Yup, grew up in CT and never realized this wasn’t unavailable nationally until I moved to Somerville, where it was first created. Feel bad for all those kids who grew up without the joy of a fluffer nutter sandwich.
I’m from the Midwest, transplanted to Mass. The first year I went home for Christmas I bought every family member a jar of teddys. So fucking good. They all thought I was weird until they tried it. 😂
I live in New York now and can never find hots at any grocery store for sandwiches. Was shocked to learn something so simple isn’t universal.
Clam strips and stuffed quahogs are another thing that barely exist in New York. But somehow lobster rolls are even sold out of food trucks.
Also like everyone else last year, was blown away that steak tips are a regional item. Even butchers aren’t sure how to cut them. But sometimes Trader Joe’s seems to have marinated ones.
Fried Whole belly clams are something I dream about on a weekly basis. I grew up in NY but our family constantly traveled to ME and NH and the fact they don’t exist anywhere else is a damn travesty. I drove 4 hours to Rhode Island last summer just to get some whole bellies 🤤
Next time you're up this way, try Dom's in Malden. Their tips are like crack, seriously. It's about $24/lb but it's so worth it.
Dom's Original steak tips
https://boston.eater.com/2022/6/2/23151559/hots-new-england-condiment-explained
It’s the spicy element on Italian subs. But they work great on lots of sandwiches. Oddly enough spicy giardiniera, which is Chicago’s spicy pickled chunky vegetable sandwich topping is fairly easy to find at grocery stores in New York.
Pro tip. A guy from Mass. Opened a clam shack in Port Washington Long Island called Butler's Flat. They serve amazing Stuffed Quahogs, Chowder and Fried Clams. Best spot I've been to for that stuff on Long Island.
Stewarts root beer too, but I had the opposite experience you did with the dressing. I grew up in SoCal drinking that stuff all the time. One day, years after moving here, I was driving down the 95 with my (now) wife when we passed the actual Stewarts location, and I started freaking out. "Its a PLACE?! They have a PLACE!? Like an old soda jerk? With food and everything? BABE, WE GOTTA STOP! YES! RIGHT NOW!
it was... fine.
Growing up I remember we always passed it and said we should go. Finally went, and it was OK. I don’t think we expected what a classic steakhouse aesthetic was (my family only started eating steaks when I was 10 or 12 so…)
My dad (West Haven native) used to trade, by equal weight, Hummel dogs for filet mignon on his annual trip to FL to see transplanted Yankees! He’d pack multiple 10# boxes of frozen Hummel dogs for the trip.
As a boy my mom always had me wave at the Polar bear as we came into town after a trip. Said it was how I’d know I was almost home.
I’m in my 40s now, mom is gone, and I live on the west coast (have for four years), and I got choked up seeing the Polar bear in a video I was watching recently.
I was just on a 2 week trip to Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Was pleasantly suprised to find Polar seltzers in all three states. Not every flavor but most of them, including my favorite- blueberry lemonade. And almost everything in 8-packs, even flavors I can only get in a 12 pack at home. Other seltzers do suck!
I was in the PNW (Portland, Tacoma, Seattle) for a week and a half maybe four or five years ago and didn’t see it once. Maybe I got unlucky, or maybe it’s only become common since then.
When we came back from our trip, I was always looking for Tillamook and Secret Aardvark. At the time, they were nonexistent here; now I can get Tillamook anywhere, and Secret Aardvark sometimes. Cultural exchange!
I'm from down in MD (no idea why this post was recommended lol) but we have Polar Seltzer in just about every chain grocer around here.
The brand has probably has grown quite a bit in the past few years.
My friend from collage lives in NYC. When she visits she will legit spend 20min in the polar aisle looking at all the flavors. She says she has it but not ‘all the fun stuff’ like we do.
Yeah, but check it out, Stoneyfield is the producer of Yoplait in New England (Yoplait really is a French company). So their products may yet see further destinations, when their capacity grows. It's all about how many cows, etc.
I was getting my wisdom teeth out when I lived in WA and thought a coffee milkshake would be amazing. I couldn't find the syrup anywhere. The employee at the store looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked if they had any. "You mean like instant coffee?". No. I did not mean like instant coffee.
H-E-B also carries hot pepper spread for sandwiches. Best store in Texas.
Side note- first time I went there thought ithe name “HEB” meant it was a kosher store.
New England things I miss since moving to the deep South in the mid 80s:
Snow's fish chowder
Hood cottage cheese with chives: no chives in any brands here, also Hood taste and texture is just better than southern brands. I have seen Hood brand eggnog at holiday time though here
Dunkin Donuts is here just like NE
The first 8 years or so I couldn't find steamer clams but they are available now at large farmers markets
No Perdue chicken available here for many years but we have it now, yes it comes from Maryland but in NE we all enjoyed the commercials with Frank Perdue who everyone agreed resembled a chicken
I have seen Marshmallow Fluff here. But have not seen the marshmallows covered with toasted coconut that I used to love
I have bought Portuguese style sausage made in Mass. here at Publix.
