Regional Foods
When I travel about the USA, I like to taste the special foods that are typical of the region that I am visiting. Many of the regional specialties that were once unique to certain places, are now available all over the USA. You can find Philadelphia Cheesesteaks, New England Clam Chowder and Buffalo Wings in restaurants and fast food stands in every state. Other items like Cinncinatti Chili are seldom found far from their home territory. None the less, the best quality and most authentic regional food can usually be found only in its original home.
We have a type of sandwich that is popular all over the USA. It typically comes on a large soft bun shaped like a small loaf of bread. It is often called a Hoagie or an Italian Hoagie, but is also known in some cities as a Submarine Sandwich or simply a Sub. In the New England States it is called a Grinder. In many of the Southern States it is a Poor Boy or a Po Boy. This sandwich comes in many different varieties with special regional adaptions. As you travel from state to state, it is interesting to sample the local variety and compare it to all the other regional adaptions.
The most common Hoagie, Sub, or Grinder is the Italian. It consists of a variety of luch meats and cheeses usually including ham, salami, capacola, provolone cheese and possibly pepperoni sausage. Sometimes it is baked until the cheese melts. It is typically dressed with some fresh tomato, shredded lettuce and a bit of oil and vinegar seasoned with a bit of dried oregano. Every city and town has many local shops and pizza parlors that serve Italian Hoagies or Subs, Each shop has its own way of adding a touch of variety to this old standard. The local residents all have their opinion on who makes the best Italian Sub in town.
Another common variety of Hoagie is the Philadelphia Chees Steak or Pilly Cheese Steak. This too is served in towns and cities in every state with many variations and local enhancements. The best place to find the original authentic Cheese Steak is in Philadelphia. Pat's and Geno's in South Philadelphia are the two most authentic cheese steak restaurants in the USA. Pat's reputedly invented this sandwich, but Geno's has also been making them for almost as many years. There are dozens of other restaurants all over Philadelphia that make similar Philadelpia Steak Sandwiches with Cheese, and each one offers its own slight improvement on the recipe.
A regional specialty that has become very popular across the USA is the Buffalo Wing. No, it is not something made from Bison meat. It consists of fried chicken wings spiced with a fiery hot pepper sauce, and it was invented at the Anchor Bar and Grill in Buffalo New York History tells us that the Anchor Bar ran out of snack foods to serve to its customers one busy evening, and all that was left in its refrigerator were some chicken wings. The cook decided to fry the chicken wings, then douse them with some hot pepper sauce and serve them to the customers. It became an immediate success. The Anchor Bar has been serving them ever since.
Now, Hot Wings or Buffalo Wings are served as snack foods in bars and restaurants across the USA. They are a favorite snack for sports fans watching football games or hockey matches. There are endless varieties of Buffalo Wings served in various eateries. The original Buffalo Wings are still the fiery hot ones, but restaurants typically offer Mild, MNedium, Hot or Super Hot wings. They offer Honey Mustard flavored wings, Pamesan flavored or Barbeque wings. The traditional accompanyment with hot wings is typically celery sticks with ranch style salad dressing. This was originally designed to cool off your burning tongue after you eat some of those fiery hot original Buffalo Wings.
When I travel about in the USA, I like to find these regional specialties and sample them in their home territory. When in Cincinatti, I search for Skyline Chili, served over spaghetti and topped with onions, cheese and diced tomato. In Chicago, I love the deep dish pizza and the loaded hot dogs. In New York, I sample the thin crust brick oven pizza, Nathan's hot dogs, bagels, cheesecake, and the myriad of foods served from sidewalk carts. In New England, it is the clam chowder, fried clams and lobster. In Baltimore, the crab cakes. In florida, key lime pie. Barbeque comes in so many varieties, that one must taste it in North Carolina, in Texas, in St. Lous, in Memphis and in Kansas City to appreciate some of the many culinary possibilities. Tacos, Burritos, and other border Mexican specialties are best in the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The USA is so large, and there are so many regional foods, that one could devote a lifetime to tasting them all.
Miami Scene
I happened to be in Miami, Florida a few months ago. It clearly has the most Latin American atmosphere of any city in North America. As you walk down the streets in the entertainment districts, you constantly hear the fiery throb of salsa beats emanating from the nightclubs and restaurants. Spanish is spoken almost as frequently as English. Cuban cuisine is served in many of the local eateries.
Miami Beach is situated on a narrow spit of land bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It's broad sand beaches are fringed with an array of high-rise hotels and condominiums. These upscale resorts draw an international array of vacationers as well as the jet-set party crowd. The southern portion is known as South Beach, It has many smaller boutique hotels with art-deco architecture, classy restaurants, trendy bars and exclusive shops. On a Saturday night, the cars are backed up bumper to bumper along the main beachfront drive. The sidewalks are jammed with well-dressed young people seeking food, drink and entertainment. At least half of them are speaking Spanish. And the throbbing Miami beat permeates the air.
The Intracoastal Waterway separates Miami Beach from the mainland and downtown Miami. Along the convoluted channels and bays, one sees lavish yachts and high-speed motorboats. It looks like a scene taken out of the Miami Vice movie set.
Downtown is a bit more sedate. Amidst the lofty office buildings are an assortment of hotels and condominiums. They attract the more budget minded tourists expecially those awaiting departure of the cruise ships parked in the nearby harbor basin. Inland from that commercial center, a vast array of lower buidings spreads westward into miles of suburban bedroom communities, shopping complexes and business parks. Beyond that, begins the jungles and wetlands of the great Everglades.
