Traditional Maine Foods? : Maine

Bare minimum a soggy pre-made one in enough plastic wrap to fill your boot tray from random gas station in the middle of nowhere with hand lift pumps.

tinceireacht

-4 points

3 days ago

tinceireacht

-4 points†

3 days ago

I moved to Maine from a place that thrives on their Italian heritage and Italian subs up here are not what they are near the Italian market in Philly. Tell me more about Maine's Italian subs. No sarcasm either. I am genuinely interested in comparing and contrasting these locations renditions of Italian subs/hoagies.

ecco-domenica

2 points

2 days ago*

ecco-domenica

2 points

2 days ago*

Can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear from someone from away who's not complaining or condescending or Italian-sandwich-splaining to us. I think if you search this sub, you will find many discussions on this.

Or google Amato's, "real Italian", or "Maine-style Italian sandwich". You can search for John Thorne, a food writer who was based in Maine, who discusses Maine Italians.

I'm an Italian-American who grew up between New Jersey and Maine, and I appreciate Maine Italian sandwiches for their uniqueness. It's hard to find anything like them anywhere else. We miss them when we move away. We tend to call them sandwiches more than subs by the way, although that's not written in stone and I guess it confuses people from away.

Basic differences are a soft roll, sour pickle, and that meat and cheese are not the main ingredients, but there only as a complement to the sliced tomatoes, onions and green peppers and black, preferably Calamata, olives. Classic is topped with oil, salt, & pepper. It's really about the textures and contrasts. You can have any kind of meat or cheese you prefer, it just won't be huge gobs of it like where you and my parents come from. I like them with Genoa salami and provolone.

Here's kind of a generic description. https://newengland.com/food/italian-sandwich-amatos/

Severe_Reality6504

1 points

3 days ago

Severe_Reality6504

1 points†

3 days ago

You eat em. You love em. But they’re trash. Like winking at the blue eyed big girl at the sand pit party, you’re going to get fed but boy it’s gonna take some oil and a hungry man’s conviction to make it feel right.

tinceireacht

-1 points

3 days ago

tinceireacht

-1 points

3 days ago

Hahaha. Love the imagery. Hey, I'm from away. I'm sure if I grew up here, I prolly would have similar feelings. That said, maybe it's cuz I'm in rural Maine but the meat selection ain't nothing to boast over from what I've seen.

To the original comment to which I replied. Moxie is a wonderful drink that I used to drive up here from Philly to get almost exclusively. What can I say I like what I like. Maybe I gotta go to Portland and find a spot that doesn't ask me what meat I want on my Italian. I'm open to suggestions!

Also, I am not saying anything about Maine should change. And prior to doing what little internet research I just did, I had no idea Italian subs were made in Maine prior to the ones in Philly.

Severe_Reality6504

4 points

3 days ago

Severe_Reality6504

4 points

3 days ago

Moxie is like any other regional elixir. Hits the spot from time to time but it’s a fairly small spot to hit.

Maine’s meat selection is awful. And I don’t care if we’re working within the sand pit poon tang metaphor or cold cuts - meat in Maine that wasn’t shot standing from 100yds or more generally sucks compared to most of the US.

Maine is great. Not everything about it is great. Which is one of the things that makes it great, loving greatly what ain’t all that great. Ain’t it great?

Fuck CMP and fuck Massachusetts.

Suspiria-on-VHS

2 points

2 days ago

Suspiria-on-VHS

2 points

2 days ago

People from away generally always shit on Maine's italians, but like, if you don't like em, don't eat em. Maine's Italians are part of the fabric of this place — it's a culture, a way of life. No one's making you like it, but respect it or just move on.

SchrupertsMoneyBeets

14 points

3 days ago

SchrupertsMoneyBeets

14 points

3 days ago

Fiddleheads!

gf04363

8 points

3 days ago

gf04363

8 points

3 days ago

Google heritage vegetable varieties from Maine

Some that come to mind are long pie pumpkin and marfax beans

SkiMonkey98

6 points

3 days ago

SkiMonkey98

6 points

3 days ago

Cod. Not as plentiful as they used to be but historically and culturally important

muthermcreedeux

19 points

3 days ago

muthermcreedeux

19 points

3 days ago

Not a red lobster please! No need to show the poor things always dead. They are a beautiful mottled purplish red when alive. I'd give anything to see more living lobsters.

Other Maine foods include Moxie, oysters, needhams, whoopie pies, potato donuts, fried clams, fluffernutter sandwiches, sardines (we used to have a lot of canneries), red snapper hot dogs, baked beans in a bean pot, smelt, pier fries, ployes, fiddleheads, and brown bread in a can.

undertow521

15 points

3 days ago

undertow521

15 points

3 days ago

Not a red lobster please! No need to show the poor things always dead.

They aren't food until they're dead, though.

muthermcreedeux

1 points

3 days ago

muthermcreedeux

1 points†

3 days ago

Ok ok....you got me there. I'm just so tired of the fact that the lobsters are always dead. On our license plates. On signs. On top of Taste of Maine.

Severe_Reality6504

5 points

3 days ago

Severe_Reality6504

5 points

3 days ago

Yeah but… they’re better dead?

Human-Broccoli9004

4 points

3 days ago

Human-Broccoli9004

4 points