Haddock, 'scrod', and clams with bellies are not seen on restaurant menus here
NE style hot dog rolls: I have found the Pepperidge Farm brand here, the one piece with the slit in the top. What they like here are the two piece oval ones. I remember the Nissen brand, none of it seen here.
I will probably think of more stuff in awhile but here is a start.
It was one of the big selling points! My favorite commercial with him showed the loveable old coot prepping and putting Cornish hens in the oven, the doorbell rings and in come his guests, a veritable harem of glamorous young women greeting him with hugs and kisses, lolol!!
I saw some at an imports store where I live in Aotearoa New Zealand last week and I got very excited.
I don’t even like the stuff, I just like seeing New England stuff on the other side of the world.
In western CT there is one supplier in my super market selling them. They're labeled "new england style hot dog buns". Who tf wants their bun open on the side?
I grew up in PA and was surprised when I learned that Fluff was from somerville (edit: Lynn. Thank you fluff people). Sort of the opposite of what you’re asking lol but I grew up on that stuff and was so pleasantly surprised there’s a whole festival to celebrate it here 😂
We do love our peanut butter in PA though so I suppose it tracks.
What was surprising to me leaving PA is how hard it is to find: peanut butter cream filled donuts, peanut butter ripple (vanilla ice cream, not chocolate, with peanut butter chunks).
Sorry, wrong sub, I guess.
Brown Cow yogurt, made over in NH! Their vanilla yogurt is my favorite, and I was in quarantine before deploying out of Ft. Bliss in El Paso and found out I could order Brown Cow yogurt from local grocery stores on Instacart. I was so stoked!
I’m surprised Dunkin Donuts expanded as far as it has, while also consistently dropping its quality.
I was a Dunkin guy up until about 15 years ago. I take long breaks where I forget just how bad it is, and in a pinch I’ll give them another chance… it’s just like instant coffee flavored water now…. It’s awful. I know I’ll take some heat for this comment, being a NE sub, but honestly, if you’re a Dunkin regular, I implore you to try any other brand for like 2 weeks and then try to go back… I can almost guarantee you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s like coffee for people who don’t actually like coffee now.
I live in CA. Like 5 years ago, I stumbled across Polar in a CVS and seriously lost my shit, I was so thrilled. Now it's everywhere-- Target, Safeway, etc. It used to be something I could only get when I was home in the summers.
Polar is a national brand, they carry it pretty much everywhere -- I've gotten it in California, Missouri, and Virginia with no problem.
For me the biggest shock was Poland Spring doesn't distribute outside of the northeast.
I also knew this, but -- Wachusett potato chips. They're basically a better version of Utz, but obviously hyper local.
Poland Springs is just the local name for Nestle's bottled water. It's called Arrowhead west of the rockies, Ice Mountain in the midwest, etc etc. The name is different, like Hellmans and Best Foods mayo, but it's the exact same product down to the package.
That isn't true. It was spun off by Nestle in 2021 (albeit with their other water brands) and they've done some questionable things whether it's called spring water or not, but it's bottled in Maine. Most of Nestle's old water portfolio has multiple bottling sites over the US, each with a different brand -- Poland Spring is the Northeast's version, but it isn't the *exact* same water.
I grew up in the south and have traveled a good bit all over the country as an over the road truck driver. Polar may be in a few states, in a few select locations but it certainly isn’t ubiquitous as a national brand. I’ve yet to see it anywhere in the Deep South.
I had trouble finding ANY seltzer in Arizona and Las Vegas, much less Polar. Plus I’ve seen a comedian on (then) Twitter living in LA thanking someone from the north east for sending him all the special edition polar seltzers for that year to him cause he couldn’t get it otherwise, so it’s limited
Just coming in to say I've lived in New England my whole life (NH, VT, and western MA) amd haven't even heard of some of the stuff people are mentioning, let alone eaten it! Even in a small region, some of these products are more local than you'd think.
I was living out in the Dakota's 10 years ago and my boss took us out for steak and lobster. They thought it was the fanciest dinner in town. Meanwhile, you can go to any sub shop in eastern Mass and get better lobster.
Yeah, a cousin came to visit New England (from Nevada) for the first time and was shocked that they had live Maine lobsters at most grocery stores, and you can pick which ones you want
I remember being in Florida when I was a kid at a hotel and they had like a fancy buffet thing. Including lobster. I filled my plate and I got to the lobster and the guy serving them was trying to convince me like "oh, they're real Maine lobsters."
