Some foods you never forget, and will always be associated with a specific place and time. Here is my list. To qualify, I must have actually lived there, and eaten it many times. Most can still be found, some are gone forever:
- Kansas City, Missouri… BBQ (of course!), so much of it, everywhere.
- LeMars, Iowa… chocolate cream filled long johns from Vander Meers bakery. Ate these many times after basketball practice in the days when calories were meaningless.
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa… Canadian bacon and mushroom pizza from Charlies. Back in my college days, a little place across from our dorm that did an amazing business… gone forever… wish I knew how to duplicate the crust/sauce combination.
- Holland, Michigan… Skiles polluted (with everything!), greasy pizza… word is the place is still open after all these years.
- Fort Wayne, Indiana… ok, I remember no good food in Fort Wayne.
- Cincinnati, Ohio… ribs from the Montgomery Inn (my wife disagrees and goes for the seafood crepes at The Grand Finale). When I first began work in Cincinnati, my boss suggested we go have chili for lunch. Went to Skyline. If you have the chance, do yourself a favor and don’t go! It was the most disgusting “chili” I ever ate. The next day, he suggested ribs. I was highly skeptical, but fell in love with the Montgomery Inn rib sauce… sweet, tangy, unique taste.
- St Louis, Missouri… Imo’s pepperoni pizza. Tons of good food in St Louis, much better food. Superb Italian food. But Imo’s, I associate with St Louis because of repetition
- Spartanburg, South Carolina… Fuddruckers ribeye sandwich… a family tradition after our kids sporting events… barely beating out The Beacon “cheeseburger aplenty”. When people would fly in for visits to our company, on their last day, we would always take them to The Beacon. A massive, greasy fast food landmark. A cheeseburger would be served on a large plate, completed buried under onion rings and fries. You had to eat your way down. A mean last meal before someone had to get on a plane for a long trip home.
- Winfield, Kansas… avocado chicken from E&J’s. The owner named the now defunct restaurant for his two daughter’s initials… and he knew how to work magic with chicken.
- Beaverton, Oregon… three cheese salmon that my wife would make from fresh wild caught salmon. This was a tough one, as Beaverton had so much outstanding food that we sampled regularly.
- Burlington, Iowa… chicken lips with blue cheese (Yes, chicken lips, google it, the recipe is online)
- Grand Haven, Michigan ….??? … the answer might take years, and much dedication to discovering this truth.