The goal is to experience what the locals enjoy – what they consider favorite taste sensations. The meals that people comment about when they ask you if you’ve tried _______? I’ve learned that across America, many of these dishes have in common ample calories and a lot of artery-clogging animal fat. That doesn’t mean I’ll avoid them. I don’t plan to gorge on these treats – just an occasional sampling here and there.

Bowl and a roll, chislic, and runza

And despite all the local favorites I’ve consumed over the years, there are still a few the top of my foodie bucket list that I haven’t tasted. First comes bowl and a roll: a bowl of beef and bean chili with a warm, sticky vanilla-frosted cinnamon roll on the side. That’s what I might encounter in German-immigrant areas of the northern Midwest. I’m told that locals dip the roll in the bowl as they enjoy the meal.

Then comes the chislic, the state nosh of South Dakota. It’s usually chunks of beef or venison fried in lard or grilled and served alongside crackers or Texas toast. Next is that Great Plains handheld pie, the runza, a cousin of the pasty. This portable meal is made with a soft yeast dough filled with a mix of sautéed ground beef, cabbage, and onion, seasoned with garlic and caraway, sometimes with a layer of cheese for good measure.

Totchos, Snickers salad, hangtown fry, and Hot Browns

And how about totchos? The local Oregon favorite shown above is a combination of tater tots, ground beef sautéed with taco seasoning, covered with shredded cheddar and baked in the oven. A full heartburn meal.  Finally, who could turn down a Snickers salad, popular in potluck suppers in Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, made with apples, chopped Snickers bars, Cool Whip, and instant vanilla pudding, all mixed together in a bowl.

For my next trip to northern California, I want to try the local hangtown fry, an omelet with bacon and oysters invented during the Gold Rush. And if I get to Louisville, Kentucky, I will surely attempt to find a Hot Brown, an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce or cheese and baked or broiled till the top is crisp. But living in New England means I’m more likely to try specialties such as stuffies (stuffed clams) in Rhode Island or a chow mein sandwich in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Hoppel poppel

And, since I’m going out to visit my mother in Illinois for her birthday, maybe I’ll take her to breakfast for some hoppel poppel, the local version of something the folks in Rochester, N.Y. call the garbage plate.

So many new things to try. I always seem to find some local new favorite wherever we go. How about you? What’s your food discovery when traveling afar? Maybe a donair from Halifax, Nova Scotia?

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This meaty sandwich is a perfect combination of spicy meat wrapped in a pita pocket slathered with a sweet sauce. In Halifax, it’s a popular late-night snack, and is also especially known as hangover food.

I’ve had a lot of very good food in Canada. Restaurants in Montreal and Vancouver, in particular, offered excellent dishes. But truth be told, Canada as a country is not renowned for its cuisine. When is the last time you said, “Let’s go out for some Canadian?” That said, I must observe that the donair is outstanding, with all the elements you’d want in a good sandwich. The meat is a spicy and dense beef meatloaf, augmented with a lot of herbs and spices: cayenne, oregano, coriander, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder. And a good donair includes fresh tomatoes and chopped onion, all wrapped in grilled pita bread. But what sets the sandwich off is how the special sauce enhances the flavors.

From Turkey to Greece to Germany to Nova Scotia to …

The history of the Halifax donair goes back to a Greek immigrant. In the 1970s, Peter Gamoulakos tried selling Greek gyros (pitas stuffed with grilled lamb and tzatziki) from his pizza restaurant. What he found was that the gyros didn’t resonate with the “meat and potatoes” palates of Nova Scotians. He and his brother swapped beef for the lamb, whipped up their own sweet “donair sauce,” and tried again. This time, the sandwich took off. And by taking off, I mean that people will reportedly drive miles for a donair.

Going even further back, this localized Halifax sandwich actually owes its heritage to the Turkish doner kebabs. This dish, similar to the Arab Shawarma, is made with seasoned meat – usually lamb or poultry – shaved from a vertical rotisserie in a style that dates back to the Ottoman empire. In the 1920s, it traveled to Greece as the two populations interacted. When the Turks began working in large numbers in Germany in the 1960s, their food followed. The original dish did not suit German tastes, so the vendors dressed it up with a salad of shredded lettuce and a sauce – usually chili, barbecue, or garlic. Meanwhile, the Halifax donair, until recently limited mostly to Atlantic Canada, has become more widely distributed in the country. And it’s becoming more trendy, even featured in some upscale restaurants. You might also find burgers with donair sauce as well as donair pizzas.

But making an authentic Halifax donair isn’t just a matter of putting your meatloaf in a store-bought pita pocket. It’s much more fun than that.

The technique

What you’ll need is some good ground beef that’s 70% meat and 30% fat, along with all the seasonings. Once it’s mixed together, pick the meat up and throw it down with force into a steel mixing bowl 20 or 30 times, kneading it after each time. This is necessary to gain the proper texture for your loaf. Then roll the meat into a round loaf and bake it in an oven at 350 degrees for an hour or a little more. Once cooked, you’ll need to let the loaf cool before slicing. Another key component, the donair sauce, can be made while you’re cooking the beef. That’s a mixture of evaporated or whole milk, sugar, garlic powder, and vinegar that requires slow mixing until it thickens properly. Finally, heat the sliced meat in a frying pan, fry or grill the pita till it’s lightly crisp, and you’re ready. Spread some sauce on the pita and add hot meat, along with chopped onion and tomatoes and maybe a little more sauce. Enjoy! Unused meat can be frozen for future sandwiches.

As for me, one of the best parts of the story is that the restaurant in Campton, N.H., The Covered Bridge, is always looking for new sandwiches to feature. I’m planning to return the next time I’m in the area. As for you, do you have a new sandwich creation you’d like to share?

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