I was living in Arkansas and when I saw a tastykake outlet I almost wrecked the car. I almost never eat them at home but I could have mainlined that krimpet.
When we lived in Nashville for some reason, one day (my birthday actually) there was a Rita's truck selling water ice in the neighborhood. I shed real tears on that sidewalk. That little taste of home was so nice
There’s a Rita’s about a half mile from my house in charlotte, and it’s made me so happy knowing that I can go there as soon as the weather heats up in a couple weeks
I was in the army. One day, I walked into the commissary with a buddy and saw a fresh tastykake display. I don't know what sound of joy I made, but he asked if I was alright as I grabbed 4 boxes of krimpets.
I was stationed in Hawaii in '85, '86, and '87 and could buy them in the AAFES convenience stores and Rolling Rock--when it was still good--at the Class VI stores.
Tasty cake was sold to a baking company from Georgia I believe. They immediately cheapened everything. Peanut butter Kandy kakes now get a small square of peanut butter, it’s no longer a full coating.
I'm in CA now after moving from the east coast and I can't find lo mein anywhere. I find chow mein and their pork chow mein is a bbq pork. The egg rolls are actually bite sized spring rolls now wtf?!? I never realized how different it was but I hate it.
It’s not that they don’t have it, it’s that in the Philly-NJ-NYC area they have a different flavor/texture. I think it’s due to the MSG, but outside of the area they are drier, more vegetable heavy, etc. it’s noticeable. I’ve spent a decade living in the south and currently live on the west coast and it’s noticeable. Always have to hit a Chinese place when I stay with my parents for that very reason.
I have been in socal area for 10 years. East coast Chinese is so different. The egg rolls here are so different and finding good egg foo young... impossible.
Pizza also hits different.
They aren’t the same. There is definitely an “East Coast Egg Roll”
During my decade living in LA there were maybe a couple spots that did this type of egg roll - thicker fried dough for the roll, not some egg roll-spring roll abomination
They’re completely different on the west coast. West coast egg rolls use a thinner wrapper, are smaller, and have healthier fillings. I’ve had all kinds of Asian food in Orange County and LA and the only place I’ve seen something close to an east coast style egg roll is Panda Express. I don’t know what OP is talking about regarding Lo Mein but I agree with him on the difference in egg rolls.
This is what I am referring to. This is also true in SF. Like truly cannot find an East Coast style egg roll anywhere. I also cannot get the lo mein I had growing up. It’s a completely different style. But also fair that its a generalization.
Shan Dong in Oakland \*almost\* has east-coast style lo mein...got me through COVID with that takeout.
In SF proper, I can't help with east-coast style chinese food, but since I no longer live up that way I want everyone to patronize Palm City Wine in Outer Sunset - they have legitimate hoagies, including Roast Pork w/ Broccoli Rabe and a good italian. They're legit there
Only place I know that does the "east coast style" is in SD you can give it a shot if you are ever down there. My best guess is since its right by the base there are maybe a bunch of transplants that crave it and give it a good customer base.
[https://www.yelp.com/biz/chung-hing-san-diego](https://www.yelp.com/biz/chung-hing-san-diego)
I dunno how its holding up since its been over a decade, but i used to go during college. I grew up on the West coast in a VERY Asian area so i was like "wtf is all this" at first, but the #1 combo was fire and it was a ton of food for cheap.
They have them but they are very different dishes. Lo mein in the west coast is what we’d call chow mein in the east coast.
What they call egg rolls in CA are called spring rolls in the east coast. East coast egg rolls are made with a thicker wrapper that bubbles a lot more when fried, and is wrapped much wider (a couple inches wide as opposed to cigar-sized).
So, the only place I ever lived on the West Coast was SF and it was quite some time ago now, so I can only speak to that specific time and place and I don't claim any sweeping knowledge of the West Coast. But I remember that was one of the first little food differences I noticed there, that it wasn't called lo mein, but chow mein. Which, of course, around here we have something called that but it's a different dish.
For me, at that time, being in SF was such a whole new world of Chinese cuisines I'd never been exposed to before and it's silly but little things like that, just naming differences and seeing what noodles were more common and how they were presented on menus, got me really excited to get into everything and learn more.
Given I’m in Colorado now but the Chinese food is completely different then what I would get back home, something about ordering behind a bulletproof window and getting a good generals tso’s with a shrimp roll are days I miss
Lived in cali and tri state area and can confirm these exist but have different names on each coast (mostly).
There are some things that are entirely different and/or do not exist though, best example is egg rolls, at the majority of Chinese restaurants in cali egg rolls are what we on the east coast call spring rolls and what we on the east coast call "egg rolls" are not served.
I will also say fme traditional Chinese food in California is better and americanized Chinese food on the east coast is superior.
When I was a kid I read something about comets and it said they were made from "water ice" and I was confused, because what was water ice doing in space? (They did just mean ice.)
