Arcadia Publishing

It Happens in Louisiana:

Only in the Bayou State do Louisianans travel door to door on horseback collecting gumbo ingredients for Mardi Gras gatherings. Residents compete in egg pâquer contests to see who can crack their opponents Easter egg first. Louisiana is a place where frequent collisions with natural disasters can inspire a drink like Pat OBriens famous hurricane. And the states …

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Los Angeles Street Food: (American Palate)

Los Angeles is the uncontested street food champion of the United States, and it isnt even a fair fight. Millions of hungry locals and wide-eyed tourists take to the streets to eat tacos, down bacon-wrapped hot dogs and indulge in the latest offerings from a fleet of gourmet food trucks and vendors. Dating back to the late nineteenth …

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Ontario Garlic

The taste of Ontario garlic is as rich and varied as its history. Used mainly for medicinal purposes in the nineteenth century, people turned up their noses at the aromatic bulb as it became associated with new immigrants. The once acceptable ingredient became undesirable in church and schoolkids who smelled of garlic were sent home. Pioneering chefs, farmers …

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AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF CINCINNATI CHILI (American Palate)

Cincinnati is certainly judged by its chili. Some claim it’s not even chili, but those are just fighting words to natives who have developed the crave. Cincinnati is a long way from El Paso, and our chili is not Tex-Mex style. It is a unique blend typically served as a three-way: over spaghetti and covered in shredded cheddar …

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Better Made in Michigan: (American Palate)

For many, Detroit is the crunch capital of the world. More than forty local chip companies once fed the Motor Citys never-ending appetite for salty snacks, including New Era, Everkrisp, Krun-Chee, Mello Crisp, Wolverine and Vita-Boy. Only Better Made remains. From the start, the brand was known for light, crisp chips that were near to perfection. Discover how …

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Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay’s Foundation and Future (American Palate)

Crassostrea virginica, the eastern oyster. These humble bivalves are the living bones of the Chesapeake and the ecological and historical lifeblood of the region. When colonists first sailed these impossibly abundant shores, they described massive shoals of foot-long oysters. But the bottomless appetite of the Gilded Age and great fleets of skipjacks took their toll. Disease, environmental pressures …

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KAHIKI SUPPER CLUB: A Polynesian Paradis (American Palate)

Inspired by Florida’s famed Mai-Kai restaurant, Bill Sapp and Lee Henry opened the Kahiki Supper Club in 1961. They set out simply to build a nice Polynesian restaurant and ended up establishing the most magnificent one of them all. Patrons lined up for hours to see the celebrities who dined there–everyone from Betty White to Raymond Burr. Outside, …

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