Regional Traditions

[Skip2MyLou]

Love reading these Detroit traditions! My family is from there, but I grew up in Northern Michigan.

Moved to Tennessee about 10 years ago.

Up until about 5 years ago, we did not have Vernors ginger ale here. It was a treat for me when I went "home".

And I will agree with PP about BBQs. In Michigan a BBQ was an outdoor party where you grilled (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, steak, etc..) Here in Tennessee BBQ is meal of smoked meat, usually pork. So we pick up BBQ at a local take out for dinner.

 

[LongLiveDisney]

Since I've moved from place to place my whole life I don't really know of any traditions.

I'm in Texas now, and I love the "miss/ma'am" and "Mr./sir" thing. I've also noticed that people are very patriotic here about their state.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My wife has family in Illinois just west of Evanston, Indiana. Made the drive from St. Louis to there at least 20 times, always count the signs advertising "Fried Walleye". Also enjoy a Pork Steak or two while there. You ask a butcher in California for a pork steak, and they way there is no such thing.

Friends of ours just moved south and can't find sirloin "steak tips" anywhere.

We didn't realize those were a regional thing, either. (Maybe it began as a Hilltop Steak House tradition? Not sure. Have googled and seen other mentions of this being a regional thing. )

(Don't want to kill me for posting this, I know they look good!)

 

[bellanotte10]

I love these threads.

In the Boston area, we have Jimmies. (Chocolate sprinkles on ice cream.)

We have the "T", which is the public transportation system.

Red Sox Nation extends to all of New England and beyond. You just have to be a Red Sox fan. "Love That Dirty Water (Boston You're My Home)!" We also play Sweet Caroline at games and everyone sings. ("Buh, buh, buh!")

"Spuckies" are a type of submarine sandwich.

We also like "Chowdah". Oh, and speaking of accents:

Nor can it ever really be correctly portrayed in movies by non-natives, with few exceptions.

Driving in Boston is legendary.

To name a few.

Question. My friend and I had this conversation the other day. Have you ever heard anyone actually say wicked pissah? I see it all the time on t shirts in tourist shops but I've never heard anyone actually say it and I've lives here my whole life.

 

[swandiverpatt]

I lived all but my last 7 years in Indiana. One of the great regional treasures there is the "pork tenderloin sandwich."

They take a pork tenderloin and pound it about as flat as you can get it, roll it in some sort of coating, mostly including cracker crumbs, deep fry it and put it on a large bun. Even though the bun is large, the meat is about the size of a dinner plate. I liked mine with mustard, onions and dill pickle.

I stopped eating pork about 3 years ago and last summer DH was in IN at an area tenderloin spot. I tried to recreate using tofu and it wasn't half bad -- I realize what is important is the fry and the crunch, with your favorite accompaniments. ;-)

 

[acourtwdw]

Food related: We were in FL about 10 years ago and my nephew wanted pickled bologna. Apparently it doesn't exist there. Is it a Midwest thing? Vernors and Faygo, hard to find outside of MI also.

If you are from MI, you use your hand to indicate where you are from.

Going up north means anywhere from 45 minutes to 7 hours drive depending on where you are going.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

yes to all of these.
Also, High School football is almost bigger than pro sports.
Here in Central Texas we know that kolaches are better than donuts.
Dr Pepper, the State Fair, Mrs. Baird's bread and Blue Bell ice cream are institutions. You can do no better than any of them.

God bless Blue Bell!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Question. My friend and I had this conversation the other day. Have you ever heard anyone actually say wicked pissah? I see it all the time on t shirts in tourist shops but I've never heard anyone actually say it and I've lives here my whole life.

Not really. It's either, or. But I think they do that just to get both in one fell swoop, for tourists or something. Cause that way, of course, you get the "ah" in there.

Pissah was probably more a term used in the 70s than now. ("Wow, that was pissah!") Wicked you still hear a lot. ("Wicked cool!") I just asked DD15 about pissah and she's unfamiliar with it, too. So it's definitely something older people would use, probably those who are middle aged. I know my brother still uses the term on occasion, lol.

 

[bellanotte10]

Not really. It's either, or. But I think they do that just to get both in one fell swoop, for tourists or something. Cause that way, of course, you get the "ah" in there.

Pissah was probably more a term used in the 70s than now. ("Wow, that was pissah!") Wicked you still hear a lot. ("Wicked cool!") I just asked DD15 about pissah and she's unfamiliar with it, too. So it's definitely something older people would use, probably those who are middle aged. I know my brother still uses the term on occasion, lol.

