Regional Idiosyncrasies

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AndrewPaul
We all come from different corners of the world, and all places have their own little customs and traditions that seem foreign to anywhere else. So where are you from, and what are yours?

I'm from the Baltimore area of Maryland. In Baltimore we like our crabs soft, our snow balled and our Natty Boh'd. Ever had a snowball? This isn't to be confused with a snow cone, slushi or Slurpee. It's shaved ice, syrup and most likely marshmallow topping, to be eaten with a spoon. I was shocked to find out this was really only a Maryland tradition - what else do you people eat during the summer?

Crabs in Baltimore are a given, but soft crabs are extra delicious. Cook up a soft crab, put it on a sandwich, and you're good to go.

National Bohemian beer is a Baltimore tradition, even though it's not actually brewed in Baltimore anymore. It's bad and cheap. You can always find cans littering nearby college campuses, Raven stadium parking lots and Essex dumpsters.

A whole 'nother topic can be started about regional dialect (and actually there is one I think), but Baltimore has a very distinct (and hick) sounding language. Another thing is Baltimoron's often say we're going "down to the ocean" instead of to the beach. (Pronounced "Gone danny ocean hon").

And doesn't everyone yell "OOOOOO" during the last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner? Glad I figured that one out before I made a fool of myself in some other state.

I know there's others that I'm forgetting. Anyway, what about you?
 
We have a drink called a snowball which is usually made from Advocaat and lemonade (this applies ot the whole of the UK not just Essex). Some people add brandy or vanilla flavouring. I live in a coastal town so it's traditional to eat fish and chips, jellied eels, roll mops etc. Dressed crabs are also popular all year round. Confectionary treats are usually candy floss, hot donuts, ice cream etc. It's the kind of stuff you eat when you visit the seaside as a kid, now I live here I can't stand most of it.

In my town, you need to where Air Max 95's, a track suit and you also need to have a 15 year old girlfriend with at least one kid. Oh, you'll probably need to have a staff (staffordshire bull terrier) just to complete the look.

My town has nothing original or exciting, which is why I spend so much of my time driving to Manchester or London.
 
Mark T
We have a drink called a snowball which is usually made from Advocaat and lemonade (this applies ot the whole of the UK not just Essex).
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But it's only in Essex where people drink that sort of drink ;)
 
Touring Mars
In Scotland, we throw them at each other in winter...
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spring, summer and autumn..

I'm much like Mark, though Sussex is very different from Essex, Worthing is still a seaside town. Fish and Chips is the done thing. We've got a Pier..

worthing%20pier.png


Oh and 99s, which no longer cost 99p...they are simply ice cream with a flake in the top, sometimes two if you want to pay more.

Worthing (Particularly south Goring which is where I am) has a lot of old people, so you need to wear stockings and push a trolley around. Do I do this? Not that I know of. The smell of seaweed in spring is iconic about Worthing.
 
GilesGuthrie
And when he says "them", he means the drinks, usually still in the bottles, and not always in Winter.
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I thought winter was the only season you have in Scotland!


Ooh, better add an idiosynch:

In South Africa Biltong is a very popular snack. Biltong is dried and salted raw meat, and I think it originates from the Dutch sailors as it was a convenient way to keep meat from going off when stored on a ship without refrigerators. Maybe.

A potentially more embarrassing South Africanism was to call a 3.5in floppy disk a "stiffy", since the 5.25in version was obviously floppy and the 3.5in one obviously not. Never, ever, travel abroad and ask someone if you can use their stiffy, unless you are interested in transferring something other than data.
 
In Michigan we eat bratwurst during the summer like it's going out of style, I think every cook out I've ever been to has burgers or chicken and bratwurst. I'm guessing it's the huge German population that settled in this region. We also eat a lot of fish, the biggest thing to do is go to a fish fry on a Friday night, but unlike most fish fries that service cod we get pickerel (I think it's better known as walleye maybe?).

As for dialect we call soft drinks pop, which confuses the hell out of anyone not native of here.

