Your Favorite Regional Snack?

[leobot]

I'm thinking along the lines of:

Berger cookies: Maryland
TastyKakes: Pennsylvania/Northeast
Cheerwine; Penrose Pickled Sausages: North Carolina
Coffee milk: Rhode Island

[dhedges53]

Borque's Hog Cracklins' and Boudin (ultimate parking lot food) - Louisiana

And, you can get them on the internet!!!!!

[geg5150]

Zapp's potato chips from Louisiana.

Not really a snack, but a southern thing...Frito Pie...fritos, chili, cheese and mustard. Served in the split open individual bag of Frito's is even better!

[stephen]

Unique Splitz - amazing pretzels from PA!

[pengcast]

Three Canadian snacks:
- Old Dutch popcorn twists -- light airy melt in your mouth curls of (supposedly) popcorn
- Hawkins Cheezees -- crunchy, tangy cheesy - so much better than Cheetos
- green onion cakes -- mostly available at Chinese restaurants but also now a staple at festivals and farmers' markets. When served properly it comes with black vinegar and hot chili paste.

I also had a prawn (shrimp in NA) flavoured chip-like snack in England and Ireland that was amazing. I thought it would be awful and fishy but it was great.

[Harters]

Do you mean a British "chip" or North American one? If the latter, then it will have been a prawn cracker, I think - usually with Chinese food?

If that's them, then there was recent thread. Not just a Brit thing apparently - common wherever Cantonese food is found. Different names in different countries,,as I recall. Good snack!

[pengcast]

No this was more like a potato chip (crisps in England) not the puffy prawn cracker that one gets in Chinese markets. But I don't think it was potato-based because it was very light. Maybe corn or rice?

I love the Chinese crackers though. May have to go to the Chinese market today now that we have mentioned them.

[heatcrave]

Boiled Peanuts! ...only in the South baby!

[miss_bennet]

Candied Salmon - salmon nuggets hot-smoked with lots of brown sugar

It's a BC/Washington thing, although now it's shipped everywhere. To me, it's a must on a picnic or camping trip!

[ktmoomau]

And Utz potato chips. Especially, Grandma Utz.

[Sean]

Utz Red Hot potato chips...mmmmmmmmmm

[ktmoomau]

I am a MD'er who loves that Rotel-Velveeta dip!

Pepperoni Rolls- WV
Snitz or Moon pies- Amish specialty found in MD, PA
Smith Island Cake- MD less of a snack more of a meal for me :)
And I am also a MD'er addicted to Boston Cream Pie
Boardwalk fries with vinegar AND old bay: MD

[AlyKen]

I always thought Moon Pies were a Southern thing, since they're based in Chattanooga, TN. Actually, my Baltimoron hubby thought I was crazy when on our honeymoon in NC I insisted on a Moon Pie and an RC Cola.

[ktmoomau]

No I don't mean a brand name thing, it is an amish baked good made with apple snitz also named a snitz pie or moon pie after its half moon shape.

[Gio]

Whole belly Ipswich fried clams - yes, as a snack, but not as often as I'd like.

[HSBSteveM]

I second that!

[Chew on That]

Fries dipped in vinegar! - Canadian thing, maybe Toronto?

Yummy!

[Harters]

It's the standard Brit way of serving chips (fries) - at least with the vinegar shaken on them rather than dipped.

[HSBSteveM]

What about that dish on the Quebec side - Poutine? Fries smothered in cheese, then topped with gravy!

[Smileelisa]

I live in northeastern pa and I love fries dipped in vinegar. Also cant eat fish without malt vinegar to soak it in. yum o

[breadzone]

Chase's Cherry Mash. Roasted peanuts ground up in chocolate covering the best cherry nougat you can eat. Hubby special orders them for me for holidays as you can only get them at midwest gas stations.

[Thefoodczar]

An old-school Texas favorite---Rotel cheese dip! Velveeta melted over the stove with Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with green chilis added). Sort of like chili con queso with salsa included. I know the idea of Velveeta may make some of you gag, but, hey, we're talking guilty pleasures here, people!

[danhole]

That is the first thing I thought of, too, but you left out the cayenne pepper, Add a dash of that and it really "kicks it up a notch!" And I melt mine in the microwave.

[bremfoodie]

Sounds a lot like the twin bing, but I have never had one to be able to compare.

[breadzone]

It's the same concept but a whole different taste.

[bremfoodie]

Twin Bing candy bar
Cheese Balls: breaded and fried cheddar-like substance. Similar to mozzarella sticks, but smaller and in no way Italian.

[Sean]

Gaggers

[gordeaux]

Two words:
Lobster Dog. Or: Lobster Roll.
Lobster, mayo, bun. Nuff said.
Northeastern shoreline stuff.

[Harters]

Black pudding on barmcake. Lots of mustard.

[Blush]

Back bacon on a bun--at fairs, rural auction sales and markets all over Southern Ontario.

[buttertart]

Such as the Western Fair, London...thanks for the blast from my childhood, a great memory of fun with my (now dear departed) mom and dad.

[steakman55]

I'm not sure if they are distributed nationally, but Lance Toastchee crackers (peanut button on cheese crackers) and an ice cold Coke just can't be beat. It is a southern tradition

[SouthernFoodie08]

two from the south: 1)boiled peanuts. the fat ones you get at ballparks or fairs that are seasoned with cajun spices. 2)pork rinds. the kind that still have a piece of the fat still on there. the best are the ones fried fresh, but you can buy them in the grocery stores too.

[grant.cook]

I'll second the boiled peanuts.. bought from under a tent-fly on the roadside or at a local gas station, where they fill a big plastic mug and dump them into a plastic bag. I have a religious stop for this on Amelia Island, FL. Can't find anything like them up here in Boston. But of course, can't find a "stuffie" - a stuffed quahog, RI specialty, down that way either...

[danhole]

They still make those, but my favorite Lance's product, Gold Chees, are no longer available here in Houston!

[HSBSteveM]

Berger cookies, yes!
Wow, coffee milk - haven't heard that one since I went to school in Providence. Can't say I like the stuff.
One terribly unhealthy snack that (if it's still made) I can only find in New England, is Wise brand Cheese Waffies.

[gfr1111]

Cheese Waffies! HSBSteveM, I grew up in Northwest Indiana, about thirty-five miles southeast of Chicago. I loved Cheese Waffies. They had a sharp cheddar flavor to them that was missing in their imitators. I thought that they had disappeared from the market about 1975. The next time I'm in Boston, I'll definitely look for them! Thanks.

[HSBSteveM]

I found them in a deli on Rt. 84 in CT (Rein's) about 5 years ago.

[Cheflambo]

I grew up in the burbs of Chicago and remember Cheez Waffies well, I begged my mom to buy them (she wouldn't) but my neighbor's mom was not so junk-food intolerant, so I would just go down the street for my Waffie and Slim Jim fix. Cheez Waffies are still around - I bought some last month in the snack section of Spec's Liquor Warehouse here in Houston. Almost as good as I remember .....

[Smileelisa]

I actually live a few miles from a Wise Potato Chip factory. I am pretty sure they still make the cheese waffles. I will check tomorrow when I do my grocery shopping. I am not a fan of Wise products I think their chips are way too salty. I prefer Middleswarth bbq. those are my fav.