White Castle -

 

Eww. I'd eat rat poison & moth balls then wash it all down with automobile battery acid before eating White Castle!!

 

Well, White Castle tastes slightly better than that.  But once consumed, they will leave your digestive track feeling about the same.

I spotted this in the upscale Fairway Market chain in NY. Is anyone familiar with it? Even if sauerkraut was my favorite thing in the whole world, I was not about to pay $7.39 (!) for a 15 oz. bag?

  

 

3 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

I spotted this in the upscale Fairway Market chain in NY. Is anyone familiar with it? Even if sauerkraut was my favorite thing in the whole world, I was not about to pay $7.39 (!) for a 15 oz. bag?

  

 

 I’ve seen it in stores here but never actually bought any. 

I used to buy it when they sold it out of barrels at Crocker Park North Union Farmers' Markets... It's definitely crunchier than your standard krauts.  I'm a fan of the Cabbage and Cukes because it's a little milder than straight cabbage.

 

4 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

I spotted this in the upscale Fairway Market chain in NY. Is anyone familiar with it? Even if sauerkraut was my favorite thing in the whole world, I was not about to pay $7.39 (!) for a 15 oz. bag?

 

 

 

I've seen even more expensive kraut brands here in LA.  $9-10 for some of the "boutique" brands.  I just looked for a recipe online and made my own for almost free!

Edited April 17, 20196 yr by jeremyck01

3 minutes ago, jeremyck01 said:

 

I've seen even more expensive kraut here in LA.  $9-10 for some of the "boutique" brands.  I just looked for a recipe online and made my own for almost free!

 

$5.99 at Giant Eagle.

$6.49 at Heinen's.

if anyone's interested, there's a new store in Painesville called Local Flavors Shoppe specializing in NE Ohio food items ?

 

 

On 4/16/2019 at 3:57 PM, eastvillagedon said:

I spotted this in the upscale Fairway Market chain in NY. Is anyone familiar with it? Even if sauerkraut was my favorite thing in the whole world, I was not about to pay $7.39 (!) for a 15 oz. bag?

  

 

Yes, it's good, and also far less expensive around here.

I am curious about the origin of metts (mettwurst) in Cincinnati. People treat it like it's just some regular thing that came from Germany, like bratwurst. But is there actually anywhere in Germany that serves the same style of mettwurst that is common in Cincinnati? (I know the word is used for different things in different regions of Germany.) Even if so, the extra-spicy "hot metts" are probably a local creation. Metts/hot metts don't get proper appreciation for their uniqueness to the area.

 

Chili, goetta, and (hot) metts combine to make a pretty strong regional food scene in Cincinnati. Not many cities can claim so many regional dishes.

1 minute ago, Cavalier Attitude said:

Yes, it's good, and also far less expensive around here.

 

I was in the same store where I saw this the other day, Fairway Market, and I didn't see it anymore. Fairway, an upscale chain with a long history in New York, expanded greatly over the past decade and fell into deep financial difficulty and is now facing bankruptcy. With prices like that they probably should go out of business. (Also I noticed Cleveland Kraut was being promoted in one of those urban Target stores here a few months ago and haven't noticed it there anymore either)

 

https://nypost.com/2020/01/28/freaked-out-fairway-shoppers-are-hoarding-groceries/

No one has mentioned pierogi yet?   Or that Bertman's Ballpark Mustard and Stadium Mustard are almost the same thing, with the former having more distribution IIRC.

7 minutes ago, Robuu said:

I am curious about the origin of metts (mettwurst) in Cincinnati. People treat it like it's just some regular thing that came from Germany, like bratwurst. But is there actually anywhere in Germany that serves the same style of mettwurst that is common in Cincinnati? (I know the word is used for different things in different regions of Germany.) Even if so, the extra-spicy "hot metts" are probably a local creation. Metts/hot metts don't get proper appreciation for their uniqueness to the area.

 

Chili, goetta, and (hot) metts combine to make a pretty strong regional food scene in Cincinnati. Not many cities can claim so many regional dishes.

I had a friend from Cincinnati who would always talk about goetta. I would ask what the hell is in that?? I still love Cincinnati chili though.

15 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

I had a friend from Cincinnati who would always talk about goetta. I would ask what the hell is in that?? I still love Cincinnati chili though.

