Mitchell

Ever had a steamed cheeseburger? Steamed beef with onions and Vermont cheddar cheese! It's the only burger that I know of that's worth a special trip. Ted's Restaurant 1044 Broad St Meriden, CT 06450

I've been drinking Moxie for over 50 years. It seems as if people either love it or hate it, with no "inbetweens." It has a distinctive taste that's hard to describe. It's sorta like a less sweet and slightly bitter Dr. Pepper. See Wikipedia

I'm not at all sure that residence decides taste except if you've been served a paricular food since childhood, you're more apt to like it. I've tried grits numerous times in different places prepared different ways and I still don't like it. Now, being a Rhode Island boy, I love jonnycakes, which is basically ground white corn that is fried. I also like eels, tripe and head cheese!!

They were offering free small cups from 11/11-11/23. I was also just told that the blend is only available in New England and Albany area , NY stores.

Who has tried the new McD's coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters? I just tried it and find it quite good; somewhat comparable to Dunkin' Donuts. Don't be bashful. You don't have to admit eating at Mickey D's, just that you've had the coffee.

During last weekend's visit to Rhode Island, I was surprised to see so many Tim Hortons. I had seen a few in Maine, but there are none in NH or VT. Wonder why?? I like both Dunkin' and Starbucks coffee. I just use little cream in DD and quite light with Starbucks. I haven't tried the "new" McDonalds. McD's coffee wasn't bad before the switch. Several years ago, it was undrinkable.

There are a lot more than a dozen. I visited six on Friday and Saturday and had 2 weiners at each. Harry's is pretty good. Original New York Systems at 424 Smith Street, Providence claims to be the oldest (1927). Olneyville dates from 1946?. My favourite is probably Sparky's in East Providence. The products are very similiar no matter where you get them, with only subtle differences in the weiner and the flavor of the meat sauce.

Well, I'm back. Four restaurants/diners that I visited had no clear chowder. All had the white N.E. Clam Chowder. One also had red. I tried a bowl of scallop/corn chowder at the Wickford Diner. It was more like bisque than a chowder - small pieces of potato, small pieces of scallop, a little corn. Not bad flavor, but unsubstantial. I decided to forget the chowder and check out weiner joints. If anyone is interested, I'll start a new thread on that.

"However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt." Herman Melville - MOBY DICK - 1851 Nary a tomato, nor dairy product mentioned!

I just joined the Society as a result of this thread and wanted to add my experiences. Although no longer living in the Ocean State, I was born and spent my childhood there. In the late 1940's my mother taught me to make quahog chowder and stated that she had gotten the recipe from her grandmother. It might not be "native," but certainly goes back to the late 1800's. Real simple - chopped or coarsely minced quahogs, diced potatoes, onions, salt pork, salt and pepper. Quahog juice and water make the broth. She didn't, but I add a bit of garlic. There was always potatoes and onions in the house and she kept salt pork for her beans. My brothers and I would go the two blocks to Narragansett Bay and dig the clams. It cost next to nothing, so we had it often. I was in my teens before I even tasted the pasty white stuff. As to the red - I have no idea what was popular in Providence 10 years ago, but I do remember Rocky Point Park chowder. It was a bit different from the"Manhattan" clam chowder that is served from Connecticut south. We had Portugese neighbors that made a bouillabaisse-type chowder with tomatoes. I think they may have used mussels instead of clams/quahogs. In about 6 hours, I will be headed back to R.I. for the weekend and looking forward to having some "real" clear chowder. Might even force myself to dispose of a few clam cakes and stuffies.

Johnnycakes were made and eaten in R.I. long before the white man arrived there. With all due respect to "Mr. Kelly," New York System Weiners date to the 1930's - hardly native!