8 Crave-Worthy Local Foods You Can Get Delivered Straight To Your Door
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No matter where you live, there will always be a crave-worthy dish that you just can’t hold out for. If you live on the West Coast and your out-of-town relatives have never experienced the meaty bliss of Katz’s pastrami on rye, or you live in New York and have a craving for Chicago deep dish pizza, there’s hope for you. You can have iconic dishes sent right to your door (for a pretty penny, of course) with delivery services like Goldbely. Although nothing will ever beat the experience of traveling for these authentic foods, it’s great to still have access to them. Here are eight legendary, local dishes that you can enjoy without hopping on a plane.
1. Ess-A-Bagel
The family-owned New York City gem Ess-a-Bagel has been making their bagels by hand since the 1970s. Cut and rolled fresh out of the oven every day, these bagels are the perfect combination of warm and chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. There are more than 20 cream cheese varieties to choose from, including favorites like apple cinnamon, Oreo, chocolate chip and sun-dried tomato. Nosh like a New Yorker from anywhere in the country with the Ess-a-Bagel Baker’s Dozen, which comes with 13 bagels plus the cream cheese of your choosing. Or better yet, be a breakfast hero and send a box of mini bagels to a friend or co-worker for his or her birthday.
2. Junior’s Cheesecake
What makes New York cheesecake different from all the other cheesecakes? Its dense texture with a smooth and rich filling. Junior’s is known as the gold standard of New York-style cheesecake, and it’s become a worldwide phenomenon that people make special trips for. This Brooklyn landmark has been visited by everyone from James Beard Award-winning chefs to celebrities to presidents. Each cheesecake is made with cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs and a little bit of vanilla with their signature sponge cake bottom. Each cheesecake serves 12-14 people.
3. Katz’s Pastrami Sandwich
When you think of the Lower East Side in New York City, one thing usually comes to mind — Katz’s Delicatessen. The kosher-style deli has been serving its world-renowned sky-high pastrami on rye sandwiches, corned beef and classic Jewish comfort food since 1888. On the corner of Ludlow and East Houston Streets, Katz’s serves up pastrami unlike any other, which can take up to 30 days to cure.
The secret family spice rub — including onion, garlic, pepper and coriander — helps to give Katz’s pastrami its signature black crispy bark once the meat is smoked. You can order the pastrami and corned beef dinner for two, which comes with one pound of pastrami or corned beef, pickles, rye bread, knishes, deli mustard and your choice of Katz’s merch.
4. Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
Born on Bleecker Street in 1996, Magnolia Bakery is famous for its signature buttercream-frosted cupcakes and vintage decor. What began as a tiny cupcake shop in the West Village has since expanded to become a global dessert empire. In addition to publishing a cookbook, the legendary bakery made appearances in Sex and the City and SNL’s digital short Lazy Sunday where Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rap about Magnolia and say, “I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling.”
For those of you who don’t have a Magnolia Bakery nearby, you can order cups of their golden perfection that is creamy banana pudding. The rich custard is made with sweetened condensed milk, water, heavy cream, Nilla wafers and fresh bananas. You’ll get a package of six large cups that’ll serve 10-12 people.
5. Central Grocery’s Muffuletta Sandwich
The muffuletta sandwich is completely unique to New Orleans. Probably bigger than your head, the sandwich is served on a round piece of Sicilian sesame bread and packed with all kinds of meats, cheeses and marinated olives. The OG muffuletta spot in NOLA, Central Grocery, makes their iconic sandwich on a piece of 10-inch sesame bread that stays crusty no matter what fillings you add.
You can have a three-pack of sandwiches shipped to you that’ll serve 10 t0 12 people. Central Grocery’s sandwich comes with salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone cheese, mortadella, olives, celery, cauliflower, carrots, peppers and olive oil along with various spices and seasonings.
6. Gino’s East Chicago Deep Dish Cheese Pizza
The legendary Gino’s East pizzeria, whose pizza is basically a pie thanks to its deep, buttery crust, will ship their Chicago deep dish-style cheese pizza right to your front door. These iconic pies — with a golden crust, cheesy bottom layer and chunky tomato sauce — come in a two-pack, and each pie will serve two to three people. You can get a taste of Chi-Town right from your couch.
7. Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co.’s Lobster Rolls And Whoopie Pies
When you’re landlocked and in need of fresh shellfish, you can get lobster rolls from the Oprah-approved Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. based in Ogunquit, Maine. This is about as close as you can get to an authentic Maine lobster experience. A 12-pack of Hancock lobster rolls will come with two pounds of fresh Maine lobster salad — a combo of lobster, a little mayo, salt and pepper — and 12 New England-style split-top rolls. To add on to this classically Maine meal, the pack of lobster rolls comes with 12 handmade whoopie pies, which are chocolate cookie cakes filled with rich vanilla cream.
8. Roberta’s Pizza
Roberta’s Pizza is at the very core of Brooklyn’s culinary scene and one of the most celebrated pizzerias in New York City. HRN (Heritage Radio Network), the world’s pioneering food radio station, actually broadcasts live from two recycled shipping containers inside the Brooklyn pizza hub. Roberta’s pizza gurus churn out wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies with fresh tomato sauce, housemade mozzarella cheese and fresh ingredients from a rooftop garden in the back of the restaurant.
Roberta’s fans include celebrities from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to the Clintons. When it comes to shipping these pies out of the city, choose between Margherita and Baby Sinclair (aged cheddar, Parmigiano, charred dinosaur kale, fresh garlic and Calabrian chilies). The wood-fired packages come with two, four, six or eight pies. If you aren’t able to experience the real thing in Brooklyn, you can have the highly sought-after personal pies delivered straight to your door.
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