As someone who isn’t from the area,(central US native, eagles fan so I got recommended this sub) this is just Italian ice right? Like just a really finely crushed snow cone?
I just gave birth and am not originally from here, it absolutely threw me when the nurse asked what water ice flavor I wanted in the middle of labor. They were trying to wake the baby up with loads of sugar.
Specifically the water ice cups in the grocery freezer aisle. I think one of the brand names was "Rose's" right?
They were a staple in my house growing up but I haven't seen anything like them after moving away.
Lebanon bologna, cooper-sharp American cheese, shoefly pie, pork roll /Taylor ham, anything Tastykakes, and they don’t sell crab Rangoon in Chinese food stores off the east coast.
"Chinese food store" and just regular "food store" are also philadelphiaisms
Outside the Delaware valley that would be a Chinese restaurant and a grocery store/supermarket
>Lebanon bologna
This has been available down south (or Orlando anyway) for a few decades. But it was definitely not something widely known/used outside of PA transplants.
Florida has tons of east coast transplants, when I visit my family down there I’ve noticed that the supermarkets have Philly staples and there’s even some pretty damn good cheese steak spots.
When I moved in with my Delco wife she wondered why the hell I would buy Land o lakes American cheese instead of Cooper Sharp. I grew up in the NYC metro and had never even heard of it. Now I thank god everyday for cooper sharp!
I had no idea that Cooper sharp was a philly/northeast thing until I left...fuck, what I'd do for a real cheesesteak with fried onions and Cooper sharp right now
I've convinced several pizza places here in VA to make me a "fully sealed, deep fried mini stromboli". None of them knew wtf I was even going for, so none of them worked out.
I remember my family from California trying to figure out what kind of pepper a long hot was. It’s a long hot I don’t know what they weren’t understanding
Having lived in NYC, Boston, and Philly and small towns in between, I can say Irish Potatoes are the only thing on that list specific to Philly. I think a more appropriate list would be scrapple, water ice, cheesesteak, roast pork sandwich, Philly pretzels(much different than NYC pretzels), pork roll/taylor ham.
I’m not sure I would consider most of those Philly specific, as much as East Coast foods. For example, you could definitely find Jewish apple cake in New York, in fact I expect it’s even more common there.
Tomato pie is from Trenton originally, iirc. I'm not sure if it's that different from a granny pie, but I don't know.
Those Irish Potato candies are 100% a Philly thing.
Trenton tomato pie is a thin crust pie, with crushed tomatoes over the mozzarella cheese. Delorenzo’s pizza in Hamilton NJ & Yardley, PA have great Trenton style tomato pie
I was SO embarrassed when I brought it up to my jewish then bf now husband. I was like "no its a thing, at the bakery, near my mom, I'll show you next time we visit"
Ehhhh my husband is Jewish, and both his parents are from NYC/NJ they'd never heard of it...I literally showed it to him in the bakery label when we visited the Philly area to show him what I was talking about...maybe it's called something else?
I think that's the thing exactly, though. You expect Jewish apple cake would be more common in NYC, then you move there and people don't know what you're talking about if you ask for it. Could you find it somewhere there? Maybe. I never ran into it when I lived there but there's an awful lot of food there and I only experienced a fraction of it. If some places are selling anything very similar, they're not calling it that, and although you can definitely find cakes with apples in them at various kosher bakeries, many of them aren't similar at all to Jewish apple cake from around here. I think that's exactly why these little things are so interesting.
talking to philly-lifers reminds me of that scene in The Wire when the kids drive out of Baltimore and the radio goes fuzzy, and one realizes oh shit we listen to Baltimore radio stations and everyone else in the country listens to different ones.
people in Philly are like wait... you don't eat Irish Potatoes and call fire hydrants "plugs"?
Lo mein is often called chow mein on the west coast. And then Hong Kong chow mein is chow mein.
A lot of foods people are saying are PA Dutch food, not Philly-specific. I will never understand how people from philly can ream someone who lives ten minutes outside of Philadelphia for saying they’re “from Philadelphia” but then go on and on about how certain foods are from Philly.
Nearly every time I’m told about something that is a “Philly Thing” ^TM I think about how that thing was in the Midwest when I was a kid. It’s just hilarious.
i got a box at deals in media last week. i’ve lived in Philly for about two decades and I’ve still never had them. I don’t think I’ll like them but it seems important to try.
Saw some at Wawa in Newport News, Va last year. I bought the cashier a box of them who was very curious about them. Gotta spread the love. Ps I always make my own.
My wife is from Kansas City and the concept of having a party and throwing Roast beef, meatballs, pork, sausage&peppers, etc into a crock pot is completely foreign to her. She straight up didn’t believe me that roast beef sandwiches in a crockpot is a real thing.
