I'm a bigger fan of their burgers but if you like roast beef, nothing beats a Kelly's. If you're gonna go you need to hit the original on Revere Beach. The 60 year old grease on the grill gives it a special flavor the other locations just don't have.
I live about 20 minutes from the Kentucky border and there is no better place to get a burger than Ferrell's in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. For one, the women that work there are either well into their 70s or escaped convicts. To make a Ferrell's burger, one of these angry women dips her fist into a large container of ground beef and takes out years of oppression by slapping it paper thin on a flat grill. Next, they dose the patty of grease and meat substance with a hefty dose of onions that make one tear from across the counter. Every time my relatives come to town, they ship back coolers full of Ferrell's burgers. There are about five barstools in the front room available if you want to eat there. They only serve burgers, chili, pie, and sodas in a can. And yes, that old lady still works there. In Nashville, I never leave without a deep fried twinkie from Jackson's. My town is great for Korean food thanks to the military base. Can't beat kimchi and bulgogi from here!
If you're ever in the Indianapolis area (not that you ever would need to be outside of sporting events, as everything you get in Indianapolis you can get it better in Cleveland or Chicago)... Check out King David Dogs in downtown Indy. Some of the best hot dogs I have ever had. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.kingdaviddogs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.kingdaviddogs.com/</a> Or Bazbeaux Pizza. Great freakin pizza, but definitely not worldbeater. However, its been voted Indy's best pizza every year since 1986. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bazbeaux.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bazbeaux.com/</a> I've spent the past year traveling all over the US and trying out new things, new places. Indy certainly isn't a barnburner by any means, nor does it compare to the awesomeness of Parma Perogies, BallPark Mustard, or the West Side Market in Cleveland, but its a good place to have a mishmash of many different regional types of food.
I lived in Texas for about 5 years, and also became partial to Kolaches. I always thought they were more like mini-breakfast-hot-dogs though. Can anybody from Texas shed some light?
Actually, the pastry version is derived from a Czech background, and one of this biggest places to find it in Texas is in East Benard, where they hold an annual Kolache Festival in line with the Czech festivals. <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolache" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolache</a> While I am not 100% I do not believe the sausage filled version of a Kolache is derived from the same thing since the are actually pronounced two different ways. The czech version is pronounced Ko-La-ch, while the sausage version is pronounced Ko-Lach-ee. So you might be slightly incorrect TX, but again I am only sure of the Czech versions background not the sausage versions. If I am wrong and you can shed some light, please correct me. EDIT: I am an idiot and did not even read the entire wikipedia link, the sausage version is Polish derived and is correctly named and called a klobasnek. Both of them are fucking fantastic though. But it is a little confusing when your order and bite into one version expecting the other.
Some things in this thread look terrible (fucking chilli in a can? Really?) while others look like heaven (poutine gets me sexually aroused) Being of Balkan heritage, I am going to have to mention cevapi. Skinless sausages which can be made out of beef, pork or veal (or any combination of them) which are delicious.
Perhaps one of the only reasons going to Cornell was a worthwhile decision, the PMP [Poor Mans Pizza] from the Hot Truck. As far as I know the truck has been around for decades, and while under different ownership as the years have gone by, every alumni I have spoken to has fallen in love with this slice of heaven. French bread from one of the local bakers, olive oil, good cheese and whatever toppings you could think of. The only downside was that when you went to order one, the conditions were usually like this:
I grew up in Indiana but lived in Maryland until I was 9 and I will never forget MARYLAND BLUE CRABS. Steam it with Old Bay seasoning or your doing it wrong. Even Maryland isn't shitty enough to try to pass a can of chili off as a "regional food".