Food and Place

Regional food variations.  I had never even heard of Cuban sandwiches until I moved to Florida.  (I did enjoy a delightful Cuban restaurant when I lived in Raleigh, North Carolina.)  Here in Florida, Cubans (the sandwiches) are as common as subs.  Here are links to a couple of Cuban sandwich recipes:

Three Guys From Miami Recipes
Taste of Cuba

As a low-budget foodie, when I moved to North Carolina in 2001, one of the things I most looked forward to was trying red-eye gravy.  Being completely naive, I didn't even consider that it was called "red-eye" gravy for a reason.  I was probably the last person on earth to realize that red-eye gravy is made with coffee grounds.  I have a mild allergy to coffee and have never even liked the smell of the stuff.  So I steered clear of red-eye gravy after that.  But the southland redeemed itself with other regional variations such as eastern Carolina-style barbecue and hearty biscuits.

Julie and I had the good fortune to travel to Slovenia in 2006.  Slovenia was part of the former Yugoslavia until 1991.  The country doesn't have much in the way of "native" cuisine.  It borrows heavily from surrounding countries: Hungary, Austria, and Italy.  This was fun because we feasted on wood-fired pizza, wild boar goulash, and apple strudel.

One of the real negatives of national or global restaurant chains is that they reduce our opportunities to enjoy locally authentic food.  What are your experiences with local/regional cuisine?  Favorites?  Disappointments?  While you think about that, you might enjoy this TED talk from Carolyn Steel, the author of Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives, about food and its impact on urban development.  It is a real eye-opener.



And if your local grocery or bakery doesn't have Cuban bread, you're really missing something.