During the summer everyone goes up-north but no one actually knows where up-north starts. Typically it's anything north of Saginaw on I-75.

We also have a term known as a Michigan left, which is quite hard to explain. Basically you go past the intersection you want to turn left at on a divided road and do a turn around so you can turn left at the inter section. Michigan is the only state I've ever been to that does this and out of towners have no idea what to do. Here is the wikipedia page to better understand it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left
 
Pickerel is any white, somewhat flaky, fish fillet. Pike, walleye, sauger, and anything else in that family of fish, we just group everything together.
 
SoCal is easy. Wine bistros and sushi pads are the norm for our cuisine. Ever heard of a 'California Roll?'

For home cooking, it's BBQ, baby. We have year round weather for it, and we just love to BBQ. Pizza and fruits are the norm on our grills. And when it's 'party time' nobody can beat our California Dip (onion dip). It's a classic, for sure.

Fast food wise, it's all about the classic SoCal burger. That's a small patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, 1,000 Island dressing and a slice of California cheddar. Also, you cannot find a better chili dog state than ours. We have The Hat, Carney's, Original Tommy's, Pinks and few other places. Don't forget Hot Dog On A Stick. Also, somebody told me we invented the hard taco as it's known today.
 
Mmm. Bratwurst.

We have a similar traffic device in Jersey called a jughandle. Same idea, just different execution.


I don't live there anymore, but in the Southeastern US, there were two drink idiosyncrasies I found very amusing.

In the summer (which is 9 months of 12 down there) people like to drink iced tea. Very sweet, by most standards. This is so common that a waitress would ask "coke? sweet tea?" when taking your drink order. My wife likes to say the sweeter the tea, the deeper in the South you're in.

Funnily enough, you can chart the progress of southern culture while driving south along the Florida coast. In North Florida and Georgia (not Atlanta), tea is sweet by default (though at restaurants, they may ask if you like sweet or unsweet). Once you hit the Orlando area, sweet tea becomes more rare. By the time you hit Broward and Dade County (Ft. Lauderdake/Miami area), the waitress will tell you there's sugar on the table if you want sweet tea :lol:

The other one is 'cobeer', which is can mean any kind of beer. It may not even be cold, though it usually is. Usage: "Ay bubba, you wanacobeer?"


M
 
Joey D
In Michigan we eat bratwurst during the summer like it's going out of style, I think every cook out I've ever been to has burgers or chicken and bratwurst. I'm guessing it's the huge German population that settled in this region. We also eat a lot of fish, the biggest thing to do is go to a fish fry on a Friday night, but unlike most fish fries that service cod we get pickerel (I think it's better known as walleye maybe?).
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So that's why I always see brats and loads of white fish at the dining hall. At home we get lots and lots of Salmon, crabs and other seafood. And everything is quite informal.

We also have a term known as a Michigan left, which is quite hard to explain. Basically you go past the intersection you want to turn left at on a divided road and do a turn around so you can turn left at the inter section. Michigan is the only state I've ever been to that does this and out of towners have no idea what to do. Here is the wikipedia page to better understand it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left
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Those sound pretty fun to drive. It is a strange phenomenon though. We Washingtonians have a nasty habit of being not-too-great drivers. 60 in the fast lane is a common occurrence and riding the brakes is also the in thing. And it's only becoming more of a mess with all the Californians coming up.

And if you want to blend in, don't bother with an umbrella. Bring a raincoat and suck it up like the rest of us.:sly:
 
Ah, Kentucky.

Where to start?

It does not matter what town you are from, what college you attended, you have to chose between the University of Kentucky (UK) or the University of Louisville (UL). And the United Kingdom is known as just England to avoid all confusion. Oh, and this school choosing is directed toward basketball first and foremost. Football (American) is what we do while we wait for basketball season. And all we care about hockey is the fact that people like Ashley Judd pose in just a jersey for the Kentucky poster.