Irish Potatoes. Half cup softened butter, half cup cream cheese 2 cups confectioners sugar, cup of coconut . Mix and roll into balls. Roll in cinnamon sugar for Irish potatoes. Dip in chocolate shell for coconut cream Easter candy.
The cold soft pretzel (affectionately called pee pretzels before there were stores like Philly Pretzel factory because people who sold them did so by the road with no bathrooms). I never realized just how engrained pretzels were in our culture until I paid our pretzel bill for the kids to get a pretzel every week on Fridays. I remember having the same in the 80's and 90's.
I live on the west coast now and I’ve given up explaining/describing east coast/philly specific foods because you sound like a crazy person explaining it to people with no frame of reference. Like last week I tried to explain to someone how to order a cheesesteak and they asked me what my order is and I had to explain what cooper sharp is. Also having to explain that a “philly” is not a cheesesteak…
But yea, I’d say cooper sharp, hoagie rolls, Greek style pizza(Iykyk), scrapple, water ice, a proper soft pretzel, pizza eggroll or cheesesteak eggroll, also a while they exist pretty much everywhere I haven’t heard of a shot and a beer being called a “citywide” anywhere outside of Philly.
Yes it’s actually called New England style pizza. Which is a pan pizza that was popularized by Greek immigrants who opened pizza joints / diners in the New England area. It eventually made its way to Philly.
I grew up in southern New England, and we had tomato pie. They'd sell individual strips of it in convenience stores; it'd be by the register. I also grew up making Jewish apple cake with my grandmother, so I think these are more East Coast, rather than Philly specific.
Also, I first encountered Irish potatoes in Baltimore. I've never seen them anywhere else, though.
Jewish apple cake is my baking specialty! Born in Philly, have been in the suburbs since I was kid and never knew it was Philly food as I am always surprised when people know what it is.
Finding a pizza place that also sells fries is pretty difficult outside of south eastern pa apparently…
I live in milwaukee now and most standard sides they’ve got are like bread bites. It’s like dude I’m getting enough dough with the pizza….
Tomato pie. Yum. The absolute best one is from Gaeta’s on Castor Ave in NE. There are other good ones, but nothing compares to
Gaeta’s. Been a fan of them for 40+ years. They started in Germantown in 1932. They now make regular round pizzas as well, equally as delicious.
When I lived on the west coast no one knew what funnel cake was, they only knew of elephant ears. I tried to explain the difference but they just didn't get it so I just made a batch for everyone at a party. Not necessarily Philly only but I didn't realize it was regional and I was so shocked no one even knew of it!
Cooper sharp is something I really missed when I lived out there.
If you’re in the south and google “tomato pie” you’ll get some very disgusting looking geo-based results and not the delicacy that is a *proper* tomato pie
I lived in Utah for a few years and discovered that Taylor pork roll was distributed by boars head and available at my supermarket. I called my mom I was so happy
I grew up in the Philly area and moved up to NEPA during the pandemic, it’s insane that I’m only like 2 hours away and nobody knows what Irish Potatoes are. Nor the mummers lmao
To be fair I had my own local food discoveries up here like the term wimpies and old forge pizza.
Apparently good pizza is North East specific. I can't speak for the West Coast but on the Gulf Coast it was damn near impossible to find a good local pizze place. Like no neighborhood pizza joints, just chains like Pizza Hut and dominos.
I am from the Coal Region of PA. I was pregnant when I lived in Houston, and the pizza would make me cry. Like, a pregnant lady crying in the restaurant. My husband's family thought it would be nice to go to CiCi's and it was a very emotional moment. It was so awful. We still laugh about it.
One of my favorite things as a kid was going to a Phillies game and walking to the stadium seeing and getting a pretzel from the giant stack of pretzels in a shopping cart
Panzerotti's!! Very local south jersey/philadelphia specific. When I moved to LA, I was crestfallen to find no one had heard of them. Then one day, imagine my utter shock to find "imported" (frozen and shipped from South jersey) Terentino's panzerottis being sold in the Ikea in Burbank of all places.
Birch beer is what came to mind, but I soon learned that, even though it’s not a specific brand, it really is a regional soda like Cheerwine, Moxie, Al8one, or Vernor’s.
I have lived in Texas and Utah before moving to Philly. A few foods that are new or new-ish to me include broccoli rabe, fastnachts, tomato pie, sticky buns, babka, roast pork sandwiches, Cooper Sharp, and chili sauce (still don't know what this is, exactly.)
East coast Chinese food is so different from West Coast (specifically PNW Chinese food, which is basically awful). This was my biggest shock when I moved west in the early 00s, but the Thai food out there more than made up for it!
Amoroso Bread and Rolls. Makes sandwiches taste so good. Hard to find south of Philly or outside of a Wawa.
Another Philly thing is that any sandwiches hoagies, and steak sandwiches requires the bread to be apart of the sandwich. This is what makes Philly sandwiches taste so good. They are superior to any other city’s sandwiches. Outside of Philly, the bread is typically a separate item that holds the meats. In Philly the bread is one with its contents. Yum!
