Recently, we were discussing regional food differences.
I was born and raised in Kentucky. While the South isn’t sure they claim us and the North doesn’t want us, we self-identify as Southern. And who would argue? There’s a distinct Kentucky drawl and some very Southern cookin’ going on. We have some regional dishes–the hot brown is a notable one.
My boyfriend is from Connecticut. While he’s not from the CT vacation home by way of New York, he’s definitely a New Englander. Gravies of all sorts were foreign fare for him. He’d never really had good biscuits. His food experience included a heck of a lot more seafood than mine. He’s used to having access to plenty of breads from all meals. He’s a lot more familiar with spice. He’s a hot dog snob. CT is also the birthplace of steamed hamburgers, which he’s made for me a time or two. Nevermind all the fast food he never had access to in his teeny tiny state (seven Connecticuts would fit in one Kentucky.)
I forget that there are people who’ve never had biscuits (and I’m not talkin’ cookies here.) I forget that some people don’t know the so-so-bad-for-you joy of sausage gravy. Hoecakes? Grits? Fried apples? And that’s just breakfast! Nevermind burgoo, beer cheese and Derby Pie.
Dootsie 
I spent about a year of my life in Atlanta and the thing that surprised me the most was the side dishes. You could not walk into a restaurant and find less than dozen side dishes. Sometimes all I’d order for dinner is a bunch of side dishes ( we’re talking mac’n’cheese, green beans, collard greens, succotash, corn pudding just to name a few). Heaven if you love side dishes (that’s me!). I miss that.
I also miss sweet tea which I would order as “50-50” ( for the uninitiated, that’s half sweetened iced tea and half unsweetened ). California restaurants don’t carry any kind of pre-sweetened ice team which is a shame because if you want even a little bit of sweet, you’re forced to spend the majority of your meal trying to dissolve sugar crystals in ice water, like you’re on the losing end of a middle school science experiment.
My boyfriend was totally amazed with being able to get sweet tea EVERYWHERE, fast food joints to high end restaurants.