Nz Herald takes a trip from New York city to Long Island after partying it up in the big apple. Video / NZ Herald
As a 31-year-old male with a soft spot for most combinations of meat, sauce, salt and bread, I have, through absolutely no fault of my own, found myself particularly susceptible to the charms of popular American fare.
The vast majority of my favourite food experiences, as a result, have taken place in America. Here are the essential eats you should add to your next American itinerary.
Roast pork sandwich, DiNic’s, Philadelphia
All you need to know is that this pork sandwich has been voted ‘the best sandwich in America’. I suggest you eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, all three if your constitution will allow it, and that advice applies even if you’re not mad about pork, too.
DiNic’s is located within Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philly, which is one of America’s oldest public markets and honestly just a tippedy-top place to hang out if you like food. You’ll look at this sandwich – a simple bread roll packed with thin slices of roast pork, crumbled sharp provolone, and broccoli rabe – and think, “How good could it possibly be?” The answer is: better than my feeble mind can comprehend, and I need you to trust me on that.
You may associate Philly with the cheesesteak, and you’d be right to do so, but some have gone as far as to say that Tommy DiNic’s roast pork sandwich, which has been devoured here for more than 40 years, is Philly’s “real signature sandwich.”
Insider tip: Go early to skip the lunchtime crowds. And if you’re worried about eating roast pork for breakfast, just think of it as a bacon sandwich. Problem solved.
If you’re going to eat seafood chowder, you’d do well to eat it in Haines, Alaska, when you have a hangover roaring full-tilt in your belly and brain. Now, I know a creamy bowl of crustacean cordial might not be everyone’s first pick when it comes to hangover sustenance, but I can’t think of a dish more suited to the task.
For a start, the high salt content will help re-establish glycogen equilibrium in your lousy booze-battered carcass. Then, of course, you have the seafood: high in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids and chock full of various kinds of minerals and vitamins, none of which I can be bothered to Google right now, all of which I assume are great for hangovers. It is an unparalleled hangover cure, and will do more for you than any kebab or fry-up ever could.
See also: Haines is certainly a place. The single road into the town curls in from Canada via the Yukon, and the only way you can reach it from the rest of Alaska is aboard a ferry.
Under normal circumstances, this fact would make Haines the Alaska of Alaska, but that title goes to Skagway – a town just one ferry ride north of Haines, the source of my hangover in this particular tale, and the true “end of the line” in these parts, so to speak.
Insider tip: The Lighthouse Restaurant is situated right on the Haines waterfront, and is a delightfully quaint little spot to sit, slurp up your clam chowder, and ponder how on earth you wound up here.
Experience the pinnacle of authentic Mexican tacos at South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia - where culinary perfection meets the tantalising flavours of Mexico. Photo / 123F
South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia
Authentic Mexican tacos in the heart of Philly’s Italian district? You bet. They even dedicated a whole episode of Chef’s Table to this place. Helmed by chef Cristina Martinez, a transplant from Mexico and one of America’s most outspoken (and popular!) advocates for the rights of undocumented immigrants, these are some of the best tacos you’ll find north of the border, all served up from a humble South Philly diner.
Awards? It’s won a few, including some James Beards, and in 2016 was named one of the top 10 best new restaurants in the USA by Bon Appetit magazine.
Barbacoa is lamb doused in citrus and cooked slowly over an open flame. Throw a fistful of the stuff on a freshly-made corn tortilla, top it with chopped onions, coriander, maybe some pickled vegetables, who cares, a little salsa, whatever, take a bite, and allow yourself to be transported to a sunnier place.
Insider tip: If you arrive and find yourself faced with a large queue, order takeaway, and get the 500g barbacoa as opposed to individual tacos (if there are two or more of you). You’ll get to skip the dine-in line, and be blessed with an enormous bag full of foil-wrapped meat, tacos and condiments. Eat it in the street and save the rest for later. And make sure you order pancita (a spicy lamb offal sausage). No questions.
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Nashville
I have written about this establishment for this publication before but that will not stop me from writing about it again. I will write about it many, many more times before my shift on this earth is up, I am sure, and I will not apologise for that. Not now, not ever.
Because this chicken very nearly made me believe in god. I don’t know which god, but certainly a god, a god with some kind of higher culinary power. How a terrestrial being could so immaculately cook a piece of poultry, ensuring that it is both crunchy and spicy on the outside and tongue-ticklingly tender in the middle, I cannot fathom.
I mean, I can fathom, because I looked it up, and it’s all about brine and cooking temperatures and so on, but the fact that a father and son duo (both named Nick Bishop), just two regular guys, engineered this masterful combination is barely within the realms of human comprehension. For fried chicken fans, this place should be #1 on your list.
Insider tip: Unless your mouth is made of Kevlar, do NOT mess around with the upper echelons of heat on the menu (listed as Damn Hot!! and Shut The Cluck Up!!!). Those Bishop boys are not playing games, and they will hurt you.
Z-Man, Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
If Kansas City had an iconic sandwich, which it does, it’d be the Z-Man by Joe’s Bar-B-Que, which it is.
Thick slices of slow-smoked brisket, rich and tangy barbecue sauce, provolone cheese and two glorious onion rings, all holed up between two halves of a delicate Kaiser bun. It really doesn’t need much more upselling from me. You already know you want it.
Insider tip: For those who do not partake in meat, there’s even a veggie version
Bagel perfection awaits with a tantalising combination of salmon, crisp cucumber, and creamy cream cheese. Photo / 123F
Lox bagel, Bagel and Schmear, New York City
Now I was in NYC for personal, non-travel-writing-assignment-related reasons. And when I travel for personal reasons I disregard all guidebooks, “travel tips” and suggested itineraries and just walk around and go into places I like the look of, because it’s more fun than being told what to do by someone like me, who doesn’t even really know what he’s talking about half the time. On this occasion, I liked the look of this bagel shop.
It’s an old-school deli style joint and, it being around 8:00am when I visited, the clientele was all office workers on their way to work, and a couple of policemen (who ordered donuts!). If it weren’t for them being fictional characters, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Chandler and Monica had strolled in. I ordered lox on an “everything” bagel and a cup of filter coffee, then sat at the counter and just watched as the people came and went. It was a blast, and the bagel remains my #1 bagel of all time.
Insider tip: You don’t need to go to Bagel and Schmear to have a similar experience. In fact, per my advice above, you should find your own bagel shop. A couple of things to remember: if it’s one of those newfangled establishments with people lining up out the door to get in, forget it. You want second or third-generation, “uncool” in every sense of the word, that serves up filter coffee that tastes like liquid dirt. They’re the good ones. Accept no imitations.
