A diner regular in Circleville orders the same roast beef sandwich he’s ordered for decades, at a counter most of the country forgot existed. That regional chain once had more than 500 locations chasing Arby’s across the country. These are the diner foods that have vanished or almost vanished from Ohio menus. Locals who are…
A shopper at a Lenexa Hy-Vee lets go of her cart to wave at an old coworker, and it rolls three parking spaces before stopping. Over at Market Grille restaurant, another shopper picks a table without waiting to be seated. Neither one meant any harm. But they’re still poor etiquette. These are the unwritten Hy-Vee…
A new hire at a Roanoke office layers up for her first Blue Ridge winter and asks a coworker where she can grab a toboggan before the weekend hike. He points her toward the hat aisle at Kroger, not the sled rack at Walmart. These are the words Virginians use without a second thought that…
A snobby grocery store doesn’t need a single price tag to make a shopper feel out of place. The valet stand out front does that on its own. Some of these grocery stores sit in California, tucked behind Rodeo Drive boutiques and Craftsman bungalows alike. These are the grocery stores across America built to make…
A grocery chain saved Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a checkbook, not a float. Not many companies would bother. H-E-B built its name on moves like that parade rescue, stacked up over more than a century in business. These are the H-E-B traditions Texans have loved for generations. 1. The Founding Story Texans Keep Retelling…
A rental car will get you across Texas. Driving it the way a native would is the hard part. Texas lawmakers wrote traffic rules the rest of the country never had to learn, and they show up in the smallest moments behind the wheel. These are the driving habits that instantly reveal you’re not from…
A host in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood locks your phone in a pouch and hands it back to you. You can’t open it for two hours. Some customers make a reservation at that restaurant for exactly that reason. Others read that policy and go somewhere else. These are the restaurant etiquette debates North Carolina diners still…
Many of the pies handed down in South Carolina kitchens have never held a spoonful of sugar. Savory came first. Oysters, macaroni, and whatever the cook had left over on a Sunday all went into a pie pan, and South Carolinians have called the results pies ever since. These are the heirloom pies South Carolina…
At a Food City in Elizabethton, a shopper walks past the Sprite and loads a case of Dr. Enuf. She didn’t have to think about it. The man behind her moved down from Illinois in March, and he’s never heard of Dr. Enuf. These are the grocery habits that give away a longtime Tennessean. 1….
A cook on Maryland’s Eastern Shore fries a slice of scrapple and slides it next to some eggs. Tourists are better off asking what’s in it after they’ve eaten. These are the Maryland plates that horrify the rest of the country. 1. Muskrat for Dinner Out in the marsh country of Dorchester County, people eat…