 

come to think of it, looking back, I did like goetta the couple of times I tried it ?

Is goetta similar to scrapple?

14 minutes ago, freefourur said:

Is goetta similar to scrapple?

 

Yes.

They're similar, but using steel-cut/pinhead oats instead of cornmeal does make a substantial difference. If you took a scrapple recipe and replaced the cornmeal with steal-cut oats, you'd basically have goetta,

@ColDayMan, did you ever find/try hot metts? We should do a forum thing at Mecklenburg Gardens sometime and have them. I don't think their menu mentions it anymore, but they used to call them terminators, lol. They're not the spiciest but they're legit. Some of the local butchers make super hot ones.

5 minutes ago, Robuu said:

@ColDayMan, did you ever find/try hot metts? We should do a forum thing at Mecklenburg Gardens sometime and have them. I don't think their menu mentions it anymore, but they used to call them terminators, lol. They're not the spiciest but they're legit. Some of the local butchers make super hot ones.

 

Not yet.  Can't find them in Dayton (obvi) and strangely, I don't see them on the menu in "local" Cincinnati places, though I know they exist.  Any recommendations on restaurants to get them at?

17 hours ago, Robuu said:

I am curious about the origin of metts (mettwurst) in Cincinnati. People treat it like it's just some regular thing that came from Germany, like bratwurst. But is there actually anywhere in Germany that serves the same style of mettwurst that is common in Cincinnati?

 

I was always told that you can only get it two places in the world: Cincinnati and a small town in Bavaria. I can't remember the name of the town, but supposedly immigrants from that town brought it here.

23 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

 

Not yet.  Can't find them in Dayton (obvi) and strangely, I don't see them on the menu in "local" Cincinnati places, though I know they exist.  Any recommendations on restaurants to get them at?

Did you read my post? ? Mecklenburg Gardens is a good spot. Wunderbar is another. Any German place will definitely have them. They're ubiquitous at Reds/Bengals games. Carillon Brewery has them. Krogers in Dayton often have Queen City Sausage and Blue Grass metts.

 

The Queen City ones don't necessarily say "mett" on the package, as here:
https://www.queencitysausage.com/products/premium-hot-smoked-sausage-hot-metts/https://www.queencitysausage.com/products/premium-hot-smoked-sausage-hot-metts/

 

Edit: There's a list of restaurants with Avril-Bleh sausages on the butcher's website; some of them probably have metts, you could check the menus:

https://www.avril-blehmeats.com/fresh-sausage

Edited February 4, 20205 yr by Robuu
Avril-Bleh link

19 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

I was always told that you can only get it two places in the world: Cincinnati and a small town in Bavaria. I can't remember the name of the town, but supposedly immigrants from that town brought it here.

 

That's interesting, because Wikipedia mentions that southern German mettwurst is typically soft and spreadable. I would've expected it to come from the north, where Wikipedia says the mettwurst is more like salami. (Cats can have a little mettwurst, as a treat.)

28 minutes ago, Robuu said:

Did you read my post? ? Mecklenburg Gardens is a good spot. Wunderbar is another. Any German place will definitely have them. They're ubiquitous at Reds/Bengals games. Carillon Brewery has them. Krogers in Dayton often have Queen City Sausage and Blue Grass metts.

 

The Queen City ones don't necessarily say "mett" on the package, as here:
https://www.queencitysausage.com/products/premium-hot-smoked-sausage-hot-metts/https://www.queencitysausage.com/products/premium-hot-smoked-sausage-hot-metts/

 

Edit: There's a list of restaurants with Avril-Bleh sausages on the butcher's website; some of them probably have metts, you could check the menus:

https://www.avril-blehmeats.com/fresh-sausage

 

You should know I don't trust American "German" restaurants.  I'll try the Wunderbar in Covington.

5 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

 

Not yet.  Can't find them in Dayton (obvi) and strangely, I don't see them on the menu in "local" Cincinnati places, though I know they exist.  Any recommendations on restaurants to get them at?

 

Senate OTR sometimes has one as their specialty dog of the day. 

29 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

 

You should know I don't trust American "German" restaurants.  I'll try the Wunderbar in Covington.

Fair enough. I recommended urban ones not just for pro-urbanist reasons. Mecklenburg is almost as old as Arnold's, FWIW. So at least its history goes back much farther than the rise of fascism.

