvania so that was standard πŸ₯Ί

    Cousin’s husband used to eat raw burger all the time and he’s still on planet earth 🌍

    Not so much for us kids in Arizona, we we’re weaned on Mexican food πŸ˜‹

    Don’t know about the rest of you πŸ€” but the rest of those pics about made me sick 🀒

    16
  3. When asked what is in Scrapple, my Dad would say “whatever’s left…”.
    RAPA brand is the most popular. Ralf And Paul Adams (RAPA) started the company many years ago. They are located in Bridgeville, DE.
    As a kid I remember getting stuck in traffic in Bridgeville while headed to the beach. One time while waiting at a traffic light I saw a refrigerated rail car parked next to the RAPA factory. I saw guys rolling carts out of the car and into the building, carrying hogs heads. YUM!
    There is a RAPA scrapple package in my fridge right now.

    9
  4. I ate many Cannibal Sandwiches with lots of raw onions, salt and pepper on it as kid growing up in Wisconsin before we had to worry about Pink Slime. Today the only way I would eat any is if a butcher would grind the meat in front of me.

    6
  5. Since I have several ethnicities in my background, from four continents, I have often referred to myself as being made of “genetic scrapple.”

    Ring baloney was a thing when I lived in the Midwest 50 years ago. Basically a sausage made up of everything left over from the normal butchering process. As you might expect, it is an acquired taste. Good with mustard, though.

    3
  6. True Story
    Driving Cross-country
    Der Wienerschnitzel Billboards
    Heartset
    Keep Driving
    Found It
    Young India Indian Operator
    Me: Where’s the Wienerschnitzels
    Her: No, No. Hot Dogs.
    Me: D’oh

    6
  7. My family is Chicago, far south side. My brother used to eat cannibal sandwiches so it’s not just a Wisconsin thing. I’ve had snicker salad at a south side pot luck but it was a surprise menu item.

    5
  8. @ TSUNAMI
    “You neglected to post the Washington DC shit sandwich.”

    Not a regional dish.
    This is a National dish served cold every April at Tax time.

    It is also a local county dish, served steaming hot when property Taxes are due.

    17
  9. The salad I’ve seen while growing up, was whipped cream, sweet condensed milk ilk, package of vanilla instant pudding and either chopped pineapple or a can of fruit cocktail.
    So… dessert.

    8
  10. Having lived in western NY for a few years, garbage plates are good after a night of bar hopping or can’t sleep and suddenly starving.

    Low country boils are great and had those many a times when visiting relatives in Bluffton, SC.

    Made my own Hot Browns after watching a travel/cooking show (I believe Alton Brown hosted the show) that featured a few of the dishes mentioned.

    7
  11. I did my basic training (Army) at Fort Jackson, SC. There I was introduced to 2 things I never heard of; Grits (not a fan) and biscuits and gravy (load me up).

    When traveling internationally I always sample the local fare. I could live to be a hundred and will never forget the green hot dogs (they called it something else) that street vendors would sell in Copenhagen. Monkey meat on a stick, sold on the street of Panama City, is also a thing.

    7
  12. Nick Tahou Hots is a restaurant in Rochester, New York best known for a dish called the Garbage Plate. The restaurant was founded in 1918 by Alex Tahou, the grandfather of the 21st-century owner (also named Alex Tahou), and named for Nick Tahou, the founder’s son, who operated the establishment until his death in 1997. While there are other Upstate New York variants, Nick Tahou’s is the originator of the trademarked Garbage Plate. Nick Tahou Hots’s best known dish is the Garbage Plate, which consists of a selection of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans and French fries topped with meats of the customer’s choice. The dish can be garnished with mustard, chopped onions, ketchup and the venue’s signature hot sauce, and is served with bread and butter. The Garbage Plate is typically mixed together by the diner before being eaten.

    Tahou first created the dish as two hamburger patties with a selection of side dishes. The dish has spawned several imitators with similar names in the Greater Rochester area, including Fairport Hots’ “The Hot Plate”,Tom Wahl’s “55 Junker Plate”and Mark’s Texas Hots’ “Sloppy Plate.”

