We Asked, You Answered: GW's Hometown Specialties, Part One
From french fry sandwiches to funnel cake and much, much more.
Do you know what a "garbage plate" is? Or which town sits in the shadow of the world's largest letter "M?" (The answer may surprise you.) Speaking of "M," do you prefer your sauce melba, mole or mumbo? Have you ever gotten a day off school to attend the local fair—or does smelling funnel cake make you think of home?
We asked the George Washington University community to tell us what makes their hometowns special, and you responded with foods, traditions and warring condensed milk brands from the places you call home across the United States and the world—from D.C. to Arizona and from Mexico to Belarus. In fact, we got so many great responses that we had to split this list into two parts. Stay tuned for more hometown specialties next Friday, Oct. 9. (Submissions have been lightly edited for length and formatting.)
D.C.'s sweet and spicy sauce
🗺️📍Washington, D.C.
Fried chicken wings with fries from a carryout with Mumbo sauce (the bright red kind)! I love the sauce's sweet, salty tanginess over the salty chicken and fries. The red Mumbo sauce is a sauce you can only get in D.C. and is typically made in the shop, [rather than] the bottled kind.
Rai Baltimore
Area coordinator, District House
Student, Graduate School of Education & Human Development
French fries on everything
🗺️📍Pittsburgh, Pa. / Washington, Pa.
Pittsburgh has a sometimes-odd love of french fries. Whether it's a Primanti Bros. sandwich or one of our Pittsburgh salads, we'll slap a handful of fries onto just about anything. I'm a big fan of them on sandwiches, but—unlike my father—I never came around to them as salad toppers.
Logan Dressman
Student, Elliott School of International Affairs
🍟
The New York Times dialect quiz has always [identified] the Southwest Pennsylvania region as where I'm from, specifically because I say "hoagie" instead of "sub." I also say "pop" because I'm on the side of the state closer to the Midwest. The other side of Pennsylvania would absolutely not agree with me.
While I didn't grow up in Pittsburgh, I was close enough, and both Pittsburgh and I love French fries. We don't just eat them as a side. We put them on salads and sandwiches. Bonus: if you go to Primanti Bros., which started in Pittsburgh, you'll get french fries AND coleslaw on your burger.
Communications Associate, School of Engineering and Applied Science
All-volunteer fair
🗺️📍Durham, Conn.
My hometown is known for its all-volunteer agricultural fair. The best part of the Durham Fair was getting the last Friday in September off from school to attend the fair during the day. We enjoy all the greatest fair foods while supporting the organizations that serve our community, and then we get on rides like the Gravitron, or learn about the farm animals our neighbors are raising. We ended each day with a concert. It was easily the best weekend of the year in my hometown!
Caroline Atwood Brode
Career exploration coach, Center for Career Services
Savory chocolate sauce
🗺️📍Mexico
One of my favorite Mexican dishes is mole. The one my mom makes is a chocolate based sauce that is served with chicken and rice. It's made with unsweetened dark chocolate and lots of different spices and chiles. Although it may sound and look strange, it is an incredible savory dish and not sweet.
Student, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Hot dog with extra veggies
🗺️📍Chicago, Ill.
Erica Wortham
Director of co-curricular engagement and interdisciplinary programs, GW Engineering
Fruit from a cactus
🗺️📍Goodyear, Ariz.
[Our specialty is] anything prickly pear! Also, Mexican street tacos. I love the culture that is embedded and showcases Indigenous roots.
Nyla Godbold
Student, Milken Institute School of Public Health
Two condensed milks, both alike in dignity
🗺️📍Belarus
Rogachev and Glubokoye's condensed milk eternal fight.
Darina Demish
Student, GW Law
Raspberry mozzarella sticks
🗺️📍Albany, NY
In Albany, deep-fried mozzarella sticks are served with raspberry sauce (sometimes called “melba sauce”) rather than marinara. It’s a sweet, tangy, cheesy taste sensation!
Student, Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Funnel cake
🗺️📍Allentown, Pa.
It's hot, sugary, and oh so delicious. The area of Pennsylvania where I grew up has a large influence from the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers, who brought this decadent food to the region. Anytime I smell that fried dough, I'm instantly transported back to my youth.
Jolie Brown
Senior career consultant, F. David Fowler Career Center, School of Business
The world's largest 'M' (in a town starting with 'P')
🗺️📍Platteville, Wis.
The world's largest letter "M" resides on a hillside of my hometown, Platteville, which very much does not start with an "M." Roughly 241 feet high and 214 feet wide, the Platteville Mound M is written in whitewashed stone. Climbing to the top of it via its 280 stairs is a pilgrimage for school kids in a town of roughly 10,000 with not that much else to do.
Now to address the cliffhanger surely keeping you on the edge of your seat: The "M" represents the former Wisconsin Mining School, which is now the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Ironically, my parents have now moved to nearby Mount Horeb, Wis., which actually starts with "M." Sadly, no world's largest "P" can be found there.
Managing editor, GW Today
A garbage plate and white hot
🗺️📍Rochester, N.Y.
The "white hot" is just a hot dog that has been through a different curing process then a traditional hot dog and tastes more like a sausage. The garbage plate may SOUND gross. It is a mix of iconic American staples. You choose between a burger, hot dog or chicken tenders, paired with [macaroni] salad and potato. They cover the plate with meat, hot sauce and onions.
It's a pretty hearty and unhealthy meal, but it honestly is so good. If you're ever in Rochester it is a must have, perfect for late night eats and watching sports games with your fam. Every location you go to will have its unique twist on the dish, so it's important to go to more than one location and find the best one!
Alannah Poplawski
Student, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
