Best Eats

The Charlottesvillain at Tigerhawk had his first taste of Memphis barbecue and in a mouth-watering post pronounces it excellent, whether wet or dry.  CV absolutely ruined my dinner plans, as I am 123 miles from Redbones in Somerville, which I believe is the best approximation of authentic barbecue in New England although I would be delighted to learn of other contenders.  He got me thinking about regional cuisine - an easy place to find myself - and the quests I have made over the years for the perfect crab shack (The Tap Room in Chesapeake City, MD), Diner (jury still out) and corn dog (failed in the attempt).

So where would you go for the best eats that your region has to offer?  Who makes the best pie, the finest scrapple, the most divine green chile?  Where are the best eats if you want to eat the local specialty?  Bring on your favorites, and I'll start planning my next road trip.

Comments

[GreenmanTim]

These are marvelous recommendations! The Flume, a divine restaurant situated above a herring run on Cape Cod and operated by Earl Mills, the chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (unrecognized federally) offers superb Yankee fare, and the clam bake is second to none.

[Genevieve]

In my immediate surrounds, the best local cuisine is Honey Grove Volunteer Fire Department (Christian County, KY) barbecue, cooked over an open pit and local hardwoods by two old gentlemen who've been cooking barbecue for fifty years or more together. Their barbecued meats are famous locally, and they've certainly raised a lot of money for fire fighting. They only cook a few times a year nowadays
.

Slightly farther from my rural home, the Pioneer's Club in Hopkinsville has some wonderful cooks. They are an association of black men, all volunteers, who provide scholarships for black students. They cater a lot of events and I've never had a meal they fixed that wasn't wonderful. (Fattening, but wonderful.) They are also famous for their barbecue which I think they cook every Saturday.

[Charlottesvillain]

Thanks GMT. As I mentioned over at Tigerhawk, you'd definitely want to check out Nick Tahous in Rochester NY for the best, uh, garbage plate. Of course its the only place you'll fine one but its worth a very long drive.

Working in downtown Manhattan for many years, I became a calzone afficianado, if such a thing can exist. I determined that the best sausage calzone on the planet was found at Steve's Pizza on Church Street. It contained spicy Italien sausage sliced thin in a red sauce. Magnificent. The best eggplant parm calzone, however, was found in a strange hole in the wall on New Street called The Grotto (where, inexplicably, the pizza was inedible). The only chicken parm calzone I ever ate, and it was a real delicacy, was found at Majestic Pizza on either Vesey or Liberty Street. Alas, I haven't tasted any of these fine calzones since 9/11 and think it quite probable that both Steve's and Majestic did not survive that day given their proximity to the WTC.

[fuzzy_turtle]

I'd tell you to get the baingan bartha at the jackson diner in Queens (best indian food EVER!) but it's no longer my 'neck of the woods'. Now I'd have to say a slice at Holiday Pizza is probably what I relish now, close to home.

I'm a woman of simple tastes.