It's always fun to stumble across a local specialty food that you've heard of but never tried before. Mr wtg and I both grew up in the Chicago area (but not on the South Side). Neither of us had tried Rainbow Ice Cream until yesterday.

From their website :

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The Original Rainbow Cone

A Chicago tradition for over 95 years. We still stack the same five flavors today: Orange Sherbet, Pistachio, Palmer House, Strawberry, and Chocolate. We slice (not scoop) these flavors into a cone or a cup.

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Once assembled, the ice cream often forms the shape of a scalene triangle, the orange sherbet layer valiantly holding it together over the top. It is possible to order a small Rainbow Cone from the menu but even then its size recalls a slice of Chicago’s famed deep-dish pizza. Lynn says Joseph’s original recipe was designed to be chock full of as much nutrition as possible – mainly from the fruits and nuts. His motto then was “Ice cream is good food. Eat ice cream daily.”

It begins melting immediately, as fleeting as a Chicago summer. And it’s delicious. If I were a proper food critic, I might be able to describe why it works so well or contrast the way it’s made with similar frozen treats. All I can tell you is it tastes like roller coasters and a run through the sprinkler and staying at the park until 9 p.m. and all the joys afforded by the warmth of the sun.

A history of Rainbow Cone.

Originally located only on the South Side, they've expanded and opened stores in the burbs and also have trucks that they send out all over the area. They typically park near a Buona Beef restaurant and are open on Friday/Saturday/Sunday to catch the weekend crowd.

Our neighbor Mike mentioned that the truck was going to be at a location like 5 minutes from our house this weekend and I thought about heading over to check it out. Between lousy wet weather and a pathological loathing for crowds and standing in line, I didn't get around to it. I got a text from him around 7 yesterday evening asking if we'd made it over there, and I told him no. Around 8:30 I got another text asking if we were still up, to which I replied yes. Maybe three minutes later the doorbell rang and there was Mike on our front porch with a quart of Rainbow and four wafer cones.

We're hooked. It's sort of a cross between Neopolitan and spumoni plus orange sherbet. The flavors are all good but the orange sherbet is to die for.

Got any favorites that you can only get where you live, or used to live?

This is really an Ontario thing, so not super local, but fish and chips using perch seems to be a specialty. Lake perch are small, mild, firm but flaky fillets and they are by far my favourite fish for fish and chips.

Locally, we have Windsor-style pizza. The crust isn’t thick or thin (regular? I don’t know what to call it) but the things that make it Windsor style are shredded pepperoni (rather than rounds) and canned mushrooms. I didn’t have fresh mushrooms on a pizza until I moved to Toronto, and I still think canned mushrooms are a better choice. And shredding the pepperoni means you get a bit in every bite rather than those greasy rounds.

I’m in AZ this week so for dinner I had a 1 LB. Adobada burrito at a little corner place next to a gas station. It was so good I nearly started crying.

You can’t get anything close in Ohio.

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I’m in AZ this week so for dinner I had a 1 LB. Adobada burrito at a little corner place next to a gas station. It was so good I nearly started crying.

You can’t get anything close in Ohio.

Maybe not (and I'm salivating at the thought of chomping into that taste treat) but that 4th street restaurant row in Cleveland you directed me and my sons to, sure had some delectable offerings.

We enjoyed the window/menu shopping even though we ate at that Turkish place.
The prices, though, left much to be desired. (Still dreaming of that swanky "Pier" seafood joint, complete with gorgeous view but I wouldn't let my son splurge to that extent. Rated FOUR $$$$ and with reason.)

Sons told me to thank you again for steering us in that direction! It wasn't just a medical trip but a short family celebration. We really had fun at the 4th St. "Society Lounge"too.

FWIW There is NO restaurant in my town worth eating at, at any price point.

Seattle is no culinary wasteland, but we sure could use an El Pollo Loco.

I think our best local food treat is damn good Thai food.

When I went to college on the east coast, I discovered that Canadian bacon and pineapple on pizza is a Seattle thing.

Beecher’s mac and cheese.

Smoked salmon ravioli.

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of ham.

Geoduck chowder.

My home town of Buffalo is famous for its chicken wings, of course, but also for a type of roast beef sandwich served on a salt-encrusted roll with horseradish: beef on weck (for kimmelweck, the type of roll.)

NY City, where I live now, is famous for bagels, bialys, black-and-white cookies, egg creams, Jewish deli fare.

Staten Island has lots of pizzerias, many first-class —- a couple have branches in Manhattan. And lots of Italian restaurants, all locally owned, often quite good. Carrabba’s or Olive Garden wouldn’t stand a chance here.

I've never had bread elsewhere like they make in New Orleans, French bread with a delicate, shatter-y crust. Thus, their po-boy sandwiches can't be replicated elsewhere. I always get an oyster po-boy--fried oysters, lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce--when I go.

There are a lot of things to eat in New Orleans that aren't the same elsewhere. Crawfish, gumbo, and beignets come immediately to mind.

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Originally posted by Mary Anna:
I've never had bread elsewhere like they make in New Orleans, French bread with a delicate, shatter-y crust. Thus, their po-boy sandwiches can't be replicated elsewhere. I always get an oyster po-boy--fried oysters, lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce--when I go.

There are a lot of things to eat in New Orleans that aren't the same elsewhere. Crawfish, gumbo, and beignets come immediately to mind.

Mmmmmmm, New Orleans. Mr.AM was supposed to be there this past weekend, and Baton Rouge to see Steve Forbert at the Red Dragon. Alas, his travel partner got Covid so they didn’t go.

Me, I was in Minneapolis, where I saw walleye on the menu, but I passed on it for Buffalo wings…

Don’t neglect the walleye. It might be the best thing on a NE Ohio menu.

Ask for the cheeks.

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Don’t neglect the walleye. It might be the best thing on a NE Ohio menu.

Ask for the cheeks.

If it were a regular restaurant, I could have been enticed. But it was the hotel restaurant, and the previous evening’s meal was just okay.

Portland is (justifiably) famous for its food, but most of it is just truly excellent, fresh and creative 'regular' food. In terms of local treats, one that comes to mind for me is marionberries. I'd never heard of them until we moved to the PNW, and they're great as:

pie
marinade/glaze
ice cream
infused vodka (marionberry mules are the BOMB)
etc.

We have fantastic fish (especially salmon but ymmv), but that's not unique to the area, it's just super good here.

I may have, and maybe on more than one occasion, hopped on my motorcycle and headed toward Portland to hit a BV and get a cheeseburger with Tillamook cheddar and a marionberry shake.

Fortunately, there's one in Kelso, so I didn't have to get all the way to Portland. It looks like there's now one in Centralia.

Had marionberry crumble when in coastal Yachats, OR for a music festival. That was the first I’d heard of them.

They also had an annual smelt fry every summer. That’s pretty unusual.

Northwestern is on Lake Michigan, and I went for a walk one April evening when I was a student. April is (was?) the season for smelt fishing and they fish for them at night.

The fisherman were on the beach netting the fish, and cleaning and cooking them right there. One of them handed me a plate of the best fried smelt I've ever had.

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Originally posted by pianojuggler:
I may have, and maybe on more than one occasion, hopped on my motorcycle and headed toward Portland to hit a BV and get a cheeseburger with Tillamook cheddar and a marionberry shake.

Fortunately, there's one in Kelso, so I didn't have to get all the way to Portland. It looks like there's now one in Centralia.

The BV in Centralia has been there a long time; it’s one of my usual stops on the way home from Seattle or Tacoma. Or! La Tarrasca, also in Centralia, is my other choice.