    In 2010 Health.com named the Garbage Plate the fattiest food in the state of New York.

    7
  13. Upper Peninsula of Michigan/Wisconsin here. Grew up with cannibal as just ‘Raw Dog’ on any kind of cracker. Was my dad’s fav, but not mine. Snickers salad is at just about every potluck around. We do low country
    boils in the summer after a day of walking streams and rivers crawfishing.

    3
  14. Not that this is terribly exotic, but I clearly remember the first time I ever saw olive loaf. I was on a bus ti day camp and opened the sack lunch to see what it was. I hated the entire idea of it. Now I like olives and hate bologna.

    Don’t get me started on discovering what head cheese was.

    10
  15. LCD might remember this but on Santa Monica Blvd. there is a place called Danny’s Dogs (not to be confused with Pinks, to die for). Their specialty was 2 hot dogs, chile and cheese, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla. Yes, they were killer.

    5
  16. NW Wisconsin here and I’ve never heard of cannibal sandwiches. We’ve got fish boils but I think that’s Great Lakes wide. Pasties have made it down from the UP, other than various ways of serving venison and suckers (a rough bottom feeder, like carp) there’s not much that’s uniquely local around here.

    I lived in St. Louis for 8 years and never heard of or saw a slinger, it looks more like something out of Cincinnati, they do all kinds of things with Chili there. Fried Ravioli, pork steaks and frozen custard I remember being regional to St. Louis. All were really good.

    3
  17. Seeing some of those pictures I now understand why [space] aliens haven’t invaded the planet – not sure if they’d eat some of those things (and the cannibal sandwich? You risk death and get bad breath at the same time).

    3
  18. Scrapple – love the stuff and like it spicy. never heard of liver mush when I lived in NC. So called Southern chicken salad with nuts and apple and other sweet stuff is something I never saw in the South.

    Pork tenderloin sandwich looks like the schnitzel sandwiches my mother made with lemon on the side.

    Here in Ohio Chicken Rivel soup is popular in some areas. Chillghetti is also popular. Chili, onions, cheese on top of spaghetti. Cincinnati chili is just plain nasty.

    4
  19. Oh boy, I am getting hungry.
    City Chicken: mostly a Cleveland round the lake to Detroit. my favorite.
    Goetta: Cincinatta/cross the Ohio dish I think like scrapple. (never had scrapple)
    Pea Meal bacon (or just pea meal if you are in Ontario. like a thin breaded pork chop but better.

    2
  20. I forgot raw beef and onions was a thing at this Greek church in Canton, OH. They served lunch at the church hall once a month and the place was always crowded. Sometimes they had the raw beef and onions with pine nuts. Can’t remember the name of it.

    1
  21. been all over the country and have only experienced half of these. tenderloins in Iowa/Illinois, scrapple/livermush Mid-Atlantic, and other things. Illinois also had something called a horseshoe, which was a pile of fries covered in loose burger and onions with cheese, similar to a mid west poutine. low country boil is good, northeast claim bakes if you like steaming stuff in seaweed. MD blue crab and southern MD stuffed hams are amazing. had amazing sliced pork bbq in Missouri, and I’ll debate anyone on this- NE PA is the best area to get pizza. I’ve had Chicago style, NY style, Connecticut style you name it, can’t beat NE PA. there’s probably more pizza places per Capita in the Wyoming valley/Scranton area than anywhere else. regionally it’s the best thing to eat there followed by kielbasa and pierogi’s. I could go on but now I’m hungry

    4
  22. The worst is still baloots in the Philippines along with skewered monkey on a stick sold on street corners and washed down with the world’s worst beer San Miguel, we called it San Magoo. I was never drunk enough or stupid enough to eat either.

    9
  23. Pasties (not the stripper accessory) are a thing here in Nawthern Michigan. Pastry type dough with onions and taters and burger baked inside it. Damn fine stuff to try when visiting the Upper especially.

    7
  24. I had a Hawaiian/Portuguese roommate once who made some dried salted cod called bakleau which looked like dried salted fish jerky (it was as stiff as a wooden plank) and stunk to high heaven. It wasn’t bad when you got past the smell which would curl your toes, fortunately he only made it once.

