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I just got back from visiting friends in Buffalo, NY, and I was really interested in the way they ate out there.

I come from Los Angeles, where diet-obsessed people are always looking for funky fusion food or the next hot lo-carb dish or whatever. Out in Buffalo, people eat good ol' greasy, sugary, and/or fat-flavorful food without remorse.

So I kinda wanted to spark a discussion about eating philosophies and favorite foods around the country, or perhaps the world. What are some foods that are exclusive to your part of the US? How do people approach eating in your area?

Read, post, bump, whatev.

Oh, and eat. Definitely eat.

I'm from Maryland. Everybody eats seafood [especially crabs] with LOTS of Old Bay. And we put Old Bay on EVERYTHING - from seafood to potato chips.

I don't like Old Bay or seafood though. xD

wikipedia says its celery salt, bay leaf, mustard seed, both black and red pepper, cinnamon, and ginger.

sounds interesting. if it weren't so late I'd go try it now. maybe tomorrow I'll make some potatoes with it. potatoes go good with everything....i bet that new spice shop down the street has some really kick'n old bay mix. everything there is really fresh.

That sounds awesome! That's a lot like Los Angeles food. We have everything we want, and a lot of it has either amazing authenticity or a really impressive American twist. The trouble is, it gets pretty expensive sweatdrop

How do people diet in Toronto?

Sounds a lot like LA. I figure most metropolitan cities are like that, where you can get any kind of food you like, including the healthy alternatives.

When I was in Buffalo, I only saw one instance of "low-carb" and it was at a grocery store anyway. No restaurants offer a "low-fat" or "Atkins" menu or whatever. Everything is unabashedly, deliciously fatty and greasy. I was actually impressed. I thought I was a horrible eater, but after a night of food in Buffalo, I was glad to have my Pepto Bismol!

Oh man! That is SO FUNNY! My mom used to dump that spice mixture on EVERYTHING! (She's from baltimore). She still can't pass up a good crab though, neither can my aunt.

Here in Sacramento, you have a variety of things to eat, but there are WAY too many Vietnamese Pho (pronounce "fuh" with an accent over the "o") and hamburger joints. And, seriously, I'm moving to Japan in a few years. I already know that the sushi here will taste like crap in comparisson (we can't seem to tell fatty tuna from that junk you get in a can) and I am just NOT interested in all the trendy Sushi joints that everyone tries to herd me to... The downtown area has almost as many sushi places as it does flies...

I'm in Indiana near the borders with Ohio and Kentucky. Like Illinois, potatoes and corn are a staple out here. The prevelence I really noticed when I moved here, is that of chili. I count like 38 chili restaurants/fast food joints on my way to Cincinati (driving thru the suburbs) and even McDonald, Wendy's, and the like advertise chili on their billboards. I'm considering opening a shop that sells chili and bibles to capitalize on local demand. Lot's of "home cookin'" out here and much to my embarrassment, I didn't know what that meant until I moved out here: Mashed potaoes, Fried Chicken, Corn bread, etc...

Oh yeah, people tend to avoid seafood out here. I suspect it's because of diminished quality, being so far inland. I once learned the hard way, don't bother bringing clam chowder to a pot luck!