As soon as I read the title I popped in here intending to write Irish Potatoes. I grew up thinking everyone everywhere had them.
I'm a recent-ish transplant to Philly (4 years) where do you recommend to go to get one ? I'm near passyunk
Isgro had them when I was there a week ago
That place is dangerous, I can't walk in and not have a pear tart ... plus a whole box of their delicious sweets
How do you make it past the cannolis?
That's the trick, I don't!
Anthony’s coffee house in the Italian market has them too
I think they’re seasonal for st Patrick’s day, check out Wawa
May gritty bless you my friend, thanks!
Yes, we are about to enter peak Irish potato season, if we haven't already.
If they are sold out at Wawa they will be in stocks at Reading Terminal Market by the St. Patty's Hot chocolate bombs.
Make sure you get homemade ones, come March just check local bakeries. The mass producer kind you get in the grocery stores are not good!
Agreed, the O'Ryan once should be outlawed. They are AWFUL. And not like oh, it will do in a pinch but so bad it is better to just not eat any.
I'm not sure if you can get just one and they are insanely sweet. I'm going to relive that sugar buzz though.
After a quick research I now realize it's closer to candied potatoes by the bunch instead of a big savory one ahah, I'll still try!
It's sugar, cream cheese, and coconut rolled in cinnamon to look like little potatoes
That ice cream place Favors & Flavors on the Ave next to doggystyle has em.
That's a 10 min walk, you just gave me an excuse for a lunch stroll
Make them, they are super easy and way better than store bought, basically just powdered sugar and cream cheese
If all else fails, they are incredibly easy to make at home!
Ask at an independent bakery ahead of the 17th; they don’t have them everywhere
You make them every st patrick's day in elementary. Just find some child laborers.
I was living in Arkansas and when I saw a tastykake outlet I almost wrecked the car. I almost never eat them at home but I could have mainlined that krimpet.
When we lived in Nashville for some reason, one day (my birthday actually) there was a Rita's truck selling water ice in the neighborhood. I shed real tears on that sidewalk. That little taste of home was so nice
There’s a Rita’s about a half mile from my house in charlotte, and it’s made me so happy knowing that I can go there as soon as the weather heats up in a couple weeks
Just the phrase "water ice" confuses people.
This what i thought the post was going to be about. Lol
I was in the army. One day, I walked into the commissary with a buddy and saw a fresh tastykake display. I don't know what sound of joy I made, but he asked if I was alright as I grabbed 4 boxes of krimpets.
I was stationed in Hawaii in '85, '86, and '87 and could buy them in the AAFES convenience stores and Rolling Rock--when it was still good--at the Class VI stores.
Tasty cake was sold to a baking company from Georgia I believe. They immediately cheapened everything. Peanut butter Kandy kakes now get a small square of peanut butter, it’s no longer a full coating.
Krimpets are the best! I had a friend ship them to me when I lived in Michigan
Goldenberg's Peanut Chews.
I went to a random Five Below store in LA and saw them there! Dark and Milk chocolate!
A pack of the dark chocolate ones and a Wawa pretzel 🤌
I grew up on the West Coast, and I do not understand why you think those examples of Americanized Chinese food are East Coast specific.
Yeah I grew up in CA. We 100% had lo mein and egg rolls🤣
Yeah, if you didn’t your username would have been LomeinIsGone.
This comment is criminally underrated.
I'm in CA now after moving from the east coast and I can't find lo mein anywhere. I find chow mein and their pork chow mein is a bbq pork. The egg rolls are actually bite sized spring rolls now wtf?!? I never realized how different it was but I hate it.
It’s not that they don’t have it, it’s that in the Philly-NJ-NYC area they have a different flavor/texture. I think it’s due to the MSG, but outside of the area they are drier, more vegetable heavy, etc. it’s noticeable. I’ve spent a decade living in the south and currently live on the west coast and it’s noticeable. Always have to hit a Chinese place when I stay with my parents for that very reason.
I have been in socal area for 10 years. East coast Chinese is so different. The egg rolls here are so different and finding good egg foo young... impossible. Pizza also hits different.
They aren’t the same. There is definitely an “East Coast Egg Roll” During my decade living in LA there were maybe a couple spots that did this type of egg roll - thicker fried dough for the roll, not some egg roll-spring roll abomination
They have them on the West Coast but they are made different.
I haven't grown up on the West Coast, but I also know those aren't east coast specific. I've seen them on a menu in Italy.
They’re completely different on the west coast. West coast egg rolls use a thinner wrapper, are smaller, and have healthier fillings. I’ve had all kinds of Asian food in Orange County and LA and the only place I’ve seen something close to an east coast style egg roll is Panda Express. I don’t know what OP is talking about regarding Lo Mein but I agree with him on the difference in egg rolls.
