Food that you miss

[AccidentalHedonist]

I'm relatively new to Seattle, and am still learning where to find the best of various foodstuffs. But as I was making breakfast for a friend and myself recently, I started really craving ...

scrapple.

And then I let out a little sigh, wondering if that's something that I may have to make a trip back to Pennsylvania for.

So, are there any foods out there that you can't find here (or can't find a quality version of) that you miss?

[elswinger]

Foods I miss from the grocery store (when I was a kid):

Larry’s Frozen Submarine Sandwiches

Larry’s Frozen Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

Tony’s Pizza (before they were “new and improved” back in the early 80’s)

Banana Popsicles (before they were new and improved. They used to taste like Juicy Fruit bubblegum. Later they tasted more like banana. they were still good, but they used to be better. I don’t think you can get a six pack anymore).

Cherry Popsicles. They must make them, but I haven’t seen a six pack of these either. I never liked orange or grape, so I don’t want to buy a big bag, just to get six cherry ones and throw the rest away.

B&M Beans in a jar.

Pot Pies in aluminum pans. My mom would reuse the pans for Roast Beef Hash & Egg and to reheat left over spaghetti (to make it crunchy).

Restaurants I miss (again, when I was a kid):

A&W. I remember you could get four Momma Burgers (basically a Dick’s Deluxe without cheese) and a gallon of root beer for $4.

Farrell’s. Great BBQ Roast Beef sandwiches and sundaes.

Sambo’s. They may have been born from racist roots, but they made great pancakes and hamburgers.

The Sweet Shoppe (South Sound Mall, Lacey, WA). They may still be open, but this was an ice cream parlor/diner where I learned that “Secret Sauce” was code 1000 Island Dressing on my hamburgers.

Shakeys Pizza. back in the late 1960’s, early 70s, this place ruled. The pizza was great and later, in the late 1980s, when I was in college, they added fried chicken. The one in West Olympia had an all you could eat pizza, chicken, and salad bar for $5.

Luigi’s Pizza (Lacey, WA). This closed when I was a kid and in my 40 years of living I have yet to have pizza as good. I’ve come close, but haven’t found my pizza nirvana. Wood fired. Almost snow-white mozzarella. Perfectly seasoned sausage and pepperoni. yum

KFC. Since they got rid of the Chicken Littles (boneless fried chicken patty on a dinner roll with mayonnaise and pepper) I have been in the dumps. Picture a White Castle slider but with chicken and mayo.

[girl chow]

Shakeys Pizza. back in the late 1960’s, early 70s, this place ruled. The pizza was great and later, in the late 1980s, when I was in college, they added fried chicken. The one in West Olympia had an all you could eat pizza, chicken, and salad bar for $5.

Ahhhh, Shakey's. It's the place where we would always spend our birthdays when I was a kid (the one that used to be on Auburn Way North). I remember for your birthday, they would bring you a pizza with a candle... and the candle would be stuck into a marshmallow on top of the pizza. Hilarious. We loved it.

For the record, there are still two Shakey's in this region.

The one I go to (very rarely) is in Maple Valley at 23917 S.E. Kent Kangley Road, which is in the Four Corners area. I haven't been, but I know there is one in Renton on Petrovitsky.

You should go there for a touch of nostalgia and tell us how it was.

Farrell's also was a place I spent a lot of time as a kid (the 1970s version of Chuck E. Cheese, but with way better eats). They used to have a giant ice cream dish called the "pig trough" or something like that... a huge sundae that 5 or 6 kids could share. oink oink.

[kiliki]

You know, much as I crave the bbq oysters from Tomales Bay, CA, good New Mexican food (ie sopapillas, which are not the same as the awful fried tortillas restaurants here call sopapillas), real Italian gelato, etc etc, I kinda like that there are some things that are unique to certain places. It makes life and travel more interesting in a rapidly homogenizing world.

[mb7o]

(you can probably get scrapple at philadelphia fevre, on madison between 23rd and john)

[LainerX]

Italian Beef Sammich

Good Polish Deli Food

Sausage Pizza where the sausage is in huge clumps or slabs

(can you tell I'm from Chicago?)