    5
  25. Wallingford/Meriden/Middletown region of Connecticut serves a steamed cheeseburger. It’s just like it sounds. Raw hamburger is steamed in a (usually) handmade rack topped with either American cheese(yuck) or sharp cheddar and served on a toasted roll. It’s amazingly good, moist and delicious.

    2
  26. I remember hot dogs on square buns being a big deal in CT. It was OK, though I’d rather have the specialties from St. Louis. MD was all about crab cakes, which were good, but they never served large enough portions.

    2
  27. Pork tenderloins are a thing in MO, too. I love that sandwich (and it’s definitely big enough for two people). I’ve seen several of these on different TV shows where the host travels and tries different foods.

    4
  28. I first experienced low country boil in Destin FL. It was alright except for the overcooked, squishy corn-on-the-cob. The, Rose, who is from Alabama, made it at home. So good!

    3
  29. Somewhere above someone said something about green sausages in Copenhagen.
    Rings a bell but was younger.
    I did see them in other countries.
    Germany has small veal sausages and mixed with spinach are sometimes green.
    Spent a little bit of time in Greece.
    Incredible trip back in the 90s. The Food.
    It really was an experience and we didn’t go for that reason. It was just what we found. What we went for was to take a cheap vacation because we were pretty poor and the low-fare (read almost free) ticket prices fit just right.
    What we found and got to see was, now in hindsight, incredible. We got to experience the real deal people and nightlife. Local Dinner time was like 9 or 10 at night and it seemed like everybody ate out. Touring the City and Sites on rented motorbikes (the kind halfway between mopeds and motorcycles). It’s incredible memories. And of course, the Olives.

    5
  30. I’ve always had a thing for spam! Bought a smoker a few years back and discovered smoked spam is awesome. Slice it up, fry it a bit with onions, and add it to some spicy Ramen (Buldak 2x spicy). Can’t get enough of it!

    I need to smoke some more soon – been very busy.

    3
  31. Never heard of any of those before, and kind of wish I hadn’t now. The only one I might consider was the first one which looks like a chilli burger. Kind of reminds me of the chilli burgers and tamales at Tommy’s in LA (and now LV). Be sure and bring your antacid and Imodium. Also miss the chilli dogs at Cupids.

    3
  32. fullmetal256 – my go-to meat filler for super quick fried rice. Cut in small cubes and pan fried…very tasty. Rice, Spam, carrots, peas and diced onions. Now, I’m hungry..haha.

    2
  33. That slopper burger from Colorado is not covered in chili sauce, it’s chile sauce. Here in New Mexico one can get anything smothered in green chile sauce, red chile sauce or β€œChristmas” red and green together. A tip though-order it on the side the first couple of times. ;o

    1
  34. The Low Country Boil has the highest concentration in the Carolina’s. But variation’s of it can be found along the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Carolina’s and Virginia coast lines.

    I grew up with a Low Country Boil the Saturday before Thanksgiving down in South Georgia in the 70’s and 80’s. It was a tradition that started in my family in the 50’s.

    3
  35. A green chili slopper is a deelish dish. That presentation is off from the standard, it is served in a deeper bowl, eaten with a knife and fork. Gray’s Coors Tavern in Pueblo has one of the best, and a close second is Frankie’s, in Colorado Springs.

    1
  36. I’ve seen other people eat scrapple, but never tried it. (I was just a kid, recently moved to southern NJ from the Michigan UP. Talk about culture shock. LOL) I did love the Philly cheesesteaks, though.

    I go into Louisville a lot these days. I might have to find a Kentucky Hot Brown to try.

    3
  37. BFH, if you are ever in pueblo, give me a buzz and I’ll pay for your slopper at Sunset Inn. The sauce is pork green chili, made with pueblo chili’s. Usually comes with fries either on side or smothered. Reminds me of a sandwich ordered in West Germany which is prepared open faced and eaten with fork and knife. Bojon’s (Yugoslavian’s) and Sicilian’s were the people groups who pioneered the odd dishes here. Also Pueblo is known for having far more tavern’s that churches by a wide margin. And setting some kind of record for beer consumption years ago back when the steel mill CF&I was what put our little Bessemer on the map.