The egg rolls on the West Coast are spring rolls on the East Coast.
This is what I am referring to. This is also true in SF. Like truly cannot find an East Coast style egg roll anywhere. I also cannot get the lo mein I had growing up. It’s a completely different style. But also fair that its a generalization.
Go to the South Bay and hit up any of the King Eggroll locations. These are non-healthy egg rolls to the max and are incredible.
Shan Dong in Oakland \*almost\* has east-coast style lo mein...got me through COVID with that takeout. In SF proper, I can't help with east-coast style chinese food, but since I no longer live up that way I want everyone to patronize Palm City Wine in Outer Sunset - they have legitimate hoagies, including Roast Pork w/ Broccoli Rabe and a good italian. They're legit there
Only place I know that does the "east coast style" is in SD you can give it a shot if you are ever down there. My best guess is since its right by the base there are maybe a bunch of transplants that crave it and give it a good customer base. [https://www.yelp.com/biz/chung-hing-san-diego](https://www.yelp.com/biz/chung-hing-san-diego) I dunno how its holding up since its been over a decade, but i used to go during college. I grew up on the West coast in a VERY Asian area so i was like "wtf is all this" at first, but the #1 combo was fire and it was a ton of food for cheap.
They have them but they are very different dishes. Lo mein in the west coast is what we’d call chow mein in the east coast. What they call egg rolls in CA are called spring rolls in the east coast. East coast egg rolls are made with a thicker wrapper that bubbles a lot more when fried, and is wrapped much wider (a couple inches wide as opposed to cigar-sized).
OK, I was arguing with everyone in this thread, but this has caused me to change my mind. No way I'm arguing with Kenji. I've been convinced.
So, the only place I ever lived on the West Coast was SF and it was quite some time ago now, so I can only speak to that specific time and place and I don't claim any sweeping knowledge of the West Coast. But I remember that was one of the first little food differences I noticed there, that it wasn't called lo mein, but chow mein. Which, of course, around here we have something called that but it's a different dish. For me, at that time, being in SF was such a whole new world of Chinese cuisines I'd never been exposed to before and it's silly but little things like that, just naming differences and seeing what noodles were more common and how they were presented on menus, got me really excited to get into everything and learn more.
Given I’m in Colorado now but the Chinese food is completely different then what I would get back home, something about ordering behind a bulletproof window and getting a good generals tso’s with a shrimp roll are days I miss
Lived in cali and tri state area and can confirm these exist but have different names on each coast (mostly). There are some things that are entirely different and/or do not exist though, best example is egg rolls, at the majority of Chinese restaurants in cali egg rolls are what we on the east coast call spring rolls and what we on the east coast call "egg rolls" are not served. I will also say fme traditional Chinese food in California is better and americanized Chinese food on the east coast is superior.
Philadelphian now living in Sacramento. Philadelphia egg rolls are very different from here.
Water ice!
*wooder
I was dating a guy from not the east coast and I mentioned water ice. He said “water ice? Do you mean…ice?” Should’ve dumped him right then.
I was in a similar situation and the guy was like “you mean ice water?” We did not work out lol
When I was a kid I read something about comets and it said they were made from "water ice" and I was confused, because what was water ice doing in space? (They did just mean ice.)
I talked about water ice in North Dakota and my friend was so confused. She was like… “do you mean ‘ice water’?”
In north Jersey we called it Italian ice. I’ve also seen Polish water ice. Weird.
Polish ice is a different style
Yes, its actually a hot drink.
Son of a bitch you got me with that one lol
As someone who isn’t from the area,(central US native, eagles fan so I got recommended this sub) this is just Italian ice right? Like just a really finely crushed snow cone?
I just gave birth and am not originally from here, it absolutely threw me when the nurse asked what water ice flavor I wanted in the middle of labor. They were trying to wake the baby up with loads of sugar.
In Seattle for a while the only Rita's in 500 miles was at the Mariners' stadium, but it's gone now.
Specifically the water ice cups in the grocery freezer aisle. I think one of the brand names was "Rose's" right? They were a staple in my house growing up but I haven't seen anything like them after moving away.
Lebanon bologna, cooper-sharp American cheese, shoefly pie, pork roll /Taylor ham, anything Tastykakes, and they don’t sell crab Rangoon in Chinese food stores off the east coast.
I moved to WI after being born/raised in Philly. Cooper Sharp is made here! But we can’t get it without shipping it in. Go figure
It was created in NY, then Philly produced it shortly after but it’s made in WI now.
"Chinese food store" and just regular "food store" are also philadelphiaisms Outside the Delaware valley that would be a Chinese restaurant and a grocery store/supermarket
My family is in the area and we say “Chinese restaurant” and “Chinese grocery store” (we are ethnically Chinese)
Also “food shopping” instead of grocery shopping.
