Eat Like A Local: The Five Greatest Not-So-Famous Local Cuisine

Any traveller knows that the most important – and most conflicting – part of visiting any new city is savoring the local cuisine. Sometimes you’ll ask about a certain food and the locals’ eyebrows rise, having detected a tourist in their midst. The first rule of any proper traveller is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” This means that you should seek out not only the obvious choices, like cheesesteaks in Philadelphia or chowder in San Francisco, but also find the fare which the locals love and appreciate. Eating like a local helps you appreciate local culture, so step away from the easy and obvious, and enjoy some of these lesser-known local cuisine favorites.

Buffalo

Obviously, the first local cuisine that comes to mind associated with Buffalo, New York, is the crispy, saucy chicken wing. We believe these wings are perfect the way they are, so we’ll make them the exception to the “no tourist food” rule. If you’re in Buffalo, hunt down some wings.

But the second-most beloved original buffalo fare is doubtlessly Sponge Candy. Buffalo’s signature confection is a light combination of caramelized spun sugar and chocolate with a crisp, airy texture and molasses-like flavor.  Watson’s Chocolates has been making sponge candy for three generations, and still produces the best sponge candy – and sponge candy ice cream – worldwide.

Disclaimer: Portions of this article were made possible by Visit Buffalo-Niagara. All opinions are those of the author. For more information, see Ms. Career Girl’s disclosure policy.
photo credit: slgckgc via photopin cc

photo credit: Chinkerfly via photopin cc

Martin S.

Martin Schneider is the host of the podcast Political Theater and a long-time film critic. He has been delivering unique and outspoken opinions on pop culture, politics, and society for years to anyone who would listen - and many who wouldn't. A long time proponent of the "try not to be a douche" school of thought, he is constantly trying to understand the underlying, unspoken ideas that make the world what it is, so that he can try to make it better.