When it comes to terms used to identify things brand recognition is king. It is not soda, soda pop, pop, or soft drink, it is Coke. "My favorite Coke is Mt. Dew" Facial tissue? What's that? "I have a Kleenex, it's made by Puffs." "Hey, can you get me a Xerox copy? Use the Canon because I need it in color." "I got a new iPod. It's a Creative Zen."

And food, well Kentucky Fried Chicken is quite delicious. And if you ask the right people they will tell you that Colonel Sanders invented fried chicken. Kind of like Adolph Rupp invented basketball. We are one of the top states in obesity because we are the home state for Yum! Foods (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, A&W, Long John Silver), Papa John's, Pizza Magia, Rallys (Checkers), and Outback steakhouse. I'm sure there's more.

As for home cooking: Watch Paula Dean. It's like that.
 
In south Florida, nobody talks to anyone unless they have to. If you're out walking and you pass someone, it's always a tense situation and completely silent. Nobody smiles either. :lol:


Oh, and most University of Miami fans didn't even go to school there.
 
Omnis
In south Florida, nobody talks to anyone unless they have to. If you're out walking and you pass someone, it's always a tense situation and completely silent. Nobody smiles either. :lol:
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That reminds me, we always smile and say hi. And waving (aka raising your fingers on the steering wheel) when passing oncoming cars on a two lane road is common.


Oh, and most University of Miami fans didn't even go to school there.
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I think they all live in Kentucky. They are the few that refuse to chose between UK and UL.
 
I grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is one of the oldest cities on the continent, so it has such a distinct culture than any other city I've been to in North America.

Winters are long and very cold. Very cold. Colder and snowier than these Michiganders try to lead you to believe. This leads me to a somewhat strange link between Montreal and Michigan. Hot dog joints are super popular in Montreal and there tends to be only three main things you can buy in them, between the two most popular chains, Belle Province and Lafleurs. These three dishes are a steamy, which is a steamed hotdog, and if it costs more than a dollar it is too much, the poutine, which is a Montreal-bred French Fry-based delicacy consisting of potatoes, gravy and cheese, and the third offering is something called a Michigan, which is a hot dog smothered in meat sauce and topped with onion. When I first starting going to Michigan in my summers, my family demanded that I eat a Michigan in Michigan. Unfortunately, nobody has any idea what it is there, and call me crazy. Apparently a Coney Island hot dog is what I'm supposed to be looking for.

That's okay, because no matter what city I'm in, I always find people trying to pass off far inferior foods as "Montreal-style" when in fact they taste absolutely nothing like the real thing. Be it bagels, which tend to be circular bread and taste nor look anything like St. Viateur masterpieces, or smoked meat, which ends up being a couple slices of meat on a kaiser or something, looking and far less tasting nothing like a proper Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich (a good inch and a half of meat with mustard on rye. Pickle on the side optional), or foreigners trying so hard to make a proper poutine. I don't know if it's the gravy, the cheese or the stacking method, but nothing is at all close to Montreal's own Poutine.

Other than food and obvious French language, there are a lot of othee things that absolutely define Montreal. You play hockey. There is no excuse, and no exception. You start skating very young and you learn to handle a puck before you can read. When the ice is no longer skatable in late March or April, you pull the net off the pool of water that was once a rink and put it smack in the middle of the road infront of your house and play street hockey 'til it starts snowing in November and the rinks finally open by December. I was once driving around on a really snowwy evening at 1 in the morning. The snow clearance was typically sleeping til morning to do their job, so the steet is pretty much the only way to walk anywhere. Infront of me, walking down a rather quiet road was a man in his early twenties wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey, over his shoulder was his stick with a pair of skates hanging off of it. I could've taken a picture and had it on book covers and post cards. I pointed it out to my mother, and said how perfectly "Montreal" it was. The funny thing is, at 1AM, he was walking to the rink.

I think I could keep going with all sorts of other little Montrealities like spiral staircases to get to the second floor of a duplex or the worst road surfaces this side of Russia, but I don't like making excruciatingly-long posts, and I'm sure Fred could add some Quebec culture as well.
 
