Maryland - "The Old Line State"

Maryland is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. It has three occasionally used nicknames: the Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State.  According to some historians, General George Washington bestowed the name "Old Line State" and thereby associated Maryland with its regular line troops, the Maryland Line, who served courageously in many Revolutionary War battles. Maryland was first recognized as a "Free State" on November 1, 1864. On that date, the Maryland Constitution of 1864 took effect. By its provisions, slavery within the State's borders was abolished, and Maryland, indeed, became a free state. The state is officially claimed to be named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England and mother of Charles II and James II, by George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, prior to his death in 1632.

Maryland is one of the smallest states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, home to over 6 million residents. With its close proximity to Washington, D.C., and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, and biotechnology, Maryland has the highest median household income of any state.

Many states are commonly associated with their foods. Maryland is best known for the Blue Crab, the bountiful delicacy of the Chesapeake Bay. Crab is a favorite Maryland food and is prepared in many ways,  steamed or sautéed (soft shells), as crab cakes and crab imperial, or in crab soup and crab dip. One can find the male blue crab served in restaurants in Maryland more than female crab. Male and female crabs can be distinguished by examining their abdomen on the underside of the crab. The male's abdomen is long and slender, resembling an inverted "T". A female's abdomen changes as it matures; an immature female has a triangular shaped abdomen whereas, a mature female's is rounded.

Finding a fresh blue crap to represent the ones served in Maryland can sometimes a be challenge in state of Arizona. Ernie's Bar and Restaurant, located in Scottsdale, AZ has been family owned and operated since 1973. The restaurant's mission is to stay true to our Maryland roots with a menu featuring options from seafood and steaks to sandwiches and burgers. Ernie's is perhaps the best place around to get Maryland's freshest steamed crab, shrimp, clams and assorted swimmers. The day of our mission to try blue crap at Ernie's, the restaurant was out of inventory of Blue Crabs. Therefor, the Angry Crab Shack & Barbeque in Ahwatukee, AZ was chosen for this mission as the second option. Here are some pictures of Blue Crap at Angry Blue Shack.

"Angry Crab"



Blue Crabs in a bag mixed with Garlic Sauce

BLUE CRAB smeared in sauce



BLUE CRABS smeared in sauce

BLUE Crab and Crabette! :-)  (Male and Female)



Cheerful Host and Hostess!

A very much needed bib



Biggest fan ever - Huge Fan



COD Fish and Mac & Cheese



North Dakota - "The Peace Garden State"

North Dakota is located in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Canadian provinces to the north, the states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo.
 

North Dakota economy has developed in the early 21st century with a boom in natural resources, particularly a boom in oil extraction, which lies beneath the northwestern part of the state. This development has driven strong job and population growth, and low unemployment in North Dakota.

The Cuisine of North Dakota differs from average Midwestern cuisine in a number of ways. Though much of the Midwest has strong German influences, North Dakota also has strong influence from Norway as well as the many ethnic Germans from Russia who settled there. There is also a strong Native American influence on the cuisine of North Dakota. Perhaps one of the largest authentic Norwegian dinners is the annual Lutefisk Dinner hosted by the First Lutheran Church in Williston, North Dakota, every February. Lutefisk a Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking dried cod in lye to tenderize it, then skinning, boning, and boiling the fish to a gelatinous consistency. Some of the other Scandinavian influenced notable dishes found in North Dakota are Lefse, a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. which is made with potatoes, flour, butter, and milk or cream; and Krumkake a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. Finding these authentic Scandinavian dishes served in restaurants in State of Arizona was impossible. Therefore, the second choice was to try the Buffalo Burger. One may ask how a Buffalo Burger is connected to the State of North Dakota?

The only connection North Dakota has to this dish is by offering the world's largest Buffalo statue. That is right, "The World's Largest Buffalo Status" is located in Jamestown, North Dakota. It was built in 1959 by Harold Newman, a local businessman who said he wanted "to create something so big and magnificent that passersby would have to stop in the city."The buffalo is built of concrete, 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, and weighs 60 tons.

 

 

The buffalo head trophy on the wall of Q Bar and Grill locate in Peoria, AZ is not nearly as large as the statue standing in Jamestown, ND. However, it represents a significant dish that the restaurant offers in its menu, which is a tasty buffalo burger. Buffalo burger is a lean and tasty burger made with meat from the American bison normally served with fries, a slab of raw onion. Early American settlers called bison "bufello" due to the similar appearance between the two animals, and the name "buffalo" stuck for the American variety. But it's wrong. The American bison lives only in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia

 

Last but not least, thanks to Erin, the awesome bartender whose strong and well made Long Island Ice Teas made the entire experience of dining in Q Bar and Grill a lot more pleasant.