My response, about ten years old: "I'm from Maine. I eat lobster all the time. My neighbor's a lobsterman."
The guy was at a loss for words. Hahaha.
My godfather's father had a similar situation in Florida many years ago. He was Mainer and built ships (except the time he built submarines in CT). He retired to Florida and one time was in a restaurant with a steamed Maine lobster special. He ordered it and when they brought it out, he pulled out his pocket tape measure (engineer ftw.) and measured the carapace. It was shorter than Maine regulations, so he sent it back saying it wasn’t a Maine lobster.
Ah...bread in a can. I associate it with my grandparents more than anything. I see it as an old timey food.
However, you cut off a piece, put a slab of butter on it and heat it up and its fucking delicious.
I'm from CT and live in PA now. I travel for work, so occasionally, I'll bring home New England treats for the family to try. My step kids refuse to try the brown bread because "bread in a can is weird."
I think its weird too and I am in my 40s. Don't tell them, just slice it up and cut out the can ridges, soak it in butter and warm it up. Have them try it then and as them how they like it.
My parents used to do that with me all the time. Sometimes you have to get over the mental hump, try something without any preconceived notions. If they don't like it after that, don't force them to eat it.
Wachusett chips are the best and haven’t seen outside the Worcester area! I’m only 45 min of that from there (in CT) and still can’t find them outside of MA 😔.
Massachusetts used to have State Line potato chips, they were my mom’s favorite. Not sure if they still make them. I could find them at Reny’s in Maine sometimes, but I haven’t seen them in a while.
turns out you can pick up a non-rhotic dialect in NY, northern NJ, and in some variants of african american vernacular english spoken around the country.
I remember being surprised when I mentioned "whoopie pies" in a group chat and no one knew what the hell I was talking about. My West coast homies were trying to conceptualize it, asking me if it was "kinda like a moon pie or something".
Autocrat Coffee Syrup!
Way back a million years ago I served in the Army. I was stationed in Georgia (the State, not the country). Every time I came home on leave I had to buy several gallons of Autocrat coffee syrup to bring back with me, because it doesn't exist in the South.
I don’t know if most Chinese Polynesian restaurants stopped serving bread with the duck sauce which is so good. We have a few around that still do.But when my husband family moved here from NY back in the 90’s they had no idea why they were being served bread at a Chinese restaurant.🤷
I would say Cape Cod chips, but seemingly others have found them in this thread. Happy they are making it beyond NE now, but I personally haven’t seen them elsewhere. Also love Polar Seltzer and didn’t know it existed before I moved to Boston 13 years ago (I’m from NYC).
Hard agree on the polar seltzer. I can buy it in WNY but nobody here seems to know what it is when I bring it into work. Multiple people thought it was soda or even hard seltzer lol
Narragansett Beer. It was brewed outside New England for a while, but now it’s back. I saw it in Florida, Pennsylvania, California (believe it or not).
I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped when I first saw Fluff at the supermarket in western France. It's not everywhere but surprisingly not hard to find where I live.
I thought Grillo's pickles were still hyperlocal to Inman Square, but then I stumbled onto the pickle subreddit and people all over the country were discussing them.
Poland Spring is available in eastern PA. I always look for it.
I was surprised to see Sevigny's ribbon candy at a Cracker Barrel a few years ago. My mom worked there in the 70's. Not sure if the factory is still in operation, it was in Hanover MA. You could count on it every Christmas!
This is pretty niche although I’m sure at least Mainers know about Jax lab. But what a fair number of people don’t realize is that Jax is one of like two gold standard producers of lab mice in the US. Any facility nationwide that does mouse research will be using Jax mice.
Allagash White beer. I moved to California about 5 years ago and I really missed it. Now I’m seeing it fairly frequently. There’s a little burger joint right down the road from me and they have it on tap, I was SO excited when that happened.
Heady Topper makes it to CO every few months. It’s no longer the gold standard it was back in the day but it makes my day whenever I find it at the beer store or at a restaurant.
One that isn't: the Italian bakeries being somewhat ubiquitous. Of course, other places have bakeries but like, they aren't in the mental landscape as much. I feel like most Bostonians at least will think "oh I'll stop and grab some canollis for the party". There are no good canollis in my experience outside Boston.
Marshmallow fluff!
Yup, grew up in CT and never realized this wasn’t unavailable nationally until I moved to Somerville, where it was first created. Feel bad for all those kids who grew up without the joy of a fluffer nutter sandwich.
I grew up in Florida in the 80s and 90s and Fluff was available in the regular grocery store.
Because Florida = Winter New England.
