Once again, it’s time to do some travelling, some time travel along our culinary airways of life. We’re going to visit foods with names that have been taken from an atlas.
Ready? I’ll navigate the first leg of the trip. Take any window seat and fasten your seat belt. It doesn’t matter whether you’re seated ahead of the wing or behind it. You’ll still have an unobstructed view, because we’ll be flying in a rather rare DHC Dash-7. Unlike airliners such as the Boeing 778 Dreamliner, it has a high wing. For this part of our flight, I’ll be in the cockpit, a world map on my lap.
Almost immediately after take-off from Cornwall Regional Airport there’s Lancaster perch. A bit further east there’s a whole bunch of Montreal Bagel retailers. Yagel Bagel on Blvd. St. Jean is my favourite, as it offers bagels from a choice of several bakeries.
There are a lot of poutine places around. They’re named after Putin, that Russian low-life who sent his motley crew into Ukraine February 24, a year ago. Both Putin and poutines are greasy and limp. Anything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.
Let’s bank south to see where these foods come from: Philadelphia cream cheese, Boston Crème Donuts (they’re American, so I don’t use the Canadian spelling, ‘Boston Cream Doughnuts’), then New York fries and the Waldorf Hotel’s salad dressing.
Further south, but staying in American air space is Key West’s Key lime pie, my very favourite for a variety of reasons. On the horizon as we turn west are the not for me Cuban cigars. The only smoke I like is from a campfire. Way, way further south are the Brazil nuts. Way to the east are the frankfurters from Frankfurt, hamburgers from Hamburg and Black Forest cake from the Black Forest.
Wieners and wiener schnitzel are from Vienna. Futher east, Turkish delights from Turkey. The Turks now want their name to become Türkiye, to distinguish their country from the bird of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Europe also offers danish pastries from Denmark, chicken Kiev from Kyiv. sardines from Sardinia, Neapolitan ice cream from Naples and Brussels sprouts from Brussels…
I’ll close my European leg of the flight by mentioning Gouda. We had cycled into Holland from Belgium. A local asked, “What border place did you cross at?”
I replied “Gouda”, pronouncing it as ‘gooda’.
“ ‘Gooda?’” he replied. “No such place in the Netherlands.” At that, I pulled out our tattered map and pointed, “Gouda.”
“Ah! Hkkkkowwdahh!”
Okay, it’s time for you to take over. Send me the continued itinerary of a culinary flight around the world, with foods named after places. My address is nuthilltoo@gmail.com.
By the way, why did I choose Dash-7 and mention Boeing 787 Dreamliner in my story? Neither is among the 360 different types of aircraft I’ve flown in so far. (Hint.)
ILLUSTRATION
[Sent Tue. Feb. 21, 2023]
[SD #101 – 7071 (2018) Nick & Nanaimo bar at Nanaimo, B.C.]
“EAT LOCAL” – “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” When in Nanaimo B.C., do as the Nanaimoites: have a Nanaimo bar at the ‘Serious Coffee & Tea’ shoppe. (Photo by Juliet Gill)