 

I've heard bad rumors about some German places in NJ, which I've also heard was a hotbed for American Nazism. I haven't heard that about Cincinnati/Ohio. Haven't researched it, either, tbh.

From my understanding, German culture largely went into hiding in Cincinnati during WWI and WWII. People changed their names, stopped speaking German, and tried to prove their American identity. 

Hot Dog Street: Formerly Frankenfurter Street

On 2/3/2020 at 2:50 PM, eastvillagedon said:

if anyone's interested, there's a new store in Painesville called Local Flavors Shoppe specializing in NE Ohio food items ?

 

The owner of this great little store that sold Ohio food products, Jason Levine, passed away yesterday (seen here with Rep. David Joyce on right, just a couple of weeks ago). It would be great if this business survives

 

https://www.facebook.com/downtownpainesville/photos/pb.125149374193272.-2207520000../6199243906783758/?type=3&theater

 

for cleveland polish boys are a distant second --

 

number one is ... or was ... definitely city chicken.

 

 

"The interesting thing about city chicken to me was that growing up in Cleveland, it didn't matter what nationality you were, everybody made city chicken," says Michael Symon, Cleveland's most famous chef. "My [Italian] mom made Sunday sauce, and not everyone made that. But everyone made city chicken."

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/story/35406551/wait-city-chicken-is-only-a-thing-here-in-cleveland/

 

 

My Mom always made city chicken. I have a friend at work that talks about Johnny Marzetti and is from Columbus. I never heard of it, but it's basically what my Mom called a macaroni casserole and is also called Goulash.  Hamburger Station in Akron is sliders that are 100 times better than White Castle. And JoJo's (breaded potato wedges )seemed to be and Akron thing too.

 

Almost forgot Lawson's chip dip!! Still sold at Circle K but only  in a limited area around NE Ohio. Also a Lawson's thing...who had a "ChipChop Ham" sandwich in their lunchbox?  And Cleveland Coke made with sugar not HFCS

Edited October 4, 20213 yr by metrocity

Chipped ham, although typically associated with Pittsburgh these days, was actually invented in Mansfield. So was the Klondike Bar, weirdly enough.

Wow. @mrnycthanks for the flashback.  Haven’t thought about city chicken in years.  I remember liking it as a kid.  
 

Didn't know city chicken was a Cleveland thing. I always associated it with Pittsburgh.

My relatives from Pittsburgh all made city chicken - I don't think it was a Cleveland thing. I think it was a thing in any city with lots of ethnic East Europeans.

14 hours ago, metrocity said:

I have a friend at work that talks about Johnny Marzetti and is from Columbus. I never heard of it, but it's basically what my Mom called a macaroni casserole and is also called Goulash. 

 

My grandmother (from Greater Cincinnati) always made Johnny Marzetti. It was made with long noodles, not macaroni like Goulash.

mfw the uo cinci's show up to say city chicken is a pitts thing.  😂

 

 

***

 

another one is lamington cakes. they are popular in australia and ... cleveland. or were anyway. actually i think the cle coconut bars predate the brit version via my hungarian people. both might be contemporaneous though, i dk, but its weird to associate something with cle and australia. well, brisbane has a cleveland suburb, so there is that too i guess.

 

of course it was hough bakery that popularized them around town back in the day. also, they were always in all the old corner/deli chain stores like convenient and lawsons. i also remember they were ubiquitous under glass on old diner counters. no worries corbo's and i think a few other places still have them!

 

 

 

***

 

i shouldn't post dessert before a meal like that, lol, but lets also not forget serbian style barberton fried chicken.

it's been lowkey famous with foodie fans forever:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barberton_chicken

 

Edited October 4, 20213 yr by mrnyc

I recall that our school cafeteria (both Jr. high and high) would serve Johnny Marzetti every few weeks. The Wall St. Journal even wrote an article and recipe a few years ago!

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-johnny-marzetti-ohios-crowd-pleasing-casserole-1494435682

of course, ohio food also inspires ohioans too, particularly burgers!

 

kewpee hamburgers is one of the oldest burger chains and it inspired dave thomas of wendys and likely others like in and out burgers, etc. as well.