[rockdoggydog]

I grew up in Southern California, specifically Orange County and I really really miss In N' Out, there is nothing on earth like a Double Double with everything and a strawberry shake, especially in the summer when many of the In N' Outs sourced produce from local farms. Orange County is very strange in that it is a densely populated suburbia dotted with farms all over the place. I also miss Green Burrito when it was just one shack not the chain blandness that it is now. Here's a kicker though, there is one chain that I miss, Yoshinoya - Beef Bowl, it's actually a chain from Japan but well, they had the most wonderful dish that consisted of paper thin sliced beef sauteed with onions with their seasonings mixed served over rice and pickled ginger on the side, man I miss that.

I also miss Diedrich's Coffee, my first exposure to espresso, there was one on my way to school and thsi was the location where they roasted the beans for all of the locations extant at the time, about five locations. Walk in in the morning and breath in the aroma of roasting beans ahhh heaven.

The last thign I really miss is proper Shoyu Ramen, I can't find it here for all that we have a sizable Japanese population, it's just non-existent. I think that's everything that I actually miss.

rocky

[Mabelline]

elswinger, you touched a definite soft spot...I miss many of those same products and places...B&M Bottled Baked Beans--yum. Sambo's---yum. Shakey's---yum. Double crusted potpies in tins---yum---those were a special treat when we were sick. And I know they are still made, but danged if I can get them---Heinz Canned Soups.

Edit to add: Sizzler Steaks and Bonanza Steaks. The best salad bars of their times.

Edited May 15, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

[kieran]

I lived in Philadelphia for ten years before moving to Seattle and every so often I develop an insatiable longing for a good hot soft pretzel from Reading Terminal market. MANOMANOMAN they are delicious. Fortunately I go back to Philly to visit friends a couple of times a year so I can get my pretzel fix on. If you haven't tasted them you just can't imagine how good they are.

That said, I agree with Kiliki's observation that there is something wonderful about regional variation in available food choices.

[FWED]

Chicken Pot Pies. During the late 1940's and early 1950's there used to be a place on the University Ave between 44th and 45th that served only chicken pot pies. They were baked in real miniature tin pie pans and one could order just the pie and a cup of chicken soup or you could order the full dinner. Yumm. It contained a pot pie, buttered carrots and peas, and mashed potatoes covered in chicken gravy. My mother would take me shopping at the Penny's store up the street and then we would have lunch. Yes there was a real old fashioned J C Penny's store in the U district. This brings back fond memories. Thanks for bringing it up.

Edited May 15, 2004 by FWED (log)

[kitwilliams]

elswinger hit on a few memories for me...was it a Tin Roof Sundae at Farrell's that I remember?

And I thought I was the only person who ever ordered those Chicken Littles at KFC. So simple, so good!

I grew up in Long Beach, CA and practically lived at Alamitos Bay during the summers. When we were really little, my mom would take us and she'd make a huge thermos full of lemonade mixed with grape juice and lots of sandwiches but the ones I recall most fondly were the tomato and mayo on white bread. As teenagers we'd go to Chrisman's, a restaurant/snack bar where they made the best hot dogs: they'd split the dogs lengthwise, grill them and put them on hamburger buns. In the words of kieran, "MANOMANOMAN" were they good! Then in the late afternoon, a Big Stick always hit the spot.

Sorry about the trip down memory lane...food memories can be overwhelming, dontcha think?

[cxt]

But as I was making breakfast for a friend and myself recently, I started really craving ...

scrapple.

Scrapple, hehee! I worked in Pennsylvania for 8 years and couldn't bring myself to even look at scrapple, let alone eat it! (Sorry A.H.) But during that time, my family became addicted to the Grilled Sticky Buns from The Diner in State College, PA. One Christmas I even mail-ordered them as a present for my brother in law.

Someone mentioned the Farrell's Tin Roof Sundae. Is the Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait a reasonable substitute?

Finally, I love salted danish licorice, brimming with ammonia chloride. As a habit, they are more dangerous than smoking -- rumor has it that eating 5 packages will raise your blood pressure enough to kill you, so fortunately for me, they are difficult to find here. (If you know where to get them, don't tell me!)