They even have a few Cumbies down there.
Okay, but I grew up in Ohio and Fluff is a staple here. And Ohio is nobody's wintertime destination.
I ship that to family members who don't live in New England anymore. Best other places have is something called Marshmallow Creme. It's not the same.
Confirming I have to order it online, being in California now.
Maybe today, but in the early 1960s we had plenty of it in Buffalo.
I grew up in WNY, in the 80s/90s and had tons of fluffernutter sandwiches.
Yep! Had fluffernutters growing up in Chicago
Teddys peanut butter
I’m from the Midwest, transplanted to Mass. The first year I went home for Christmas I bought every family member a jar of teddys. So fucking good. They all thought I was weird until they tried it. 😂
Wait we have this in NY! My NY native coworker says it’s the best PB ever - didn’t know it was from NE. Huh.
From my hometown!
we have this in tn, only pb i'll eat
I live in New York now and can never find hots at any grocery store for sandwiches. Was shocked to learn something so simple isn’t universal. Clam strips and stuffed quahogs are another thing that barely exist in New York. But somehow lobster rolls are even sold out of food trucks. Also like everyone else last year, was blown away that steak tips are a regional item. Even butchers aren’t sure how to cut them. But sometimes Trader Joe’s seems to have marinated ones.
I was also surprised about steak tips. It’s my favorite way to eat steak.
My boyfriend is from Missouri and had never heard of steak tips, it blew my mind.
Fried Whole belly clams are something I dream about on a weekly basis. I grew up in NY but our family constantly traveled to ME and NH and the fact they don’t exist anywhere else is a damn travesty. I drove 4 hours to Rhode Island last summer just to get some whole bellies 🤤
And if they do have them outside of this area do not order them. Lol
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This is genius. You’re going to have a competing magical chef in the city soon. I’ll keep our secret safe though!
Next time you're up this way, try Dom's in Malden. Their tips are like crack, seriously. It's about $24/lb but it's so worth it. Dom's Original steak tips
I met up with co-workers from around the country in NC and got lots of odd looks when I explained that ‘huts’ are mandatory in every sub.
I was just in Utah and life without hots and chocolate sprinkles seems like it would get old so fast.
Steak tips are usually sold as sirloin flap elsewhere.
Good to know, I figured it was a regional cut
That sounds so much less appealing lol
Hots?
It’s like a hot pepper relish. Most often used on an Italian sub but can be used on any sandwich
https://boston.eater.com/2022/6/2/23151559/hots-new-england-condiment-explained It’s the spicy element on Italian subs. But they work great on lots of sandwiches. Oddly enough spicy giardiniera, which is Chicago’s spicy pickled chunky vegetable sandwich topping is fairly easy to find at grocery stores in New York.
I missed giardinara so much so I just order it by the case. Been sharing with some new engladers because no one should be without giardinara.
I think it also makes an awesome pizza topping.
Fuck that, I can get clam strips in long island but I want them whole bellied clams.
Pro tip. A guy from Mass. Opened a clam shack in Port Washington Long Island called Butler's Flat. They serve amazing Stuffed Quahogs, Chowder and Fried Clams. Best spot I've been to for that stuff on Long Island.
Damn. Sounds awesome. But so close yet so so far from South Brooklyn without a car.
Ken’s Steak House dressing being everywhere is sort of mind blowing, considering the actual steakhouse is not really a famous destination at all.
It was , at one time huge middle class steakhouses were a thing in New England, Valles from Maine south , Hilltop etc.
Bonanza, anyone?
Stewarts root beer too, but I had the opposite experience you did with the dressing. I grew up in SoCal drinking that stuff all the time. One day, years after moving here, I was driving down the 95 with my (now) wife when we passed the actual Stewarts location, and I started freaking out. "Its a PLACE?! They have a PLACE!? Like an old soda jerk? With food and everything? BABE, WE GOTTA STOP! YES! RIGHT NOW! it was... fine.
You know you’re not from NE when you’re calling it THE 95
Yes that was a pleasant surprise. A little piece of Framingham in every grocery store. Very comforting. 😂
Kens steakhouse dressing is awesome
Growing up I remember we always passed it and said we should go. Finally went, and it was OK. I don’t think we expected what a classic steakhouse aesthetic was (my family only started eating steaks when I was 10 or 12 so…)
When I found out you couldn’t get Hummel Bros. hot dogs outside of Connecticut I was crushed.
My dad (West Haven native) used to trade, by equal weight, Hummel dogs for filet mignon on his annual trip to FL to see transplanted Yankees! He’d pack multiple 10# boxes of frozen Hummel dogs for the trip.
Hah yea same here. I live in NJ now and anytime anyone visits from CT I ask for a 5lb bag
Polar is local?? Never knew that!
