CULINARY

Regional Culinary Delights
From downright oddities to renowned eats, explore these regional fares that the locals love.
By Maureen Sullivan for MSN City Guides
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Largely unavailable outside the area, beef on weck is Buffalo’s lesser known contribution to the American palate.
You know to get barbecue while in Kansas City, deep dish pizza in Chicago or sourdough bread when in San Francisco (even in a bread bowl down by the Wharf, an area the natives avoid). But those aren't the only towns with a dish to call their own. There are scores of other regional culinary delights out there, downright oddities that can't be found outside their hometowns or surrounding areas. We've rounded up some of the tastier ones -- and a few of the more unusual. This listing, however, is far from conclusive so let us know on the message boards if we missed a favorite regional food where you live.The Horseshoe Sandwich -- Springfield, Ill.Until Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy (and later, his running mate) there, Springfield, Ill., hadn't seen a lot of action since Abe Lincoln left for the White House. Sure, there's the new museum and library built to honor Lincoln, and his Springfield home, grave and law offices remain major tourist destinations. But one of the more unique things that Springfield can call its very own is gastronomic: the horseshoe sandwich.
Yes, somewhere buried under the fries is an open-face sandwich.
The horseshoe exemplifies the phrase "heart attack on a plate." Start with two slices of white bread, often Texas toast, side by side. (This sandwich is open-faced.) Add your meat of choice: hamburger patties (the most common pick), turkey, ham, chicken, even pork tenderloin all reside here. Now add a layer of fries -- yes, fries on the sandwich, not on the side. Then, drench it all in a melted cheese sauce reminiscent of Welsh rarebit, which varies by restaurant. The cheese sauce is what sets each horseshoe apart.Most local eateries serving pub fare offer their own version, and there's long-standing debate over whose is king. Bernie and Betty's, an old pizza joint, gets high marks from locals, the long-standing rumor being that the cheese sauce's secret ingredient is beer. The Track Shack always rates extremely well with word-of-mouth mentions for its 'shoe, especially the one with Canadian bacon.
But it's D'Arcy's Pint that has, using a white-cheddar cheese sauce, raised the horseshoe's profile. Al Roker's "Roker on the Road" program featured the restaurant's horseshoe when Roker stopped by in an episode featuring unusual regional sandwiches (the D'Arcy's sandwich's consistent ranking in local papers as "the best horseshoe" rankles many a local traditionalist). While the profile might be national, availability isn't: You might find a horseshoe in some neighboring towns (Champaign-Urbana, for example), but don't expect to shorten your life span with one outside central Illinois.Pasties -- Upper Peninsula of Michigan"How do you like your pasties?" (that's p-aaa-sties, with a short and very nasal "a") is a question you'll hear throughout Michigan's Upper Peninsula -- the UP to "Yoopers," as locals are known. The region is home to this traditionally English meat pie, brought over from Cornwall, England, in the 1850s. A pasty has all the ingredients you picture in a pot pie -- chopped and seasoned ground beef, potatoes and vegetables like carrots, rutabagas and onion -- but all wrapped in pastry dough that resembles a calzone.
A pot pie fit for English royalty can be found in the UP.
Some of the best pasties can be found at Dobber's in Escanaba, Mich., according to best-of polls in recent years. And though they're predominantly found in the UP, pasties are not unheard of in lower Michigan: Albie's in Gaylord also gets kudos. You could drive all over the UP tracking down your pastry of choice, but with Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and miles and miles of pristine forests, it's scenic enough up there that you won't mind going the extra mile(s).________________________________________Related articles on MSN:
Field guide to regional pizza
Favorite regional beverages
10 best sports bars
Delish: Drink recipes for all occasions
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Beef on Weck -- Buffalo, N.Y.Yes, this city is famous for making wings a nationwide taste sensation. But Buffalo boasts another, er, delicacy: Beef on weck. What is weck, exactly? Sometimes referred to as kummelweck, kümmelweck, or kimmelweck (no wonder it's been shortened to "weck"), it's a hard roll with caraway seeds and pretzel salt baked into its top. And thinly sliced roast beef (typically served rare), the horseradish that tops the beef, and the side of au jus for dipping, make up the beef on weck. It's the roll that's key here; if you like salt, you're in for a treat.