Lets see... Western Michigan...

- People like to play the "Name Game." Since everyone is Polish or Dutch (a lot of Germans as well), you go anywhere where you have to be asked your name you've got to tell a story about it. Or you've got to pronounce it, slowly, several times, and identify its origin.

- People tend to vote Republican, no matter what. Actually, its really interesting how the politics are split in our state. The East side (where Joey is) is usually militant Democratic, and although we're surrounded by the industrialized world, West Michigan is a pretty hardcore base for the GOP. Gerald Ford is from Grand Rapids, and our neighboring Representative Peter Hoekstra is a pretty powerful congressman as well.

- Michigan vs Michigan State, its a problem. We're closer to MSU, but just like normal, there are an S-load of U of M fans as well. We hate each other, and every football and basketball season, its back and fourth. But here in West Michigan, we've got Grand Valley State which lit up the Division 2 world the past few years, and now there are a lot of folks that only run the Royal Blue and Black...

- Yesterdog and Vitales. Institutionalized (and famous) food. Some of you may have seen the movie American Pie, and many of you are probably unaware that it is based on East Grand Rapids, a wealthy section of town that my current school (Aquinas College) is located in. Anyway, that Hot Dog place that they're eating at is based on Yesterdog, THE hotdog place for hundreds of miles for so many people. I know people who drive from Chicago just to get hot dogs here... Personally speaking, I think its overrated, so I go to the Corner Bar (in blue-collar Rockford) instead. Vitales, for pizza, is another one of those local institutions that has a lot of meaning behind it. People have fights over which franchise location is the best, and that of course, depends on what part of the area you're from. On more than one occasion I've driven nearly a half-hour to get pizza from my favorite Vitales...

- Meijer, its better than Wal-Mart. We support local business, so people go to Meijer, even if it is (marginally) more expensive. Its a big chain now, all over the Mid-West, but I doubt the loyalty is anywhere near as big as it is here.
 
YSSMAN
- Meijer, its better than Wal-Mart. We support local business, so people go to Meijer, even if it is (marginally) more expensive. Its a big chain now, all over the Mid-West, but I doubt the loyalty is anywhere near as big as it is here.
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I love Meijer, bigger, cleaner, more organized. I can go on. And the price difference on name brand may be slightly higher but when it comes to groceries Meijer brand is the best quality store brand out there.

They were also one of my summer jobs in college.
 
Do they have Meijer in most of Kentucky now? The last time I drove through they were only in the northern part of the State, which by my count, is rather impressive given that it started in a small shop in rural Western Michigan...
 
YSSMAN
Do they have Meijer in most of Kentucky now? The last time I drove through they were only in the northern part of the State, which by my count, is rather impressive given that it started in a small shop in rural Western Michigan...
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Florence/Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington, Paducah.

A new shopping center in Frankfort is in talks with Meijer, Target, and Wal*Mart. I am praying for Meijer as Target I would use if it came but wouldn't care if it didn't and there is already an idiot infested Wal*Mart in town.

I know there was talk of one in Bowling Green a few years back, but that kind of died off.

To give you an idea of how much I love Meijer: I live in Frankfort and work in Louisville. Wal*Mart and Kroger are both about 30 seconds from my house. The nearest Meijer to me on a daily basis is five miles down a busy city street from work. Easily a half hour or more at rush hour to get there. If there is a large supply of groceries needed I will go to Meijer after work as opposed to stopping at one of the others on my way home.
 
Kansas City, Missouri and it's 'burbs

We like dead animals, slow-cooked in Barbecue sauce, dry rub, or anything else that tastes good to a carnivore.
Seriously. Kansas City = Barbecue. One of the Editors of Rolling Stone Magazine believes that Arthur Bryant's is the greatest restaurant on the planet. He could very well be right. Most average people that have spent any length of time know how to do ribs, and do them right. Whether one prefers getting yelled at upon entering by a young black woman at Gates, "CAN AH TAKE YO ORDER!?" or prefers the country diner feel but great taste of Stilwell Smokehouse, or argues over which Fiorella brother runs a better restaurant(but eats at both anyway) or thinks that Hayward Spears is the man, Barbecue lives in Kansas City.
Rush Limbaugh's favorite place to dine was a fried chicken joint in a decrepit, eighty year old "shanty" on the side of a road under a bridge. Sadly, the original Stroud's was torn down last year, to widen 85th street. That probably sent Rush on another one of his diatribes..