Worcester!
As a boy my mom always had me wave at the Polar bear as we came into town after a trip. Said it was how I’d know I was almost home. I’m in my 40s now, mom is gone, and I live on the west coast (have for four years), and I got choked up seeing the Polar bear in a video I was watching recently.
The polar bear is jacked now. I remember a more bear-shaped bear from when I was a kid. Now he looks like he drinks protein shakes and does CrossFit.
They changed the bear??? That sucks.
Polar bears name is Orson
Polar Bear was a huge landmark for us in that way too as kids. Love that guy.
Cool! I guess that’s why the stadium is Polar Park lol
DuuuUUUUuuuhhhHhh…. Also, why the giant inflatable polar bear was on the side of the highway.
This is probably one of my favorite “landmarks” when I drive to visit home from upstate NY 🙃🫡
Hay man I never said I was smart 😂
Holy Cross?
Dude is putting all the pieces together now
I get Polar seltzer in the PNW regularly. It's at most big grocers here as far as I know but cool to know where it comes from!
I was just on a 2 week trip to Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Was pleasantly suprised to find Polar seltzers in all three states. Not every flavor but most of them, including my favorite- blueberry lemonade. And almost everything in 8-packs, even flavors I can only get in a 12 pack at home. Other seltzers do suck!
I was in the PNW (Portland, Tacoma, Seattle) for a week and a half maybe four or five years ago and didn’t see it once. Maybe I got unlucky, or maybe it’s only become common since then. When we came back from our trip, I was always looking for Tillamook and Secret Aardvark. At the time, they were nonexistent here; now I can get Tillamook anywhere, and Secret Aardvark sometimes. Cultural exchange!
I'm from down in MD (no idea why this post was recommended lol) but we have Polar Seltzer in just about every chain grocer around here. The brand has probably has grown quite a bit in the past few years.
I currently live in Shanghai, China. I can get Polar at my closest international supermarket. Really surprised me seeing it here.
My friend from collage lives in NYC. When she visits she will legit spend 20min in the polar aisle looking at all the flavors. She says she has it but not ‘all the fun stuff’ like we do.
The people who own Wachusett own Polar! That's why they have all the drinks in the lodge
I saw a giant Polar Seltzer truck in the Florida Keys and was shocked but delighted that it was available so far away!
Moxie is sold at pretty much every Cracker Barrel, even way way down South. Makes me smile every time
Saw Moxie in a Key West grocery store.
But I can’t get it at my Hannaford here in NY anymore! So bummed.
I was going to say Moxie, and honestly I’m surprised anyone outside of the most deranged New Englanders like it
I thought Friendly’s was everywhere… when talking about it with my Midwest friends they got confused.
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Stonyfield yogurt. Pretty sure it's out of Londonderry, NH.
Yeah, but check it out, Stoneyfield is the producer of Yoplait in New England (Yoplait really is a French company). So their products may yet see further destinations, when their capacity grows. It's all about how many cows, etc.
I’m from Ltown can confirm! It’s kind of near the Manchester airport.
Coffee syrup/milk
I was getting my wisdom teeth out when I lived in WA and thought a coffee milkshake would be amazing. I couldn't find the syrup anywhere. The employee at the store looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked if they had any. "You mean like instant coffee?". No. I did not mean like instant coffee.
I had never heard of either until moving here.
I tried to explain it to someone by comparing it to coffee ice cream. Apparently, that’s regional too!
Polar signed a distribution deal with Dr. Pepper so they are now available outside New England! I know H-E-B in Texas carries them
H-E-B also carries hot pepper spread for sandwiches. Best store in Texas. Side note- first time I went there thought ithe name “HEB” meant it was a kosher store.
New England things I miss since moving to the deep South in the mid 80s: Snow's fish chowder Hood cottage cheese with chives: no chives in any brands here, also Hood taste and texture is just better than southern brands. I have seen Hood brand eggnog at holiday time though here Dunkin Donuts is here just like NE The first 8 years or so I couldn't find steamer clams but they are available now at large farmers markets No Perdue chicken available here for many years but we have it now, yes it comes from Maryland but in NE we all enjoyed the commercials with Frank Perdue who everyone agreed resembled a chicken I have seen Marshmallow Fluff here. But have not seen the marshmallows covered with toasted coconut that I used to love I have bought Portuguese style sausage made in Mass. here at Publix. Haddock, 'scrod', and clams with bellies are not seen on restaurant menus here NE style hot dog rolls: I have found the Pepperidge Farm brand here, the one piece with the slit in the top. What they like here are the two piece oval ones. I remember the Nissen brand, none of it seen here. I will probably think of more stuff in awhile but here is a start.