Ok makes sense! Thanks! I say wicked all the time. Went to visit a friend in Iowa and got laughed because of my accent I didn't even know I had haha

 

[islandtimect]

Connecticut has many things similiar with the other New Englands states, probably because they're all small states and settled so long ago. But as someone from the land of rolling hills who is temporarily living in Florida and can't wait to return back home, here goes:

We drink soda, not pop. And eat grinders, not subs or hoagies. If you order tea, it'll be served as a cup of boiling water in a mug with a tea bag. There's great pizza nearly everywhere, and calzones too. We love our Dunkin Donuts coffee and donuts, and you can find them every couple of miles in some towns.

UCONN basketball, both the men and women's teams, are big. There's a huge rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees, including in my family! When it comes to football, there are lots of Patriots fans, but plenty Giants and some Steelers, too.

One of our sayings - if you don't like the weather, just wait.

Apples are awesome - apple harvest festivals, apple cider donuts, and apple fritters. So is the Big E (Eastern States Expedition), New England's big country fair held just over the CT border in western Massachusetts.

Waiting in line in the DMV (Dept of Motor Vehicles) is an ugly tradition. So are the potholes in the road.

Here's another Boston thing - the word "wicked". As in, it's wicked awesome that winter is almost over!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Ok makes sense! Thanks! I say wicked all the time. Went to visit a friend in Iowa and got laughed because of my accent I didn't even know I had haha

Me too - even though I thought I "outgrew" it!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I never noticed or thought of a few of these things until I moved here to NY.

(I grew up in FL outside of Tampa for reference)

*The Mr. and Miss thing...My kids call every adult they know "Miss So and So or Mr. So and So". It's usually the first name so it's not so formal. Like, they call DH's cousin's wife Miss Lauren.

*How to correctly order a pizza. They don't do small, medium, and large here. It's 8 cut, 12 cut....

*I feel like people here have personal space issues. There have been many times that I am browsing a clothing rack and someone is RIGHT THERE next to me.

 

[Jaya]

Hoosier born and raised, Michigander for several years and an almost-native Floridian (if you've lived here more than 35 years, you qualify). I can't tell you how many times I've flown back from a Michigan visit carrying two six-packs of Vernors before you could find it in Florida (still not common here, though). There's nothing quite like it. Also, you have to be a Hoosier to understand that there is nothing, but NOTHING, more important than basketball. We used to say that a "Hoosier Homosexual" was a teenage boy who was more interested in girls than in basketball. As for we Floridians, well, we don't have a lot of traditions as most everyone came from somewhere else. I'd have to say the only one I can think of is our reluctance to give up wearing shorts and sandals even when it is cold outside.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Me too - even though I thought I "outgrew" it!

Something I have discovered about accents: You can think that you have outgrown it or lost it altogether. Friends from your same region might even agree that you no longer have an accent. However, go somewhere where the accent is different and everyone will say you have a very strong accent. Happened to me when I interned at Disney and was around my friends from Boston. They would all comment on how thick my accent was. When I got around friends from Texas and other parts of the south, they would all say that they barely heard any accent from me. When I am around my in-laws from Kansas, they talk about my thick accent, as well... that is, until they come down here and hear how other people speak

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Hoosier born and raised, Michigander for several years and an almost-native Floridian (if you've lived here more than 35 years, you qualify). I can't tell you how many times I've flown back from a Michigan visit carrying two six-packs of Vernors before you could find it in Florida (still not common here, though). There's nothing quite like it. Also, you have to be a Hoosier to understand that there is nothing, but NOTHING, more important than basketball. We used to say that a "Hoosier Homosexual" was a teenage boy who was more interested in girls than in basketball. As for we Floridians, well, we don't have a lot of traditions as most everyone came from somewhere else. I'd have to say the only one I can think of is our reluctance to give up wearing shorts and sandals even when it is cold outside.

YES!!!

It was in the 40's the past few days and I contemplated the flip-flops.

 

[ENSOCK]

South Louisiana has its own traditions! We have a festival for everything. we eat foods no one would think of. boudain, hog head cheese, crawfish! If it moves, we will try to cook it.
We drink Coke. The rear of the car is the trunk. An friday night football is required.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

St. Nick's

 

[kimblebee]

South Louisiana has its own traditions! We have a festival for everything. we eat foods no one would think of. boudain, hog head cheese, crawfish! If it moves, we will try to cook it.
We drink Coke. The rear of the car is the trunk. An friday night football is required.

What else would you call the rear of the car? Yes, I know it can be called a boot, but that's more overseas.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

As a pp mentioned.

Indiana and basketball... specifically high school and college basketball. It is darn near a religion in this state. You would be hard pressed to find a little boy that has not been in a basketball league at some point.

 

[clm10308]

Former Houstonian here.
I really miss smoked brisket, kolaches (both the sausage and the fruit ones) Blue Bell, and Tex-Mex.