Beef on weck is served at restaurants throughout the Buffalo area, but not much beyond western New York; the national franchise Buffalo Wild Wings was originally Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck, but it had long since dropped the "weck" from its name, and its menu, before gaining popularity nationwide. The best weck in town is another hotly contested topic, but Schwabl's in West Seneca gets accolades among aficionados, as well as Eckl's Beef and Weck Restaurant in Orchard Park and Bar Bill Tavern in East Aurora.Provel Cheese -- St. LouisThink of St. Louis' landmark contributions. The Arch. The Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales. Chuck Berry. Provel cheese? Yep, it's up there as a gift from the Gateway to the West. A white blend of cheddar, Swiss and provolone, provel is most often used on St. Louis-style pizza (a cracker-thin-crust pie that uses provel instead of provolone or mozzarella) and on the Gerber sandwich (toasted, open-faced, buttered French or Italian bread with garlic, ham, paprika and provel). But St. Louis restaurants seem to throw provel on every dish -- salads, chicken, burgers, sometimes as a substitute for Italian cheese in white-sauced pasta. And with good reason: it's soft but not spreadable, it melts easily and has a smoky sharpness reminiscent of a cheddar, and more flavor than a typical hard white cheese.
Famous for its arch, St. Louis residents love its lesser known provel cheese.
In recent years, provel has journeyed beyond St. Louis; some supermarkets as far away as Kansas City carry provel "ropes" that can be chopped and used in salad, and St. Louis-style pizza can be found there as well. But the frequent and widespread use of provel is still largely confined to the St. Louis area, where its citizens remain devoted to it in pizza, sandwiches and anything else they can think of. It's easiest to try provel at one of the originators of St. Louis-style pizza: Family-run Serra's in Maryland Heights and locally based chain Imo's both lay claim to inventing it. (Imo's will ship St. Louis-style pies to hungry expats or the otherwise curious who can't satisfy their provel hankering where they are.) Nick andElena's in Overland also gets props for staying true to the provel style.
Muffuletta Sandwiches -- New OrleansThe Big Easy has so much going for it, gastronomically and otherwise. Not many other areas of the country have beignets in the true Café du Monde tradition or coffee with chicory. But the true New Orleans secret is a sandwich. And it isn't the po' boy as might be expected, nor is there anything French or Cajun about. It's the Italian muffuletta.
Some come for the po' boys but those in the know come for the muffulettas.
Served on a seeded, round Italian loaf of the same name, the muffuletta typically has at least salami and ham, possibly with other cured Italian meats (contenders include capicola or mortadella) as well as provolone. It's all topped with a marinated olive salad (green and black olives and herbs, to which is often added celery, garlic, pimientos, cocktail onions and capers, among other additions), which, along with the distinctive bread (the round loaf is split horizontally for the sandwich, then often quartered for serving sizes), is what sets the sandwich apart.
________________________________________Related articles on MSN:
Field guide to regional pizza
Favorite regional beverages
10 best sports bars
Delish: Drink recipes for all occasions
_________________________________________
Where do you get one? The muffuletta originated in 1906 at Central Grocery in the French Quarter, where the original recipe is still served. It's a staple of sandwich shops and pubs across the Crescent City, however, with heated dispute about where's best. Some other names that top the list: Frank's Deli (also in the Quarter), Nor-Joe's, DiMartino's, and the Come Back Inn in Kenner. Though it's hard to find muffuletta served outside the New Orleans area (some restaurants in New York have attempted it, but New Orleans natives say it's not the same), you can take it with you: the prepared olive salad that tops the sandwich is sold in most New Orleans grocery stores. Just be sure to grab a jar before you hop your flight home.
Let us know on the message boards if we missed a favorite regional fare where you live.
Maureen Sullivan, formerly the editor of KC Weddings and Art magazines, is a freelance writer living in Kansas City, Mo.
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