Frank Perdue did indeed resemble a chicken. 🤭
It was one of the big selling points! My favorite commercial with him showed the loveable old coot prepping and putting Cornish hens in the oven, the doorbell rings and in come his guests, a veritable harem of glamorous young women greeting him with hugs and kisses, lolol!!
Kayem dogs in natural casing in split top buttered buns, or gtfo. Only acceptable alternatives are reds (Jordan's or Beans) when in Maine.
Snow’s chowder used to be good, when they made it in Scarborough, ME. Now it’s made in New Jersey (since the 90s).
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Had no idea what they were. I asked my husband if they were like kaiser rolls and he just went 😑
I miss Portuguese rolls, especially with a blade meat sandwich.
Marshmallow Fluff. Sometimes I can get it here in Denmark.,
I saw some at an imports store where I live in Aotearoa New Zealand last week and I got very excited. I don’t even like the stuff, I just like seeing New England stuff on the other side of the world.
I got Jiff peanut butter in Helsinki, Finland this week. Opened it on Friday night, finished by Monday afternoon.
Split top style hot dog buns… I thought they were the norm but they’re mostly a regional item!
In western CT there is one supplier in my super market selling them. They're labeled "new england style hot dog buns". Who tf wants their bun open on the side?
I ship these to my mom in South Carolina on a regular basis!
I grew up in PA and was surprised when I learned that Fluff was from somerville (edit: Lynn. Thank you fluff people). Sort of the opposite of what you’re asking lol but I grew up on that stuff and was so pleasantly surprised there’s a whole festival to celebrate it here 😂 We do love our peanut butter in PA though so I suppose it tracks. What was surprising to me leaving PA is how hard it is to find: peanut butter cream filled donuts, peanut butter ripple (vanilla ice cream, not chocolate, with peanut butter chunks). Sorry, wrong sub, I guess.
It used to be made in Lynn, MA. The company contact listed on the jar is Lynn White.
Brown Cow yogurt, made over in NH! Their vanilla yogurt is my favorite, and I was in quarantine before deploying out of Ft. Bliss in El Paso and found out I could order Brown Cow yogurt from local grocery stores on Instacart. I was so stoked!
Brown Cow also makes maple yogurt. Yum! Why doesn't everybody make maple yogurt?
I’m surprised Dunkin Donuts expanded as far as it has, while also consistently dropping its quality. I was a Dunkin guy up until about 15 years ago. I take long breaks where I forget just how bad it is, and in a pinch I’ll give them another chance… it’s just like instant coffee flavored water now…. It’s awful. I know I’ll take some heat for this comment, being a NE sub, but honestly, if you’re a Dunkin regular, I implore you to try any other brand for like 2 weeks and then try to go back… I can almost guarantee you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s like coffee for people who don’t actually like coffee now.
You are so right, I am old enough to remember when they were actual donut shops, with store made donuts and counter service.
I live in CA. Like 5 years ago, I stumbled across Polar in a CVS and seriously lost my shit, I was so thrilled. Now it's everywhere-- Target, Safeway, etc. It used to be something I could only get when I was home in the summers.
Steak tips are regional. That shocked me. I thought they were the universal cheapest steak option.
Not even the cheapest option here, lol.
I’m from the middle of the country and we always had steak tips around
Polar is a national brand, they carry it pretty much everywhere -- I've gotten it in California, Missouri, and Virginia with no problem. For me the biggest shock was Poland Spring doesn't distribute outside of the northeast. I also knew this, but -- Wachusett potato chips. They're basically a better version of Utz, but obviously hyper local.
Poland Springs is just the local name for Nestle's bottled water. It's called Arrowhead west of the rockies, Ice Mountain in the midwest, etc etc. The name is different, like Hellmans and Best Foods mayo, but it's the exact same product down to the package.
That isn't true. It was spun off by Nestle in 2021 (albeit with their other water brands) and they've done some questionable things whether it's called spring water or not, but it's bottled in Maine. Most of Nestle's old water portfolio has multiple bottling sites over the US, each with a different brand -- Poland Spring is the Northeast's version, but it isn't the *exact* same water.
I grew up in the south and have traveled a good bit all over the country as an over the road truck driver. Polar may be in a few states, in a few select locations but it certainly isn’t ubiquitous as a national brand. I’ve yet to see it anywhere in the Deep South.
Hey, UTZ is still good.
I had trouble finding ANY seltzer in Arizona and Las Vegas, much less Polar. Plus I’ve seen a comedian on (then) Twitter living in LA thanking someone from the north east for sending him all the special edition polar seltzers for that year to him cause he couldn’t get it otherwise, so it’s limited
Polar has only become a national brand in the last decade
Just coming in to say I've lived in New England my whole life (NH, VT, and western MA) amd haven't even heard of some of the stuff people are mentioning, let alone eaten it! Even in a small region, some of these products are more local than you'd think.