  38. An open faced hamburger topped with cheese, onions and red chili is called a ‘short horn’ around here in Kansas….eggs and hash browns are optional…

  39. Late to the party. Here in far southern Indiana, you want a tenderloin? Try Gnaw Mart in, not kidding, Gnawbone, Indiana! It’s in, of all places, a Marathon gas station. A sammitch big enough to feed four full grown, hungry men! Just east of Nashville, IN on state road 46, for those who might want to travel, it’s worth it!

  40. Redcat 66 Lttp
    You triggered this one

    About 8 years ago, circa 2015
    Was driving across that geographical region
    No idea where, just like the mini-nut trip
    (which BTW turned out to ne Valencias).
    Was on what appeared abandoned Interstate offramp
    Was late late at night (Early early AM)
    Found what looked like an abandoned Motel next to a convenience store also shut up tight. I needed a quiet place to pull over and take a nap. Pulled into the Motel lot and parked out of the way. Slept until late morning with all the windows blocked with sunshades. Got up and stepped out to have a morning leak. Looked around and it really was deadtown however the convenience store was open with a flashing OPEN light and a rundown vehicle parked in front.
    I needed coffee so went in. The girl behind the glass encased front register barely acknowledged my presence. Looked around for the typical soda/coffee dtations. None. Lots of clothing, I decided to walk through the aisle to see what was being sold. Looked like mostly standard fare mini-pepto bismal bottles, travel sized everything. More than half the store had what looked like trucker clothing hanging and lots of T-Shirts with mostly music groups that I knew maybe half or less. I turned the corner to the last aisle and a Big Huge Sign was hanging on the wall under a big camera that said “Shoplifters will be prosecuted to the fullest extent”
    Not a small sign, a Big One.
    My internal klaxxon is blaring WTF???
    I decided to leave and passed by the clerk who had not moved one inch in any direction the 5-10 minutes I was inside. I said “That’s the most unfriendly sign I have ever seen in a store”. Her reply was basically FU and I left.
    Looked around the area and it was standard wooded off-the-interstate but eveything was abandoned. 6 or 7 buildings in total. Got back on the interstate and looked for the next Larger Town exit.
    Found one somewhere down the road.How far? I don’t remember but less than 20 miles or so. Had a strange combo fast food court. Was a McD and a Taco Bell and some others all in one. There was also a Local cop in line in uniform. I made eye contact with him and asked if he had a few minutes. I described the scene at the abandoned area and he said meth and pills took out the whole area. I saw and then heard this first-hand.
    Now for the Good Part and where I sure would love to find out where I was. I still needed food and had no interest in the Food Mall offerings other than the coffee I went in for. I got back and the road and was driving somewhere near or close or maybe in Kentucky or just before. Anyway, there was another off-ramp that had Gas Food signs and some trucks in front of me turned in so I followed.

    I can describe the parking lot in great detail, Very large. Not too busy. Truck Lanes primarily. Old building been around for awhile. Inside was L-shaped. The Long side had the standard everything convenience store, At the corner of the L was the kitchen and the Steamer Table with all the Foods. The short side of the L was the Trucker Register for Diesel and Booths and Round Tables for eating at.

    Let me tell you. That was the best Trucker Food I ever had anywhere. All homemade and tasty.

    I have to find that Truckstop Diner. Or it’s clone. I will move there if that Place still exists and that very nice Lady that ran it with her son still has it and I will work for her kitchen for free but will need room and board in exchange.

    This is not a Twilight Zone episode. All this happened and this thread made want to write it. And I am very hungry so I will stop writing.

    1
  41. My mom was born in 1918 and grew up at 41st and Broadway in Louisville. She gave me the scoop on the Hot Brown. The Brown Hotel at 4th and Broadway, an elegant old place, hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner for hundreds of lucky Louisvillians every year, and mom and family attended often. The Brown Hotel is still there and still in business. As you can imagine, there was a ton of leftover turkey the next day. The chef came up with a recipe to make some money from all the leftover meat, and the Louisville Hot Brown was born. Done properly, they are fabulously delicious.

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