# Regional brands



## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

This Christmas I received a small edibles assortment from a friend in Hawaii. The piece de resistance( no, not macademia nuts) was a 7 oz packet of Lion Coffee brand, Kona 24 karat. I haven't had a cup, totally forgot about it since my all to brief stopover in Hawaii in the 70s.
It's a superior coffee, not the very best available in today's popular gourmet market, but superior. And, it has memories.
I'll probably place an order online when I have some disposable income.
Anyone else have some regional favourites, part associative and part just good?


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

My first thought was Frango...

The Frederick & Nelson Company, a major department store in Seattle, started producing a mint they called Franco - connotations of a certain Spanish general inspired them to change the name to Frango.

Frederick and Nelson was sold to Marshall Field's in the twenties, and production was moved to the 13th floor of the big Field's on State Street in Chicago.

Several years ago production was moved to the Getrude Hawk company in Pennsylvania. There was a lot of public outcry, but there wasn't much difference in the quality or recipe.

Now that Field's has been taken over by Macy's (like a horde of locusts), it's possible to get limited quantities of Frango at Macy's here in Atlanta. Still disgusted by what they did to my beloved Field's, this candy is the only thing I buy from them.

Most of the regional brands I like from Vermont are now available here as well - Green Mountain Coffee, Bove's pasta sauce, and King Arthur Flour.


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

Loads and loads in Michigan!

Faygo sodas (Rock & Rye is to die for - half cream soda and half red pop)
Vernors ginger ale - REAL ginger ale, the carbonation will knock you off your seat
Sander's hot fudge and "bumpy" cake
Better Made potato chips (very thin and salty)
C.F. Berger Egg Nog
Burghardt's sourdough bread, though they recently closed shop
Garden Fresh salsa and chips
Schuler's "Bar Scheeze" sharp cheese spread, with their bagel chips
Plevalene - ground round mixed with cherries
Kilwin's ice cream
Zingerman's deli - for just about anything


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

jbmcb said:


> Loads and loads in Michigan!
> 
> Faygo sodas (Rock & Rye is to die for - half cream soda and half red pop)
> Vernors ginger ale - REAL ginger ale, the carbonation will knock you off your seat


We can get Vernors here in Georgia - I remember Faygo from living in Philadelphia - they'd run a deal like twelve cans for a dollar or something and we'd get a variety of flavors... I remember Red Pop had a picture of a woman on a bicycle in sort of a Gibson Girl outfit, all in pink.

Lately, Herr's Potato Chips have been showing up down here, and somehow Yuengling beer has gotten broader distribution. I moved from Philadelphia before I was old enough to drink, and my grandfather drank Gibbons from Wilkes-Barre, so I had never heard of it. When I went back to visit five years ago it was everywhere, and now it's everywhere here too. Still haven't tried the stuff.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

Miket61 said:


> My first thought was Frango...


Good stuff!

Down here in Texas, we have Blue Bell ice cream. The rest of the country can keep their Hagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, etc. Blue Bell puts them all to shame.

Dr. Pepper and Coors used to be regional but are now more widely available. Always hated Coors. Still love Dr. Pepper.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

smujd said:


> Good stuff!
> 
> Down here in Texas, we have Blue Bell ice cream. The rest of the country can keep their Hagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, etc. Blue Bell puts them all to shame.
> 
> Dr. Pepper and Coors used to be regional but are now more widely available. Always hated Coors. Still love Dr. Pepper.


Blue Bell is in Atlanta now, and advertises heavily.

I only eat Ben & Jerry's when I'm in Vermont, and then only either at the store on Church Street Marketplace in Burlington (the successor to their very first location just down the street) or at the one attached to their plant in Waterbury. Thus, I can be the ultimate Ben & Jerry's aficionado - "I prefer it _fresh_."


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## ctt (Dec 24, 2008)

Burgers - Town Topic in Kansas City


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

Miket61 said:


> Blue Bell is in Atlanta now, and advertises heavily.


Is nothing sacred?!? Didn't know that. Good news for the good folks in Atlanta.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

smujd said:


> Is nothing sacred?!? Didn't know that. Good news for the good folks in Atlanta.


They advertised HEAVY when they first entered the market.

_I remember our old country home 
Clean fresh air and the flowers growing 
In the fields, along the path, beside our swimming hole

Momma hollering through the screen 
Would you kids like some homemade ice cream? 
That was such a simpler time and place 
Blue Bell tastes just like the good old days 
_
Personally, I grew up on Breyer's. And I remember when Hillary's opened in our neighborhood, with three flavors of _whipped cream_. Those were some decadent 1980's sundaes!


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## LeverTime (Nov 8, 2008)

La Colombe. They roast the coffee in Philly, and their shop is about two blocks from my house. I have not found anything that compares.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

smujd said:


> Good stuff!
> 
> Down here in Texas, we have Blue Bell ice cream. The rest of the country can keep their Hagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, etc. Blue Bell puts them all to shame.
> 
> Dr. Pepper and Coors used to be regional but are now more widely available. Always hated Coors. Still love Dr. Pepper.


As mentioned, we in the ATL metro area have Blue Bell, but I still prefer Häagen-Dazs. Actually, when I have a sudden craving for ice cream I like to drive over to the Bruster's Real Ice Cream shop.

I remember back in the mid-70's when I worked on a construction crew in Louisianna, I used to regularly smuggle cases of Coors back to Alabama for my buddies. Forbidden fruit sort of thing, I guess. I still like it.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

Conecuh® Hickory Smoked Sausage - made in Evergreen, Alabama.

I don't know how widely it is distributed, but it is available in many metro ATL stores and all around Alabama, naturally (and via internet order).

Great stuff!


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

Relayer said:


> As mentioned, we in the ATL metro area have Blue Bell, but I still prefer Häagen-Dazs. Actually, when I have a sudden craving for ice cream I like to drive over to the Bruster's Real Ice Cream shop.


I can't stand Bruster's. I've tried several different locations and I got half-melted mediocre stuff. Even Cold Stone, which flops the ice cream around before they serve it to you, is firmer.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

Miket61 said:


> I can't stand Bruster's. I've tried several different locations and I got half-melted mediocre stuff. Even Cold Stone, which flops the ice cream around before they serve it to you, is firmer.


That would be disappointing, no doubt. I'm no connoisseur, but the 3-4 times I've been, it was very good.


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