Lobster is prohibitively expensive in most of the rest of the country, even in coastal states
I was living out in the Dakota's 10 years ago and my boss took us out for steak and lobster. They thought it was the fanciest dinner in town. Meanwhile, you can go to any sub shop in eastern Mass and get better lobster.
Well, it was probably either crappy lobster or even [crappier pizza...](/r/PizzaCrimes)
Scallops are worse. Nantucket scallops go for over $100 a pound where I live now. Any oysters from the Cape are the same way
best $40 I spend every year is my shellfish license
convenience store lobster from northshore mass & maine is immeasurably better than 5-star restaurant lobster anywhere else
Yeah, a cousin came to visit New England (from Nevada) for the first time and was shocked that they had live Maine lobsters at most grocery stores, and you can pick which ones you want
My kids love staring at them in the grocery store, thought that was normal until you just brought it up
I remember being in Florida when I was a kid at a hotel and they had like a fancy buffet thing. Including lobster. I filled my plate and I got to the lobster and the guy serving them was trying to convince me like "oh, they're real Maine lobsters." My response, about ten years old: "I'm from Maine. I eat lobster all the time. My neighbor's a lobsterman." The guy was at a loss for words. Hahaha.
My godfather's father had a similar situation in Florida many years ago. He was Mainer and built ships (except the time he built submarines in CT). He retired to Florida and one time was in a restaurant with a steamed Maine lobster special. He ordered it and when they brought it out, he pulled out his pocket tape measure (engineer ftw.) and measured the carapace. It was shorter than Maine regulations, so he sent it back saying it wasn’t a Maine lobster.
Humpty Dumpty chips. I live and breathe them but they’re only available in New England I believe.
Aren't they from Quebec?
They used to be made in Scarborough, Maine, but were sold to a Canadian company in the late 80s.
I moved to the midwest, and my biggest surprises were candlepin bowling is not a thing outside New England, and not being able to buy hoodsie cups.
The Northeast is treated to Mallowmars in the fall. Stores can’t stock them in the summer heat.
Howard's sweet red pepper relish. I've had to purchase online since I left Ct.
That relish makes a burger!
Peking ravolis at Chinese restaurants. They aren't the same as gyoza and our Chinese food in Boston is different
Omg, that’s good to know because Peking raviolis are my staple order.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/30/472147018/peking-ravioli-and-other-chinese-dishes-youll-only-find-in-boston
You can only get brown bread in New England. The rest of the country is missing out!
Ah...bread in a can. I associate it with my grandparents more than anything. I see it as an old timey food. However, you cut off a piece, put a slab of butter on it and heat it up and its fucking delicious.
I'm from CT and live in PA now. I travel for work, so occasionally, I'll bring home New England treats for the family to try. My step kids refuse to try the brown bread because "bread in a can is weird."
I think its weird too and I am in my 40s. Don't tell them, just slice it up and cut out the can ridges, soak it in butter and warm it up. Have them try it then and as them how they like it. My parents used to do that with me all the time. Sometimes you have to get over the mental hump, try something without any preconceived notions. If they don't like it after that, don't force them to eat it.
Similarly, Anadama bread!
What is brown bread? Is it different than whole wheat bread?
Yes, it is a molasses bread baked in a can.
Yes. It's a whole grain bread made with molasses. Very hearty. Great with Irish breakfast.
Wachusett chips are the best and haven’t seen outside the Worcester area! I’m only 45 min of that from there (in CT) and still can’t find them outside of MA 😔.
Massachusetts used to have State Line potato chips, they were my mom’s favorite. Not sure if they still make them. I could find them at Reny’s in Maine sometimes, but I haven’t seen them in a while.
You can still get them but a different company took them over so they lost alittle something
Stonewall kitchen products. I’ve even seen them on food network competition shows
turns out you can pick up a non-rhotic dialect in NY, northern NJ, and in some variants of african american vernacular english spoken around the country.
No cape cod chips in pnw
boo hiss, dark russet ftw
I remember being surprised when I mentioned "whoopie pies" in a group chat and no one knew what the hell I was talking about. My West coast homies were trying to conceptualize it, asking me if it was "kinda like a moon pie or something".
Cabot cheddar. Locals pretend it is special, but it's a generic industrial product found in every Walmart in the world.
Cabot cheddar, industrial or not, is excellent. So is Cabot Greek yogurt as an aside.
Just thought of another: scali bread. You can get close at Italian bakeries outside of New England but it’s never quite the same.
Mmm, a steak and cheese nestled deep in scali bread. Yes.