 

BUFFALO

BUFFALO BURGERS

Erin (Bartender)

LONG ISLAND ICED TEA

BUFFALO BURGERS

Michigan - "The Great Lakes State"

Michigan is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States. The name Michigan is driven from Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake". Native Americans in the area speak the dialects of Ojibwe mainly in Canada and in the United States, from Michigan through Wisconsin and Minnesota, with a number of communities in North Dakota and Montana. The capital of Michigan is Lansing, and the largest city is Detroit.

Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is often noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula (often referred to as "the U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The two peninsulas are connected by the Mackinac Bridge.

Though Michigan has come to develop a diverse economy, it is widely known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry, being home to the country's three major automobile companies whose headquarters are all located within the Detroit metropolitan area. While sparsely populated, the Upper Peninsula is economically important due to its status as a tourist destination as well as its abundance of natural resources, while the Lower Peninsula is a center of manufacturing, services, and high-tech industry.

Michigan is a large producer of asparagus a vegetable crop widespread in Spring. Western and northern Michigan are notable in the production of apples, blueberries, and cherries. The Northwestern region of Michigan's Lower Peninsula accounts for approximately 75 percent of the U.S. crop of tart cherries, usually about 250 million pounds. A popular dish, Michigan Chicken Salad, includes cherries and often apples. Fruit salsas are also popular with cherry salsa being especially prominent.
One of Michigan's signature dish among a few is a Coney Island Hot Dog or Coney Dog or Coney which is a hot dog in a bun topped with raw onion, mustard, and Coney sauce, a type of chili. Cheese may be added as well and variations are found throughout the state, with each city claiming theirs is the best. It is often offered as part of a menu in Coney Island restaurants which is a type of diner originating with Greek immigrants in Detroit in early 1900s and are fairly common throughout the state of Michigan.  Most Coney Islands are open 24 hours and also a popular place to get a late or early coffee.

Detroit transplant David Najor runs Detroit Coney Grills in Tempe, AZ where they make Coney of a natural-casing dog, and even offers a selection of Motor City favorite Faygo soda to wash it down. This little restaurant was chosen as TOP 100 Best Restaurants in America, has set up shop on the corner of Broadway and Hardy,  bringing the robust flavors of the "D" to the "Valley of the Sun".

 

 

 

Iowa - "The Hawkeye State"

Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, a region sometimes called the "American Heartland". Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; it is the only U.S. state whose eastern and western borders are formed entirely by rivers. Iowa is bordered by Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the west and north, and Minnesota to the north. In colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its current state flag is patterned after the flag of France. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines.

Manufacturing, agriculture and food processing have been major components of Iowa economy. Besides processed food, industrial outputs include machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, and primary metals. Companies with direct or indirect processing facilities in Iowa include ConAgra Foods, Wells Blue Bunny, Barilla, Heinz, Tone's Spices, General Mills, and Quaker Oats. Meatpacker Tyson Foods has 11 locations, second only to its headquarter state Arkansas. 

An interesting point of attraction in state of Iowa is the city of Strawberry Point. This small city with a population close to 1500 people, is the technical champion of the World's Largest Strawberry title. The 15-ft. tall painted sculpture is on a post in front of City Hall. It's fiberglass, designed by a local ad agency, and was dedicated in the late 1960s.

Iowa is well know for a few signature dishes. The cuisine of Iowa includes the pork tenderloin sandwich, consisting of a lean section of boneless pork loin that is pounded flat, breaded, and deep fried before being served on a seeded hamburger bun with any or all of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and dill pickle slices.
Iowa is also the center for loose-meat sandwiches, also called tavern sandwiches and appearing on many menus by each restaurant's unique name for them. They were popularized by Maid-Rite which now has franchises in other mid-western states. This sandwich is a ground beef simmered with onions and seasonings until the liquid cooks away, served in a bun with pickles and maybe a little mustard or ketchup. Where one can find this sandwich in state of AZ? That would be Iowa Café in Mesa, AZ. Iowa café offers home-made Iowa cooking including but not limited to Breaded Pork Tenderloin, Loose Meat Sandwich, Midwest Steerburgers, Meatloaf, Four-Egg Omelets and other favorites. It is indeed a friendly atmosphere with good service and reasonable price.