Chopped cheese has been talked about online as if it’s *the* food New Yorkers all love. It’s a NYC icon on par with pizza and Timberlands. But, uh… most New Yorkers never ate it prior to 2015. It was a niche sandwich associated with only a few parts of Manhattan and the Bronx until the 2015, where it became a popular sandwich in NYC mainly *because* people online said it was a popular sandwich in NYC. Maybe it’ll a long-term favorite over the years but its popularity came out of nowhere.
Do other neighbourhoods or even states have similar things? Stuff that are are associated with an area online, or in the pop culture osmosis, but aren’t historically popular? If popular, it’s because of people moving there.
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Mainers don’t eat nearly as much lobster as tourists.
Lobster rolls are that expensive fucking sandwich you may eat once every couple years and then question vehemently why you just dropped $25 on a sandwich when you can buy a whole beast for like $10.
I don’t have anywhere *near* as much jello as people think I do.
Rice a Roni isn’t an SF treat, but I don’t hear those commercials anymore so maybe this isn’t a problem anymore
Nobody likes Times Square
Since I moved to Vermont, I’m surprised at how few people here actually ski or snowboard regularly.
Granted, its more common than most other places I’ve lived, but I thought it would be near ubiquitous.
Deep dish pizza is for special occasions and when relatives are in town. Everyone’s had it, but probably only once or twice a year.
The Grand Canyon is in my state and hardly anyone has been, and if they have its once.
Pats and Genos Steaks are the last place you want to get a cheese steak in Philly.
Edit: if you’re ever in the area, I recommend Steve Princes, Delessandros, John’s Roast Pork, Joes Steaks, Bardot Cafe has steaks on Thursdays, list goes on.
I live in le California wine country and pretty much only go to wineries when people are visiting from out of town. It is obviously a big business here and some people are into it but probably not a much larger percentage of the national average of people who are into wine.
The beach. LA may be coastal but unless you live directly in a beach town, there isn’t that big of a beach culture here.
Born in NYC in ’74, lived there for 22 years. JUST hearing about Chopped Cheese for the first time right now.
No one in New Jersey says “Joisey”.
Buffets are quickly becoming a thing of the past in Las Vegas
As a person who lives in New York, I only heard of chopped cheese this week when someone posted about it on the NYC subreddit.
ITT: Things tourists like are not what residents like.
I was surprised the first time I heard chopped cheese was more popular than a bacon egg and cheese
Los Angeles:
We’re not all the stereotypical “LA types” you might imagine.
The vast majority of us in the greater Los Angeles region are just regular folks who’ve lived here for generations, working standard jobs and leading ordinary lives. We range from upper to lower working class.
We take pride in not fitting the typical “LA person” mold.
Most of these clichés stem from newcomers, often with financial backing—or at least pretending to have it—who relocate here for the glamorous “LA lifestyle” as showcased in the media. While some of these folks find success, i would say most eventually leave. (*actual* struggling immigrants not included)
Long-time residents are proud of our roots. Contrary to popular belief, we’re not all zooming around on communal scooters, sipping high-end juices, or trying to be the next big thing on TikTok.
Born and raised in Seattle. I’d never heard of a Seattle dog until a couple years ago. It’s not a bad hotdog by any means, but the association with the city is pretty artificial.
Buckeyes really aren’t that big of a thing in Ohio. Sure the candy shops sell them, but it’s something most people never buy or care much about.
California is heavily associated with surfing. If you go to the busy beaches, you will absolutely see people surfing, but its actually something few people have done, and a very small number of people actually do regularly. There are 40 million people in the state, and I would be surprised if more than only a few thousand went surfing today. A lot of people might have done it as a kid, or tried it once or twice, but few people actually do it.
People think Milwaukee is called Cream City because of the dairy industry. Truth is, Milwaukee has never had anything to do with the dairy industry except on the consumer end.
Cream City refers to the cream colored bricks made from Lake Michigan sandstone that was used to make many of the buildings in Downtown MKE.
Chicago-style pizza (deep dish) isn’t something that most Chicagoans eat on a regular basis. The real Chicago-style pizza that Chicagoans actually eat regularly is tavern-style pizza.
In Texas that would go to Dr. Pepper being the most Texan thing, I’d argue Big Red is more Texan than Dr. Pepper.
Chivago Deep Dish Pizza.
Honestly, we get it once a year- maybe.
Every relative that moved South or West wants Lou Malnati’s when they visit. Those of us who live here don’t like it. We call it expat-pizza. If that tastes good my insides shrivel to think what they’re calling pizza elsewhere. My in-laws call it low-grade dog food.
Uno’s is for tourists.
Gimme my thin crust pub style pizza from the local place anytime.
I grew up in the New Orleans area and have no idea what “New Orleans style iced coffee” even is. Neither does anyone else in my family or any other locals I’ve ever asked about it. I’m pretty sure it’s not a thing, at all, and was just invented out of whole cloth by some non-Louisiana coffee chain.
There are local chains like CC’s and PJ’s that serve iced coffee, but it’s the same iced coffee they have everywhere else, There’s nothing special or local about it. Nor were these chains the originators of iced coffee, as far as I know.
Bell peppers on cheesesteaks. This is not a thing here, like at all. Now sweet/hot peppers or long hots, that’s another story.
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say, until you are a few drinks in, Zydeco music is like tinfoil on a filling.
Supper clubs on the western side of Wisconsin, and it’s a shame because I love them. There are two supper clubs in the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area. Compared to the rest of the state that is shockingly low.
There is exactly one Buffalo Wild Wings in the Buffalo-Niagara region. It’s not any better than any other
We all think the whole UFO thing is stupid and the museum in Roswell is a lame tourist trap.
I can confidently say that cheese is exactly as popular as you would imagine in Wisconsin. There is no ethnic/national cuisine-themed restaurant that would surprise me by having fried cheese curds on the menu. Oh, a sushi place? They serve cheese curds? Sure, why not.
I have a backwards example tho. Wisconsin ginseng is extremely popular abroad, and known for having a distinct flavor from Chinese ginseng. But I’m not sure most people in the state who don’t farm it have any idea.
Tourists always wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots around Nashville. Tennesseans are more of a “ball cap with the bill bent to shit and work boots” kind of people.
Congress
“Niche parts of manhattan and the bronx” you mean where the real people live not the transplants?
Can you explain how timberlands are a new York thing while we’re on the subject of things that aren’t new York things…
Lobster in New England. It’s expensive. Like it is everywhere else so most people could go years between eating lobster and that’s if they even like it.
Country roads isn’t actually about West Virginia
I don’t give a fuck if you put ketchup on your hotdog.