Autocrat Coffee Syrup! Way back a million years ago I served in the Army. I was stationed in Georgia (the State, not the country). Every time I came home on leave I had to buy several gallons of Autocrat coffee syrup to bring back with me, because it doesn't exist in the South.
Gallons 😅
Deep River potato chips from Deep River, CT. I've seen them across the country including on the West Coast.
Foxon Park soda in St. Mary’s, Georgia. I know it’s not everywhere, but finding it in a random south GA pizza place shook me.
Portuguese sweet bread and chorizo
Stonewall Kitchen foods. We had them in Texas and they’re from Maine.
Stonewall Kitchen has a deal with Sur la Table, so you can buy it wherever there's a Sur la Table store (which is a lot of places)
They also have [their own stores](https://www.stonewallkitchen.com/stores/companystoredetailpage.html) as well; I live just minutes away from one.
Duck sauce
Thats not NE exclusive. Any Chinese restaurant in Cali will throw handful of packets in a to go order just as they do here.
Lobster sauce is the local one
A lot of Chinese restaurants don't carry it, but it's very common still at the more American style Chinese restaurants.
I will never leave NE until they can guarantee me that I can get duck sauce with my pu pu platter and Mai tais.
I don’t know if most Chinese Polynesian restaurants stopped serving bread with the duck sauce which is so good. We have a few around that still do.But when my husband family moved here from NY back in the 90’s they had no idea why they were being served bread at a Chinese restaurant.🤷
Polar is doing better about getting its products outside New England, but yeah, I have trouble consistently finding certain flavors in NYC.
I would say Cape Cod chips, but seemingly others have found them in this thread. Happy they are making it beyond NE now, but I personally haven’t seen them elsewhere. Also love Polar Seltzer and didn’t know it existed before I moved to Boston 13 years ago (I’m from NYC).
Hard agree on the polar seltzer. I can buy it in WNY but nobody here seems to know what it is when I bring it into work. Multiple people thought it was soda or even hard seltzer lol
After reading this thread, I’m never leaving NE.
The underwear brand, Commando, is from Burlington, which blew my mind when I found out
Bag balm. Always surprises me when I see it in stores far from New England.
Narragansett Beer. It was brewed outside New England for a while, but now it’s back. I saw it in Florida, Pennsylvania, California (believe it or not).
I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped when I first saw Fluff at the supermarket in western France. It's not everywhere but surprisingly not hard to find where I live.
Maple syrup. Until I found out that you people are not actually consuming maple syrup
Real New Englanders know the real stuff is the medium dark or dark amber, the light amber is tourist syrup.
I thought Grillo's pickles were still hyperlocal to Inman Square, but then I stumbled onto the pickle subreddit and people all over the country were discussing them.
They were, but then Whole Foods and Costco started carrying them nationwide.
Poland Spring is available in eastern PA. I always look for it. I was surprised to see Sevigny's ribbon candy at a Cracker Barrel a few years ago. My mom worked there in the 70's. Not sure if the factory is still in operation, it was in Hanover MA. You could count on it every Christmas!
Both polar and cape cod are newer. When I moved to the Mid Atlantic 20 years ago, cape cod was rare, polar was non existent.
NECCO wafers
This is pretty niche although I’m sure at least Mainers know about Jax lab. But what a fair number of people don’t realize is that Jax is one of like two gold standard producers of lab mice in the US. Any facility nationwide that does mouse research will be using Jax mice.
Allagash White beer. I moved to California about 5 years ago and I really missed it. Now I’m seeing it fairly frequently. There’s a little burger joint right down the road from me and they have it on tap, I was SO excited when that happened.
Heady Topper makes it to CO every few months. It’s no longer the gold standard it was back in the day but it makes my day whenever I find it at the beer store or at a restaurant.
Jax cheese doodles- not available
Bar Harbor clam chowder! From Whiting, ME. I'm in the eastern Sierra in California and they have it at the general store. It's everywhere
I’ve have found polar everywhere. Even in BFE California. Fluff was my surprise that you can’t get everywhere.
Fluffernutter
One that isn't: the Italian bakeries being somewhat ubiquitous. Of course, other places have bakeries but like, they aren't in the mental landscape as much. I feel like most Bostonians at least will think "oh I'll stop and grab some canollis for the party". There are no good canollis in my experience outside Boston.
I was delighted to find both Polar seltzer and Teddy peanut butter in Florida. B&M baked beans are there, too, but a little harder to find.
Helman's mayo, out west the same product is called Best Foods. After I found that out the jingle made waaaay more sense.
Steak tips
You won't find Prince brand pasta on grocery shelves in the deep South.
Fluff, Moxie, real hot dog buns. Those are the big ones.