Fried rice at Chinese restaurants (just to gauge the kitchen’s wok and wok hei skills)
Any ice cream made in-house
Chawanmushi
Lou fassum
Mole
1 Like
At diners, I choose one of these
Grilled cheese
BLT
Club sandwich
Hot Turkey
Nicer Italian restaurants
Pasta all’Amatriciana
Veal scallopine al limone, which is hard to find where I live
Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola
Italian lunch spots
veal or chicken parm sandwiches
This is the kind of veal sandwich I like in Toronto
3 Likes
Gnocchi al gorgonzola
Coffee granita
Mint gelato
Coffee gelato
Passionfruit gelato
For a slightly different take on this (or maybe slightly weird), I like to try some of the same side items over and over at different restaurants of the same type. When in coastal US areas, I’ll get a cup of NE clam chowder as an appetizer at any restaurant that has it on the menu. If I’m at a seafood-ish restaurant twice on the same trip, I’ll also try the Manhattan clam chowder.
If in an area where conch chowder is offered, I’ll try a cup of that over and over across many restaurants. In New England or anywhere lobster rolls are a thing, I’ll try that across several restaurants. In South Florida, especially in the Keys, at any restaurant we eat, I’ll try their version of Key Lime pie. You might not think so, but this seems to have wildly more variability (sometimes hideously so) than the chowders or lobster rolls mentioned previously.
At Indian and Caribbean/Haitian restaurants that I return to several times, I like to make my way through all their goat entrees before moving on to chicken entrees or others.
5 Likes
I try a lot of butter tarts, clam chowder and lobster rolls when I’m in regions that do them well.
There’s a Clam Chowder Trail with a passport book, in which you can collect stamps from participating restaurants across Nova Scotia prizes. This is run through the NS tourism board. I had fun collecting the stamps, but I soon realized one cup of chowder (rather than a bowl) with its accompanying biscuit is plenty of chowder each day, esp if you’re in the Maritimes for more than a week.
I also tend to order huevos rancheros , chiles rellenos and enchiladas suizas when I see them. I think I’ve tried most Huevos Rancheros in Toronto (the Huevos Divorciados at Easy are my favourite, there are so many meh versions in TO). I’ve tried at least 3 dozen restaurant versions of Huevos Rancheros across North America over the past 20 years.
I was trying many shakshoukas for around 3 years, then got tired of them. I also had a fish taco habit for about 3 or 4 years that ran its course .
That said, I limit myself to 3 or 4 variations of any one dish in a week so I don’t get sick of it.
2 Likes
I do the same. We’ve been to several Caribbean islands and we’d order conch fritters every time we saw them on a menu. The variations were amazing. In a similar vein we’ve ordered Japanese food in Mexico, Chinese food in Portugal, and Moroccan (I think) in Paris. The interpretations were so different.
4 Likes
I order Piña Coladas wherever they’re offered in the Caribbean and Hawaii.
1 Like
When I was in Paris a few years ago, dining at moderately priced places, I ate at a highly recommended Italian restaurant, can’t remember the name, maybe in Bastille area. Incredibly delicious, better than any other meal we had there. Had lasagna with fresh pasta sheets and pesto.
I hesitate to ask for fear of getting an eye roll, but have you tried the frozen one at Trader Joe’s? It is not bad.
2 Likes
Now that I think about it, two more must haves:
2 Hot Dogs = 1 w/mustard & relish & 1 w/ cooked onions
I’m a potato fiend in all its preps but especially
French Fries always when having a burger of F&C or fried chicken. I do pay attention to the quality of the fries. Makes me happy when some places overload & sad when I can’t finish them all 
3 Likes
I haven’t tried it! I live in Canada so I’ve only visited TJs in Boston, NYC & California, and I focus on TJ’s snacks since I’m rarely cooking while in the States.
I can recommend the refrigerated gnocchi alla gorgonzola and other refrigerated gnocchis to reheat at home from Eataly( in Toronto, but I’m sure it’s good at most Eatalies) .
Sad as this may sound we don’t have much to pick from here. Fortunately, I’m a creature of habit.
Breakfast out: Ham & cheese omelette, home fries and biscuit.
Mexican: Sour cream chicken enchiladas, beef enchiladas topped with chili w/refried beans. Or if El Fenix - the Monterrey chicken platter. A grilled chicken breast topped with melted Monterrey jack cheese and guacamole. Pico on the side. Refried beans and of course chips and hot sauce.
Next would be lunch an hour and a half away. Fried catfish and shrimp w/ fries and cole slaw. Raw oysters on the half. We’ve been rethinking this because of gas prices. Doesn’t make much sense to drive that far anymore.
3 Likes
I like how you roll
1 Like
So a funny thing. I live 30 miles south of the Canadian border on the west side, and our northern neighbors are always crossing the border to shop for food and gas. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen folks at Costco loading their cars with 20 gallons of milk. But unless one lives close to the border, this type of price optimization isn’t practical.
2 Likes
I’m paying $3.29 Cdn (~2.85 USD) for a litre of milk, so I understand why some Cdns cross the border for gas and groceries.
I know some people who live in the Niagara region (in Ontario) who stock up in Buffalo (mostly at Wegmans or TJ’s, but sometimes at regular stores when things like turkey are super cheap).
I grew up 45 minutes from the Michigan border ( Port Huron), but we only went there to buy clothes when they had nice shops and to have lunch. We never went there for gas or groceries.
1 Like
My go-to omelette up here is a Greek omelette. Tomato and feta, sometimes spinach is included. With home fries and buttered toast.
2 Likes
Today, I learned my “have to order it” item is pork belly.
This is Werewolf in Gaslamp, San Diego. The pork belly Benedict. Hello, food coma!
10 Likes
Anything I haven’t tried before.
Foods that are labour intensive.
Things that are made with difficult to source ingredients.
I really, really like trying new foods.
11 Likes
I’ve never been to MI, but I grew up in Buffalo and crossed that part of the border all the time as a kid. Now as an adult, I’m crossing into White Rock, Delta, and Vancouver. Ironic.
1 Like
Anything but steak , chicken, and pasta .
1 Like
