Conde NasteTraveler: 50 States, 50 Cuisines

Yes! I’ve never noticed the sheep trailers in California, but I remember Fresno/Stockton area, they have Basque restaurants. Had totally forgotten that. I lived for a brief while in Merced as a teenager, but I was busy doing young stuff at that time. Thanks for posting @shrinkrap!

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@Phoenikia - it’s amazing the diversity in melting pot countries like Canada and the US. The more you learn the more you realize all you didn’t know.

My gone away bff (work wife) was an event planner, so I used to go to all sorts of events with her. One of my favorites was hosted by the Canadian Hospitality Industry. It was held at an historic railroad stop in our area. The event was on an old train, with each rail car representing a different province. Great night, and followed by a Cirque du Soleil show. Perfect night, the food & drinks were amazing, not to mention the show.

I’ve always been impressed by the diversity in the Vancouver BC area too.

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I haven’t spent much time in Vancouver lately- in fact, I haven’t had a meal in Vancouver since 2005, but there certainly are some interesting ethnic places in Richmond and East Vancouver. Saskatoon and Calgary are quite diverse, as well. Saskatoon (population somewhere around 200 000) has had a Burmese restaurant for years- Toronto (metro population of 2.5 million I think )only had one Burmese resto for about 18 months before it closed last year.

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Once upon a time, there were Basque boarding houses in San Francisco that opened the dining hall to the public, particularly for Sunday supper. Dating ourselves, we know.

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Very first girlfriend lived next door to the Basque Hotel on Romolo off Broadway (San Francisco). They served the traditional family style communal table huge meal. Tureen of soup, bucket of Salad, appetizer (or two), bottomless plates of fries and pick two entrees from the offers of the day. Great French bread too. All washed down with carafes of red out of water glasses. Sadly became a hipster cocktail lounge.

We were hitting the two Basque joints in Reno, prior Covid. Does scratch the itch for that style of eats.

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Two more for you: Hotel du Midi and Hotel des Alpes.

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You must have gone to Louie’s Basque Corner then? I don’t remember the name of the other one @Google_Gourmet. Oddly, although we lived there, we never ate Basque in Reno. It was saved for road trips across the state.

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We live in San Francisco, so Reno is a road trip across the state for us. :slight_smile:

We’ve enjoyed Louis Basque Corner and the Santa Fe Hotel. Santa Fe reminded me more of the Basque Hotel in San Francisco. No pretensions, food service extension of the hotel.

I’ve had business lunches at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Good food, but pricey (for the genre). Its a 30 ~ 45 minute drive from home, so we can’t drink with dinner. No can do.

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@Google_Gourmet - your road trips across the state are the right ones, especially since Reno is only about 15-20 miles from the California border lol. :crazy_face: While I enjoy seeing the wide open spaces across Nevada, and the basin and range landscape across the state, it’s a long and boring ride after awhile. Can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen it on the way to Utah, where I have family.

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Did not know about that! Will have to give those restaurants a try when things open up a bit and the Central Valley isn’t a COVID hot zone. We also have friends who decamped to Truckee, near the Reno restaurants.

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Truckee - great place to go during this SS! Some good places to eat right in town. Sounds pretty smart to me @StephanieL.

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Side eyes emoji!

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Seriously. On my last visit, on our way south, we left Paso Robles after lunch, got stuck crossing LA and Orange County- getting to La Jolla around 7 pm, to visit a 90something cousin, spent about an hour dealing with closed exits and detours before getting to our hotel on the other side of the freeway, and ended up having microwaved enchiladas for dinner in our hotel room. Met a cousin at Starbucks near Carlsbad around 9 am the next morning, had a rather awesome Middle Eastern sandwich from a restaurant inside a gas station next to the Starbucks, then started driving to San Jose . We stopped at an In n Out, and one bathroom stop, getting to San Jose around dinner time (our friends had made us dinner- I think it was close to 9 pm). Lol.

To be fair, we’re always in a rush to or from southern California, too. I sleep for a week once I get back home.

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Nice.

Probably different, but we were visiting son and DIL for the first time in Turkey, arrived “after hours”, and what seemed like days of travel.

We get some 7-eleven version of what I was anticipating.

Good stops on the way, but we didn’t have the right currency.


Oh well. Its all good.

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@naf - regarding Washington State, it’s not the first thing that came to mind, but in a way it makes some sense.
I know I’ve posted before about the connections between Alaska, Hawaii and Washington. The SeattleTacoma area has become a locus for the other two states, and vice versa. Anyway, lots of Filipinos here, in Alaska, and of course the Hawaiian Islands. Now I want some lumpia. :crying_cat_face: Oh and pancit!

As for Utah, it’s the land of the chain restos. The food is improving, and there is excellent Mexican food to be found. Also great food at the ski resorts.

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I hear you.

I try to visit our relatives and friends around lunch and dinner- which they tend to want to plan, so I can at least seek out good coffee and good breakfasts that are more up my alley.

By the way, I discovered 7 11 in Japan is amazing! Chicken katsu sandwiches and Basque cheesecake! My last dinner in Japan was a 7 11 dinner on a train, and it was tasty!

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Adult daughter and I were reading these posts, and looked up "Lambchop ", which SHE recalls from HER childhood! I thought it was mine!

I love the 7-11 and Circle Ks (and Family Marts) in Japan! Makes our US convenience stores look quite sad. I think it’s been almost 10 years since I last stepped into a US convenience store, and that was likely because I was desperate for something.

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https://gastronomicslc.com/pastrami-burgers-in-utah/
…can’t forget the iconic pastrami burger :hamburger:

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Re: convenience stores in the States
I’ve been surprised by neat stuff inside some convenience stores and gas station stores. Neat Cuban pastries at some in Miami, a Middle Eastern restaurant inside one near Carlsbad. I haven’t tried any yet, but apparently the fried chicken is pretty amazing at some convenience stores/gas stations across the States.

Some of the convenience store chains in PA and Maryland seem so big and fancy compared to the convenience stores in Canada.

When I’m in Alberta, a lot of convenience stores sell puffed wheat squares, and peanut butter marshmallow squares (confetti bars- I think they have some other names as well).

I admit I like checking out the convenience stores in the States to look at the regional treats, like regional chips, candy and jerky.

I might start a new thread re: convenience store food lol.

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