 

kewpee is actually from flint, michigan, but ohio is well in the mix of its history and i believe in charge of it today:

 

https://burgerbeast.com/kewpee-hamburgers-downtown/

 

https://www.pastfactory.com/icon/kewpees-one-of-americas-original-fast-food-restaurants/?view-all&firefox=1

 

which brings us to wendys and white castle in columbus ... !

 

23 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

I recall that our school cafeteria (both Jr. high and high) would serve Johnny Marzetti every few weeks. The Wall St. Journal even wrote an article and recipe a few years ago!

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-johnny-marzetti-ohios-crowd-pleasing-casserole-1494435682

 

 

we had it regularly too, but i never heard the name johnny marzetti until i moved to columbus. i think it was just casserole.

 

but in our hs we did have poutine, which we didn't call it that although we were aware of it being poutine, but it the ghetto version with gravy and usually shreddy cheese if you wanted it, but sometimes they had curds. i never gave that a thought until i was in the dorm at bgsu, got on the lunch line, automatically ordered gravy with my fries and the lunch staff said, "we got another one from lorain high" lol.

There's always a couple cans of this on reserve in my pantry for when I need a quick lunch.  I was well into adulthood before I realized Cincinnati is really the only place this soup survives today:

 

 

 

Nobody has mentioned sauerkraut balls.   I saw them on menu at hofbrauhaus in newport this weekend.  That seems like quite an Ohio thing since its common in Akron and Cinci. 

   

^^what does that taste like? Never had it. Only heard about it in this song...@ :20--"is it the real turtle soup or only the mock?"  lol

 

12 minutes ago, mrnyc said:

 

 

we had it regularly too, but i never heard the name johnny marzetti until i moved to columbus. i think it was just casserole.

 

but in our hs we did have poutine, which we didn't call it that although we were aware of it being poutine, but it the ghetto version with gravy and usually shreddy cheese if you wanted it, but sometimes they had curds. i never gave that a thought until i was in the dorm at bgsu, got on the lunch line, automatically ordered gravy with my fries and the lunch staff said, "we got another one from lorain high" lol.

are there a lot of refugees from Quebec in Lorain? 🇨🇦 I know there are restaurants in NY that sell it now. I've never had it.

8 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

are there a lot of refugees from Quebec in Lorain? 🇨🇦 I know there are restaurants in NY that sell it now. I've never had it.

 

 

well, i got an aunt from quebec... but hello, it is le lorain after all, oui oui. le steel plant was pepe le peu.

 

i just remembered another lorain/canada thing from when i was a young kid. the stores used to take that fake canadian money one to one with american. like, all the coins and small bills too. i later found out that was unusual.

 

 

Edited October 4, 20213 yr by mrnyc

i know all the maker era hipsters in the before times were into making pickles for awhile, but nobody beats the o.g. for that:

 

 

I recently had this product that had a Cincinnati-based location on the label, Robert Rothschild Farms. I looked for it online and found that it's closed (?). That said, it's really excellent

^ doesn't that belong in the conspiracy thread? 😂

 

 

let's don't forget the hillshire farms kielbasa.

edit -- oh wait, i looked and i see that is from wisconsin, i thought it was from cinci, never mind.

i am sure ohio has plenty of kielbasa though.

 

 

Edited October 4, 20213 yr by mrnyc

41 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said:

^^what does that taste like? Never had it. Only heard about it in this song...@ :20--"is it the real turtle soup or only the mock?"  lol

 

It's rather tart with lots of lemon and vinegar, and the consistency is thick and consistent, I imagine due to the combo of boiled eggs mixed in with beef hearts. One might say... it's hearty.

2 hours ago, audidave said:

Nobody has mentioned sauerkraut balls.   I saw them on menu at hofbrauhaus in newport this weekend.  That seems like quite an Ohio thing since its common in Akron and Cinci. 

   

 

Columbus too from my experience! 

On 10/4/2021 at 1:54 PM, audidave said:

Nobody has mentioned sauerkraut balls.   I saw them on menu at hofbrauhaus in newport this weekend.  That seems like quite an Ohio thing since its common in Akron and Cinci. 

   

 

 

yeah good call. i think of those and the peanut butter chocolate buckeye candy as very much internal ohio only foods.

 

not to be eaten at the same time of course! 😂

 

 

aren't sauerkraut balls just generic German-American food? I would imagine you would find this all over the midwest.