We Asked, You Answered: GW's Hometown Specialties, Part Two
Fried treats from Osaka, a celebrity mural in Oregon, gas station ice cream and much, much more.
We asked the George Washington University community to tell us what makes their hometowns special, and you responded with foods and local traditions from the places you call home around the United States and the world—from Saipan to Cincinnati. Don't miss part one, published last week. (Submissions have been lightly edited for length and formatting.)
Tasty Japanese carbs
🗺️📍Osaka, Japan
Osaka is known for its "konamon" culture. "Konamon" refers to foods made mainly with flour, and two of the most famous examples are "takoyaki" and "okonomiyaki." You can enjoy them at restaurants, but many people in Osaka also make them at home. I think they fit the Osaka spirit perfectly; they are inexpensive, easy to make, casual and, most importantly, delicious!
Teaching assistant professor in the Japanese language, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Secret sandwiches for locals
🗺️📍Scarsdale, N.Y.
There is a deli in my hometown with a menu that is all but obsolete to the young adult population. This is because the most popular food items sold at Giannoni's Deli are a couple of sandwiches named after the frequent orders of a couple devout customers. Everyone calls the deli "Nonni's" and their hidden sandwiches are the "Brian" and the "Mason." I have seldom ordered anything printed on the menu due to these hidden items.
The Brian is a chicken cutlet sandwich with mozzarella, bacon and a sweet-tangy BBQ sauce that has an iconic pink color. The Mason, my personal struggle with gluttony, is a chicken cutlet sandwich with cheddar, curly fries and hot sauce. They may seem simple, but you will never taste anything remotely similar—maybe it's the grill, the atmosphere or Scott, the longtime owner and in-house comic (love this guy). I really don't care why at the end of the day, because they're just that good. But please, eat your sandwich ON SIGHT for a true representation of what these sandwiches offer to the Scarsdale residents. Highly recommend stopping by Giannoni's Deli in Scarsdale Village if you are ever in the area, you won't regret it and now you'll know how to order like a regular.
Student, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
A gas station milkshake (that's better than yours)
🗺️📍Cincinnati, Ohio
Not to add fuel to the debate over the best regional gas station, I know people love a Wawa sandwich or a 7-Eleven Slurpee (and we have a lot of Buc-ee’s stans), but Cincinnati doesn’t have any of those. What we do have is United Dairy Farmers (UDF), which started as a family dairy business in a Cincinnati suburb with the idea of selling milk directly to customers and exploded into a beloved chain of gas stations with a full-service ice cream counter.
And summer wasn’t summer as a kid without begging for endless UDF runs for a scoop of Blue Moo Cookie Dough on a cake cone. Even better were trips with your friends to get a malt, competing on who could come up with the most…honestly, I don’t even remember what the goal was. I just know we’d beg the poor employee behind the ice cream counter (who showed us endless patience) to scoop together every colorful flavor—paintball blast, cotton candy, dinosaur egg—and watch excitedly as it got blended into a brown mush you couldn't pay me to drink now.
I gave up my car when I moved to D.C., but whenever I’m back in town, driving in my parents' car with my siblings, and we pull into a UDF for gas, I still can't pass up making a little ice cream run.
Brook Endale
Writer/editor, GW Today
Coconut chicken and flatbread
🗺️📍Northern Mariana Islands
Chicken kelaguen and flour titiyas. Nothing makes me miss my hometown Saipan Island more than this delicious comfort food that is all sweet, sour and spicy!
Jeffrey Kai, B.S.N. '23
Student, Milken Institute SPH
All mushrooms, all the time
🗺️📍Kennett Square, Pa.
Rachel Sharp
Executive director for editorial services, Office of Communications and Marketing
Pop and a side of spaghetti
🗺️📍Starkville, Miss.
In Starkville, everyone knows when someone is saying “pop,” we’re referring to a soft drink. Something else food related that might be abnormal to some is that we eat rice for breakfast and typically eat spaghetti as a side dish! The spaghetti is generally prepared with fried fish or fried chicken. Starkville is also a SEC town, so sports is huge for us (we bleed maroon and white)! #HailState
Kayla Hendrix
Student, Milken Institute School of Public Health
We ❤️ Nic
🗺️📍Eugene, Ore.
There is a mural of Nicolas Cage on one of the apartment buildings, because someone who's lived there for years has flown a Nicolas Cage flag from their balcony for years. They have collected so many of them that the balcony is completely overtaken, and now there's a mural too!
Student, CCAS
Fried ravioli
🗺️📍St. Louis, Mo.
STL has a few culinary quirks, but the best by far is toasted ravioli. Breaded and baked or fried, filled with seasoned meat…amazing. If I come across them, I HAVE to have them.
GW family
Serious biscuits
🗺️📍Greenville, N.C.
One thing I miss about my hometown's local cuisine is the level and abundance of biscuit breakfast sandwiches. You can find the occasional one here in D.C., but they are nothing compared to Eastern North Carolina's biscuit game. The king, however, is the cheese biscuit. It sounds simple, but is a culinary experience beyond your taste buds' dreams. Imagine a soft, buttery biscuit filled with a core of a large gob of melted cheese. The legit ones use hoop cheese, which is specific to the region. In a pinch, though, cheddar also gets the job done. The best ones are found at locally-owned gas stations, especially if you go out into the boondocks. Locals in neighboring counties have debates about who serves the best cheese biscuits around (on this matter, I am always torn—they are all so good). Cheese biscuit, you are sorely missed.
Olivia Francis
Program associate for global and experiential education, GW School of Business