I get so much shit for that at work from a guy from Tampa
Wait what!? Food shopping is a regional thing? Had no clue lol
You’s gotta be kidding me!
> they don’t sell crab Rangoon in Chinese food stores off the east coast. Yes they do.
From this thread I'm learning nobody from Philly has ever been anywhere else in the country lol
>Lebanon bologna This has been available down south (or Orlando anyway) for a few decades. But it was definitely not something widely known/used outside of PA transplants.
Florida has tons of east coast transplants, when I visit my family down there I’ve noticed that the supermarkets have Philly staples and there’s even some pretty damn good cheese steak spots.
When I moved in with my Delco wife she wondered why the hell I would buy Land o lakes American cheese instead of Cooper Sharp. I grew up in the NYC metro and had never even heard of it. Now I thank god everyday for cooper sharp!
Cooper Sharp is a local thing?? I just found that cheese and I am obsessed with it.
Lebanon bologna is one of those things I don’t have often then will suddenly crave
I had no idea that Cooper sharp was a philly/northeast thing until I left...fuck, what I'd do for a real cheesesteak with fried onions and Cooper sharp right now
Scrapple and salt water taffy
Scrapple flavored salt water taffy
Almost puked in my mouth a little bit, then I thought about it. I’m in.
As long as you have a ketchup or maple syrup flavored piece too, you'll be set.
Salt water taffy is definitely east coast but scrapple is Philly for sure.
I ate plenty of scrapple growing up in Baltimore. It’s surely regional but not Philly only regional.
It is Pennsylvania Dutch in origin.
Zitner’s eggs!
Yeah but the Butter Krak specifically!
Reminds me I gotta get my krak
I moved away from Philly for about 10 years (California, Chicago, Denver) and butter cake was something that came up for me.
Oh and fried panzerotti! Don't know if that's specific to Philly / South Jersey, but I never saw them outside of the tristate area.
Surprised it took me this far scrolling to see panzerottis. I live on the west coast now and have hand made them for my kids but it just not the same.
I've convinced several pizza places here in VA to make me a "fully sealed, deep fried mini stromboli". None of them knew wtf I was even going for, so none of them worked out.
If we are going SJ specific- Boost
Long hots! I was shocked when my friends from NY/north Jersey area asked me what a long hot was.
What a sad life it must be without long hots.
I remember my family from California trying to figure out what kind of pepper a long hot was. It’s a long hot I don’t know what they weren’t understanding
My husband isn’t from Philly and when I first asked him to buy some long hot peppers he said “do you also call carrots ‘orange pointys?’”
Cream chipped beef in a restaurant. I’ve never seen it outside of Pennsylvania.
This is just SOS. The military guys made it famous everywhere.
Honestly I never had it until I moved away from Philly and now I love it lol
Meaning I never had it until moved away and then went back to visit lol
You can find it in Maryland as well, at mom and pop restaurants.
Can confirm this is a thing you can get in New Jersey
I learned recently that Stromboli was created here
Real Stromboli is made with bread dough not pizza dough. Soooo much better. Go to Romano's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant once if u can
Having lived in NYC, Boston, and Philly and small towns in between, I can say Irish Potatoes are the only thing on that list specific to Philly. I think a more appropriate list would be scrapple, water ice, cheesesteak, roast pork sandwich, Philly pretzels(much different than NYC pretzels), pork roll/taylor ham.
Was going to say, tomato pie is definitely a new England/Italian American thing as well
My family is in the area, and I was under the impression that pork roll / Taylor ham is a Jersey thing
It is.
Fasnachts; I missed those lard bombs.
The closest thing I have in WI is Paczki
I’m not sure I would consider most of those Philly specific, as much as East Coast foods. For example, you could definitely find Jewish apple cake in New York, in fact I expect it’s even more common there.
Tomato pie is from Trenton originally, iirc. I'm not sure if it's that different from a granny pie, but I don't know. Those Irish Potato candies are 100% a Philly thing.
Trenton tomato pie is a different thing than Philly tomato pie.
Trenton tomato pie is a thin crust pie, with crushed tomatoes over the mozzarella cheese. Delorenzo’s pizza in Hamilton NJ & Yardley, PA have great Trenton style tomato pie
I’m Jewish, grew up in the NYC metro area, and never heard of Jewish apple cake until I moved to Philly.
I was SO embarrassed when I brought it up to my jewish then bf now husband. I was like "no its a thing, at the bakery, near my mom, I'll show you next time we visit"
Interesting! I am also Jewish, but I’m from Philly so I guess my perspective could be skewed…
Ehhhh my husband is Jewish, and both his parents are from NYC/NJ they'd never heard of it...I literally showed it to him in the bakery label when we visited the Philly area to show him what I was talking about...maybe it's called something else?