[sparrowgrass]

When I lived out in Aberdeen/Hoquiam, I had to have my mom ship me stone ground corn meal. They just had that nasty little round box cornmeal from Quaker.

[vengroff]

Is there any place in Seattle to get a proper chicken-fried steak? I've rarely had a good one since the my youth in West Texas.

Once a year or so I'll break down and make myself one.

[malarkey]

someone on another thread was saying St Cloud in Madrona makes a mean CFS, but I think its a brunch item, not dinner. Larry's Greenfront in Pioneer Square also makes a decent CFS.

[ScorchedPalate]

I grew up in Southern California, specifically Orange County

<snip>

I also miss Green Burrito when it was just one shack not the chain blandness that it is now.  Here's a kicker though, there is one chain that I miss, Yoshinoya - Beef Bowl, it's actually a chain from Japan but well, they had the most wonderful dish that consisted of paper thin sliced beef sauteed with onions with their seasonings mixed served over rice and pickled ginger on the side, man I miss that.

Another refugee from 'Behind the Orange Curtain' chimes in...

Farrell's Pig Trough was nothing compared to the party-sized monstrosity called THE ZOO! (Remember the sirens and strobe lights as its red litter was raced around the tables by two waiters??) They also had a great sundae called the Gold Digger with butterscotch syrup and malt powder on it. YUM! Leatherby's Family Creamery (a Sacto-area chain that had an outpost in Orange where I worked for a while as a high-schooler) made a similar creation with homemade thick caramel and malt-flavored whipped cream over amazing vanilla ice cream.

As for Yoshinoya Beef Bowl... SeaCrotty misses this very badly from our year in San Jose. We went to the one in Tustin the last time we were in OC, and it was dreadful. I hope the others aren't as bad. I think they're suffering from El Pollo Loco syndrome: They should have stuck to the thing they did best and not mucked up the menu with so many terrible things. (BTW, the meat and onions are actually stewed in a salty broth, not sauteed... and I won't tell you where on the steer that thin-sliced beef comes from!)

I don't miss Green Burrito so much as I miss Taco Mesa, mostly because it still exists in its original glory. We ate there 3 times in 3 days on our last trip down south. Not authentic, just amazingly good. <sob>

The thing I miss most, though, is mexican "plate food": combination plates of enchiladas and rellenos covered in chile sauce, alongside tacos and other stuff... 2 items for 7.99, 3 for 8.99, plus rice and fijoles. The closest I've seen 'round here is Rosita's in Greenwood, but even theirs is a pale imitation of El Conejo, Don Jose, and their ilk. FWIW, I missed plate food even when I lived in SF, but at least there I could get a good burrito to console myself.

I also miss the so-cal pie-and-burger diners, like Pie 'n' Burger in Pasadena, Polly's Pies in Orange (and elsewhere), and pre-chainification Marie Callender's.

~Anita

Villa Park HS class of (mumble)

[lala]

It's funny, I can't think of anything that I miss from living where I have in America. But that was the Midwest and SF, and there ain't nothing I can't get as good, or better here.

But having lived in London, I do miss (with a passion), Neals Yard in Covent Garden. Now, I know, their cheeses are available here, but what some of you have been saying about regional foods being special in their regions holds true for their cheeses. The cheeses they send to the States are not handled as well, so simply aren't as good. (I won't accuse them of sending us inferior cheeses! )

I also miss the incredible array of fruits and veggies available in London, at almost any store or market. The EU and Mediterranean gives them a stunning availability of gorgeous foodstuffs, at remarkable prices. I can't afford a Passionfruit here ($2.00 per!), but at any store, or market stall in London, I could buy them by the bagful. The Spanish Oranges were amazing, and the French fraises du bois could make you weep...

Edited May 16, 2004 by lala (log)

[Mabelline]

OK, I may have to turn in my eG card after this, but down in Fort Worth, there are two places I miss so baaaad sometimes. One is Pancho's Mexican on West Camp Bowie, the other is Peony's on the Weatherford Traffic Circle. Pedestrian...yeah....cheap...yeah...good in and out with a workcrew...YEAH...food good?...YEAH

Thanks for bringing up whipped cream with malt powder...SO will love some of that!!