Buck O'Neil!!!!!! Royals? Who are they again?
Kansas City is home to the Negro League Baseball Museum and hall of fame. Buck was a beacon of how a person should be. Caring, humble, patient, Buck was all of those, and the first person of color to coach a Major League Baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, in 1962. He managed the Kansas Cit Monarchs for two years, and lated helped found the Negro League Musum. Buck was up to be in the hall of fame, but was not nominated a little over a year ago. But he took it in stride, saying "If I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful." Buck passed away last year, after enduring some medical difficulties for several weeks. Mr. O'Neal, you will be missed.
 
Kansas City, Missouri and it's 'burbs, continued due to keyboard malfunction

Who the hell are the Royals!?
Yeah, they suck. Royals fans are endangered, I'm telling you. A radio station had a campaign to see how attendance could be improved. a man called in to the station and said "Why don't they bring back free hotdogs to go in the fifth?"

..and the home of the...CHIEFS!

Arrowhead. It's outlived all of the multipurpose stadiums that were built at the same time. While Kansas Citians don't want to pay for improvements all the time, we love our stadium. We love our team. But not the manager. Carl Peterson has proven every year since 1999 that he sucks. Arrowhead is two things on a Sunday: red and LOUD. It's been measured as the loudest in the NFL, at 116 decibels. And, it smells of barbecue. Imagine that. It's like college games, with virulent tailgaters, and a completely belligerent attitude towards anyone not wearing red, yellow, or white. (If they're wearing Raiders colors, then fists and objects fly)

We like Jazz.

18th and Vine. the area that was once a Mecca of Jazz music. Music poured out of every little club along the streets, and it's where many famous musicians made their mark. There's a Jazz museum adjoining the Negro League Museum. It's AMAZING.

Accent!? Are you kidding me?

There isn't an accent. At all. No drawl, no "aboat', no refusal to recognize the sovereignty of the letter "R". The only thing is that an overwhelming majority pronounce Missouri as "Mizzura". Other than that, there isn't an accent around Kansas City.

Construction

Construction. It's always occurring in every city, but in Kansas City, it's constant, all pervasive, and slow going. Eric Clapton mentions it in his autobiography.
"By the time we got to Kansas City I was sleeping three hours a night. I changed hotels four times in three days. The noise was unbearable. Outside there was construction everywhere, inside there were noisy elevator shafts and people throwing things at walls." ....:D

EPIC FAIL

The roof of Kemper Arena collapsed on June 4, 1979 during a storm with heavy rains and 70 mph winds. Nobody was injured. It was the career breakthrough for architect Helmut Jahn, who reclaimed his fame after the collapse with the stunning State of Illinois building.
One of the worst engineering disasters in recent history. :(
 
Here, in Kanada, when we order coffee from places like Tim Hortons, they ask me how i like my coffee and i tell em "double double".

I go to the U.S. and order a double double at duncan and the guy was like WTF?
 
Bubble Bunny
Here, in Kanada, when we order coffee from places like Tim Hortons, they ask me how i like my coffee and i tell em "double double".

I go to the U.S. and order a double double at duncan and the guy was like WTF?
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What exactly is a double double and I can tell you what we call it in the US.
 
exigeracer
Two cream, two sugar.
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Yeah, just say two of each.

Or, since most restaurants just put it on your table you add it yourself you just say cream and sugar and they bring it out.

You have to realize that Americans have taken on the huge fad of coffee that tastes like anything but so there are all kinds of crazy names, plus a double is something you do with alcohol based drinks.
 

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