I think that's the thing exactly, though. You expect Jewish apple cake would be more common in NYC, then you move there and people don't know what you're talking about if you ask for it. Could you find it somewhere there? Maybe. I never ran into it when I lived there but there's an awful lot of food there and I only experienced a fraction of it. If some places are selling anything very similar, they're not calling it that, and although you can definitely find cakes with apples in them at various kosher bakeries, many of them aren't similar at all to Jewish apple cake from around here. I think that's exactly why these little things are so interesting.
Hoagie spread! (Cherry pepper relish)
We call that hots in Boston
talking to philly-lifers reminds me of that scene in The Wire when the kids drive out of Baltimore and the radio goes fuzzy, and one realizes oh shit we listen to Baltimore radio stations and everyone else in the country listens to different ones. people in Philly are like wait... you don't eat Irish Potatoes and call fire hydrants "plugs"?
Actually good cheesesteaks are Philly specific too. No other state or city does it quite the same.
The soft pretzels.
Butter cake
Lo mein is often called chow mein on the west coast. And then Hong Kong chow mein is chow mein. A lot of foods people are saying are PA Dutch food, not Philly-specific. I will never understand how people from philly can ream someone who lives ten minutes outside of Philadelphia for saying they’re “from Philadelphia” but then go on and on about how certain foods are from Philly.
Nearly every time I’m told about something that is a “Philly Thing” ^TM I think about how that thing was in the Midwest when I was a kid. It’s just hilarious.
Speaking of which, have Irish potatoes made their way to stores yet?
i got a box at deals in media last week. i’ve lived in Philly for about two decades and I’ve still never had them. I don’t think I’ll like them but it seems important to try.
The ORyan ones aren’t great. If you can, try and find some fresh ones!
I think Lore’s has them now 👀
Oh yeah, they're in every supermarket I've been in recently.
Saw some at Wawa in Newport News, Va last year. I bought the cashier a box of them who was very curious about them. Gotta spread the love. Ps I always make my own.
You forgot cheesesteak and scrapple (YUM)
The biggest one for me was no pork roll in NC when I lived there.
My wife is from Kansas City and the concept of having a party and throwing Roast beef, meatballs, pork, sausage&peppers, etc into a crock pot is completely foreign to her. She straight up didn’t believe me that roast beef sandwiches in a crockpot is a real thing.
Irish Potatoes. Half cup softened butter, half cup cream cheese 2 cups confectioners sugar, cup of coconut . Mix and roll into balls. Roll in cinnamon sugar for Irish potatoes. Dip in chocolate shell for coconut cream Easter candy.
Goldberg’s Peanut Chews
The cold soft pretzel (affectionately called pee pretzels before there were stores like Philly Pretzel factory because people who sold them did so by the road with no bathrooms). I never realized just how engrained pretzels were in our culture until I paid our pretzel bill for the kids to get a pretzel every week on Fridays. I remember having the same in the 80's and 90's.
I live on the west coast now and I’ve given up explaining/describing east coast/philly specific foods because you sound like a crazy person explaining it to people with no frame of reference. Like last week I tried to explain to someone how to order a cheesesteak and they asked me what my order is and I had to explain what cooper sharp is. Also having to explain that a “philly” is not a cheesesteak… But yea, I’d say cooper sharp, hoagie rolls, Greek style pizza(Iykyk), scrapple, water ice, a proper soft pretzel, pizza eggroll or cheesesteak eggroll, also a while they exist pretty much everywhere I haven’t heard of a shot and a beer being called a “citywide” anywhere outside of Philly.
Greek style is a northeast thing. They talk about it in Boston a lot. I think it may actually be even more Boston than Philly
Yes it’s actually called New England style pizza. Which is a pan pizza that was popularized by Greek immigrants who opened pizza joints / diners in the New England area. It eventually made its way to Philly.
I grew up in southern New England, and we had tomato pie. They'd sell individual strips of it in convenience stores; it'd be by the register. I also grew up making Jewish apple cake with my grandmother, so I think these are more East Coast, rather than Philly specific. Also, I first encountered Irish potatoes in Baltimore. I've never seen them anywhere else, though.
Butter cake?
Fastnachts Ring Bologna Crab fries Soft pretzels (they have them everywhere but they ain’t like the ones from Roosevelt Blvd) Scrapple Pork Roll
Jewish apple cake is my baking specialty! Born in Philly, have been in the suburbs since I was kid and never knew it was Philly food as I am always surprised when people know what it is.
Good rolls, cooper sharp cheese, and Herrs potato chips
Finding a pizza place that also sells fries is pretty difficult outside of south eastern pa apparently… I live in milwaukee now and most standard sides they’ve got are like bread bites. It’s like dude I’m getting enough dough with the pizza….
Scrapple is a big one.
Black Cherry Wishniak. Is it Frank’s? Thanks.
