Regional Favorites
Many areas of the country are identified by a favorite and famous food. Philly Cheesesteaks are perhaps the most famous, but there’s Chicago’s Deep Dish Pizza, Maryland Crab cakes, Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Florida’s Key Lime pie, Maine Lobster roll, New Orleans Po-boy sandwich, California In-n-out burgers, and many more.
On our recent trip to Cambria we had a Chicago specialty which was new to me. It had been gifted to our hosts previously and stored in the freezer due to covid’s disruption to gatherings. It was called Portillo’s Italian Beef. Some of our cousins had had this in Chicago and raved about it. Well, even after being frozen (including the buns) it was incredible.
How was this made, I wondered. Google found me a site I had never seen (more’s the pity) called The Food Hacker. This is a guy who attempts to copy the methods for preparing various recipes, even when they’re secret. What a discovery for me, but obviously I was late to the party, since it’s been around for years, and was even a TV series. No matter; it’s mine now, and if it’s new to you, that’s good as well.
This is the link to his Portillo's Italian Beef recipe. I guarantee I’ll be making this as soon as I discover the local butcher that can slice that thin.
I used to live in New Jersey so I had ideal actual Philly Cheesesteaks. I order them here in California. They try hard, but lack something. Coincidentally in today’s food section the editor has been searching for the best Cheesesteak. The best, she concluded, is from a local food truck. I’ll give it a try.
What’s your local delicacy? Local or regional? Do you make it yourself? Do you introduce guests and/or visitors to your regional specialty? Do they approve, even if it’s Haggis or Lutefisk? Do they ever visit again?