South from Eighth Avenue, also known as "Calle Ocho", is the area commonly called "Little Havana" because of its huge population of Cuban immigrants. In the neighborhood, there are two famous restaurants, "La Carreta" and "Versaille" known for their authentic Cuban cuisine. I ate lunch at Versaille. I was one of the few customers that spoke any English. Even the waitresses spoke amost exculusively in Spanish. Families with Children all chattering in Spanish were seated at many of the tables. This was definitely a Cuban hangout.
Across the room, I saw a middle-aged gentleman impecccibly dressed in a white linen jacket, with a black silk shirt, black necktie and black handkerchief in his lapel pocket. He sat quetly sipping his coffee and staring directly ahead through dark colored glasses. He looked like Al Pacino playing Carlito or Scarface. Ahh, this was Miami.
President John F Kennedy
I was in Dallas this week and I finally had a chance to visit Dealy Plaza. This is the place where president John F. Kennedy was assasinated.
The young charismatic president of the USA was shot while visiting Dallas Texas in 1963. He died in the Parkland Hospital a few miles from Dealy Plaza. His alleged assasin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested a few days later in a Dallas movie theater, and was subsequently shot and killed by Jack Ruby while in police custody at the Dallas police Station. Kennedy's death shocked the whole world. The circumstances surrounding President Kennedy's murder and the subsequent murder of Oswald created a cloud of mystery and suspicion that fostered many conspiracy theories.
For the past forty years, there have been numerous investigations, hearings and reconstructions attempting to explain the exact circumstances of the shooting. Many theories have been proposed that implicate other gunmen or accomplices in various conspiracies to assasinate the president. Books, movies and television programs have presented the evidence and analyzed it in many ways to prove or disprove the various theories.
I remember the circumstances of the shooting. I have seen many of the movies and television shows analyzing that incident. I have read about and heard the various theories. I know that President Kennedy was riding in an open car in a motorcade through Dealy Plaza in Dallas when three shots rang out. Lee Harvey Oswald, was positioned in the sixth floor window of the Dallas School Board Book Repository Building overlooking Dealy Plaza. He fired the shots that hit president Kennedy in the neck and shoulder.
Afterwards, conspiracy theorists speculated that Oswald alone could not have possibly accomplished this assasination. They spoke of a mysterious second gunman positioned on the grassy knoll to the right front of the motorcade. Numerous investigations and research could find no evidence to support those theories. Nevertheless, I have seen images and reconstructions of this assasination portrayed over and over again.
It was facinating to go to Dealy Plaza and see the exact spot where President Kennedy was shot. I could see the Book Repository Building and its sixth floor window overlooking the street. I could walk up the grassy knoll where the mysterious second gunman was supposedly positioned. I was even able to enter the Book Repository Building and visit the Sixth Floor Museum, now preserved as a historic site. The museum provided recorded audio tours of its exhibits featuring the presidency and the assasination of John F. Kennedy. The most emotionally moving experience, for me, was just standing at that sixth floor window looking down on Dealy Plaza just as Lee Harvey Oswald must have viewed it though the telescopic sight of his rifle on November 22, 1963.
If you are old enough to remember John F. Kennedy and to remember the day he was assasinated, you should visit Dealy Plaza in Dallas. It will bring back many old memories.
Posted Mar 12 2008, 12:11 PM by Mike Leco with no comments
Filed under: John F Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, assassination
Friendly People
I know that the reputation of the USA has gotten a bit tarnished in the past few years. Our political leaders have done some stupid things that have disappointed our international friends and have increased the discontent of our detractors. I am not going to defend our national policies nor join in the criticism. I just want to assure everyone around the world that the people living in the USA are still compassionate, caring and hospitable to foreign guests.
We are a nation of immigrants. Our parents, grandparents or forefathers came from many nations. Our society is composed of people of many races, many religions and many ethnic backgrounds. We have learned to accept diversity.
When you come to the USA, I cannot promise you that you won't encounter a few rude people, but I can assure you that most of the US population will welcome you. Friendship and hospitality are traits that can be readily found all across this land in every state.
I often journey to New York City on business. That crowded metropolis of teeming masses is noted for its assertive unfriendly inhabitants. They walk down the sidewalks at a swift pace, speaking to no one, avoiding eye contacts and only offering curt retorts to anyone impeding their progress .
Yet, I have seen a family of Japanese tourists, meekly intercept one of these truculent New Yorkers to ask for assistance in finding some destination. The stern visage of the New Yorker melts instantly as their concern and compassion takes over. The stolid native may even deviate from his own destination to walk many blocks out of his way to assist the tourist family in finding the way. This is a scene that I have seen repeated over and over again in New York City.
The Southern states are known for the polite gentility of their inhabitants. Any and all visitors can expect to be greeted with excessive politeness and gracious hospitality. That is the way of the South. In the Midwest, the folks are friendly and accepting of all guests. Friends and strangers alike are usually wecomed into the home and heart to be treated like members of the family. On the West Coast, life and social intercource is very casual. One can escalate from stranger to trusted friend in a matter of minutes.
If you come to visit the USA, I think you will be pleasantly suprised at how graciously you will be welcomed by the people. I don't mean to imply that all of the government bureaucrats that you encounter in the airport will be so friendly and polite. Nor, am I certain that all of the vendors trying to sell you tourist stuff will be so gracious. Once you get away from the tourist traps and meet the people living in the towns and cities across the USA, you will see how wonderful they can treat a stranger from another land.