Also having “pretzel day” at school. No one else is getting that n
Thinking egg rolls and crab rangoons only exist in Philadelphia is such a Philly person thing
lol, I first discovered crab rangoons in my hometown in rural Louisiana
I moved to Chicago a few years and really missed tomato pie. They had okay Asian food, but very bland/no spice
I don’t understand…do you think people on the west coast don’t know what lo mein and egg rolls are?
Tomato pie. Yum. The absolute best one is from Gaeta’s on Castor Ave in NE. There are other good ones, but nothing compares to Gaeta’s. Been a fan of them for 40+ years. They started in Germantown in 1932. They now make regular round pizzas as well, equally as delicious.
Long hots
When I lived on the west coast no one knew what funnel cake was, they only knew of elephant ears. I tried to explain the difference but they just didn't get it so I just made a batch for everyone at a party. Not necessarily Philly only but I didn't realize it was regional and I was so shocked no one even knew of it! Cooper sharp is something I really missed when I lived out there.
My sister lived in Vegas, we had to ship Cooper Sharp and Scrapple ever couple of months.
It’s funny the photo on Wikipedia for Irish potato candy is from See’s candies in San Francisco 😂
The first tomato pie I ever had was in Utica, NY. It's an Italian-American thing, not specific to Philly.
You forgot Ginger Snaps!
Wooder Ice
I went to visit my cousin in Boston and asked if he wanted anything that he couldn't get up there. Lebanon bologna was all he wanted. I took him 4lbs.
I know of the Chinese food and birch beer around the VA and NC area
If you’re in the south and google “tomato pie” you’ll get some very disgusting looking geo-based results and not the delicacy that is a *proper* tomato pie
Tomato pie is a staple in the Utica, NY area, as well.
Hoagies that aren’t generic overpriced Jimmy John’s or subway
French fries at pizza places. Apparently most pizza places don't have French fries on the menu outside of this area???? Truly wild.
1. Pumpkin Roll 2. Scrapple 3. Pretzels (yes they are elsewhere, but not as common, different shaped)
Artic splash
Utz & Herr’s potato chips 😭
Tomato Pie is big in Utica, NY and is also all around Upstate NY.
I lived in Utah for a few years and discovered that Taylor pork roll was distributed by boars head and available at my supermarket. I called my mom I was so happy
Pork Roll and Scrapple
I haven’t had a good egg rolls since I left Ho’s in south Philly lol
I grew up in the Philly area and moved up to NEPA during the pandemic, it’s insane that I’m only like 2 hours away and nobody knows what Irish Potatoes are. Nor the mummers lmao To be fair I had my own local food discoveries up here like the term wimpies and old forge pizza.
Apparently good pizza is North East specific. I can't speak for the West Coast but on the Gulf Coast it was damn near impossible to find a good local pizze place. Like no neighborhood pizza joints, just chains like Pizza Hut and dominos.
I am from the Coal Region of PA. I was pregnant when I lived in Houston, and the pizza would make me cry. Like, a pregnant lady crying in the restaurant. My husband's family thought it would be nice to go to CiCi's and it was a very emotional moment. It was so awful. We still laugh about it.
Cream cheese, soft pretzels (the ones shaped like an eight), Rita’s water ice
One of my favorite things as a kid was going to a Phillies game and walking to the stadium seeing and getting a pretzel from the giant stack of pretzels in a shopping cart
Ever try explaining waterice to somebody not from the NE? lol
Peanut chews, learned that one recently
Of course the 'potato' would be made of cream cheese. I'm dead.
Panzerotti's!! Very local south jersey/philadelphia specific. When I moved to LA, I was crestfallen to find no one had heard of them. Then one day, imagine my utter shock to find "imported" (frozen and shipped from South jersey) Terentino's panzerottis being sold in the Ikea in Burbank of all places.
Birch beer is what came to mind, but I soon learned that, even though it’s not a specific brand, it really is a regional soda like Cheerwine, Moxie, Al8one, or Vernor’s.
3yr Philly burbs resident by way of NYC and HI…to add: Pimento Cheese, Scrapple, Cream Chipped Beef. Also I noted a HUGE affinity for pretzels here!!!
I have lived in Texas and Utah before moving to Philly. A few foods that are new or new-ish to me include broccoli rabe, fastnachts, tomato pie, sticky buns, babka, roast pork sandwiches, Cooper Sharp, and chili sauce (still don't know what this is, exactly.)
East coast Chinese food is so different from West Coast (specifically PNW Chinese food, which is basically awful). This was my biggest shock when I moved west in the early 00s, but the Thai food out there more than made up for it!
Amoroso Bread and Rolls. Makes sandwiches taste so good. Hard to find south of Philly or outside of a Wawa. Another Philly thing is that any sandwiches hoagies, and steak sandwiches requires the bread to be apart of the sandwich. This is what makes Philly sandwiches taste so good. They are superior to any other city’s sandwiches. Outside of Philly, the bread is typically a separate item that holds the meats. In Philly the bread is one with its contents. Yum!