[andiesenji]

I miss abalone. It was available at every fish restaurant along the California coast but my favorite was the restaurant at Marineland of the Pacific...

Many restaurants in "touristy" places are just so-so but that place was a white tablecloth/real silver flatware, restaurant and their abalone steak dinner with the potatoes Anna and asparagus was superb.

[agnolottigirl]

Dry ribs and pulled-pork nachos at Red Hot & Blue, the DC-area chain.

Fresh mangoes in the Philippines.

Homemade red raspberry and black raspberry ice creams, in season only, from a tiny family-owned stand in Boxford, MA.

Embarrassing, I guess, but true: the fajitas at Fajita's, a SW chain. They make their own tortillas. . . I could just eat the tortillas and be pretty happy.

The "wet wimpy," a BBQ sandwich with homemade potato chips and sweet onions on it. Forget the name of the restaurant, but it's (was?) in Old Town Alexandria, VA.

Cannoli from Modern Pastry in Boston's North End.

Dark chocolate blueberry bark from a lady in Harpswell Neck, ME.

Pork belly at Hugo's in Portland, ME.

And I sure wish there were a Pagliacci's on this side of the water!

[bobmac]

Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausages

[AccidentalHedonist]

(you can probably get scrapple at philadelphia fevre, on madison between 23rd and john)

Thanks for the info.. I'll certainly check it out!!

[AccidentalHedonist]

Scrapple, hehee! I worked in Pennsylvania for 8 years and couldn't bring myself to even look at scrapple, let alone eat it! (Sorry A.H.)

No worries.. scrapple is certainly one of those foods where it's better when you don't know what it's made out of. :-)

[maggiethecat]

Italian Beef Sammich

Good Polish Deli Food

Sausage Pizza where the sausage is in huge clumps or slabs

(can you tell I'm from Chicago?)

Yup. Italian Beef Sausage is the shibboleth here, and man will I miss them if I ever move from Chicago.

A Montreal transplant, I mourn the obvious, like smoked meat and bagels.

[rockdoggydog]

I grew up in Southern California, specifically Orange County

<snip>

I also miss Green Burrito when it was just one shack not the chain blandness that it is now.  Here's a kicker though, there is one chain that I miss, Yoshinoya - Beef Bowl, it's actually a chain from Japan but well, they had the most wonderful dish that consisted of paper thin sliced beef sauteed with onions with their seasonings mixed served over rice and pickled ginger on the side, man I miss that.

Another refugee from 'Behind the Orange Curtain' chimes in...

>

The thing I miss most, though, is mexican "plate food": combination plates of enchiladas and rellenos covered in chile sauce, alongside tacos and other stuff... 2 items for 7.99, 3 for 8.99, plus rice and fijoles. The closest I've seen 'round here is Rosita's in Greenwood, but even theirs is a pale imitation of El Conejo, Don Jose, and their ilk. FWIW, I missed plate food even when I lived in SF, but at least there I could get a good burrito to console myself.

I also miss the so-cal pie-and-burger diners, like Pie 'n' Burger in Pasadena, Polly's Pies in Orange (and elsewhere), and pre-chainification Marie Callender's.

~Anita

Villa Park HS class of (mumble)

Oh yeah the Mexican combo plates, I miss Avila's El Ranchito combo plates, so much goodness. I totally forgot about Polly's until you mentioned it but yeah I loved their chicken dinner and then lemon meringue pie, oh man! I'm sorry to hear about the Yoshinoya's that horrible news as I am a Tustin High alum, I wrote off El Pollo Loco a long time ago, they were so good when they opened, it was like getting the grilled chicken you'd find at road side stands in Baja without having to take a road trip, and then they diversified, stupid expanded menus. Oh I almost forgot one, dim sum at Seafood Palace in Garden Grove/Costa Mesa everything there was great but the best part was the turnip and taro cakes that they would grill table side on the dim dum trolley, that's the way to do dim sum.

rocky