Flavors of Home: No Matter How Far You Go, Local Foods Missed Most
By Jennifer Learn-Andes, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Sep. 2–oughlin High School graduate Sadia Hussain is swept up in the excitement of her freshman year at New York University, but she has one void that may only be filled in the Wyoming Valley.
“I’m definitely going to miss the food,” she said. “Potato pancakes and … food like piggies and the cabbage stuff…halushki.”
She also anticipates cravings for Hillside Farms ice cream, Curly Creme soft ice cream and, of course, the pizza.
Hussain knows she’ll discover new food in New York City, but she doesn’t think she’ll find fitting substitutes for her local favorites.
“I’m sure I’ll be able to have all this food there, but it probably won’t be the same,” Hussain said.
Devon Grochowski is also going through halushki and halupki withdrawal as she starts her sophomore year at Penn State University’s main campus.
Many of her out-of-state classmates look surprised when the Mountain Top resident describes the ethnic cabbage meals.
“They make fun of me,” she said, laughing.
Apparently Hussain and Grochowski aren’t the only natives with Northeastern Pennsylvania food separation anxiety.
An Ohio couple drove all the way to Plymouth Township Monday just to stock up on Stookey’s “famous bar-b-que,” said restaurant manager Sundee Baran.
The couple, originally from the area, bought several 20-ounce containers at $9.90 a piece.
People from all over the country have paid to get the bar-b-que sent to them, said worker Brittany Maslowski, noting that the recipe has stayed the same for 80 years.
“We’ve even shipped our bar-b-que to California,” she said.
People have paid $70 to have an order sent to Florida in dry ice, Baran said.
An “overwhelming request” for Middleswarth Potato Chips prompted the creation of PA Snacks (pasnacks.com), which ships the chips and other snacks, said company creator Jamie Jay.
Jay’s father owned a snack food distribution company and received calls “left and right” for Middleswarth chips to be sent all over the world. PA Snacks has shipped packages throughout the United States as well as to other countries, including Iraq, Japan, Kuwait and Germany, Jay said.
Many sizes and flavors are available. For example, an order of 72 1-oz. bags costs $18 plus shipping and handling.
“Many people move away from Pennsylvania and miss the taste of home. Several of our customers ship snacks as gifts to loved ones, relatives, clients and college students,” Jay said.
The Tasty Baking Company also sells samplers of its cupcakes and baked goods online ( www.tastykake.com), such as a “classic collection” that includes Butterscotch Krimpets, Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes and the Chocolate Junior.
“There’s definitely a demand. People who have moved away say what they miss most are Tastykakes. It’s great to be such an icon in a region that people do miss you,” said company spokeswoman Mary C. Borneman.
Visitors to the area often say they wouldn’t return home without a box of Nardone’s Bros. pizza, said Thomas Nardone, of Nardone Bros. Baking Co. in Wilkes-Barre.
His grandparents started the company in 1942. He believes people are hooked by the thick soft crust and a sauce that contains no added sugar but is still sweet because of the tomatoes.
Nostalgia may also enhance the flavor, Nardone said.
“It seems like the stuff you’re familiar with when you’re younger leaves a lasting impression on you. I don’t know whether it’s because of the good memories or as people get older, they’re more appreciative of their younger days,” he said.
Senape’s “original pitza” has become a staple in the southern part of the county, so much that people even mail it to friends and relatives who have left, said Mary Lou Marchetti, manager of Senape’s Bakery in Hazleton.
“You can’t find it anywhere else,” she said.
It comes in small square slices in a familiar white box and may be eaten cold. The pitza has a soft, moist crust and doesn’t have to be baked.
“It’s easy. You just take a piece out and eat it,” Marchetti said.
Dave Mishinski, who owns Third Base Luncheonette, said he is under strict orders to bring Senape’s pitza whenever he visits his daughter, Autumn, at Lock Haven University.
Her friends didn’t understand what it was at first, but now they are also addicted, he said.
“Her friends all love it. Now when we go to see her, we have to take at least five boxes,” Mishinski said.
Hazleton area natives are frequently drawn back to Mishinski’s 58-year-old Hazleton eatery, which is known for its Third Base hoagies. The reminiscing is complete by washing it down with a Farmer’s Iced Tea.
“People even take pictures of the place when they come back,” Mishinski said. “They say, ‘Dave, why not open a shop our way?’”
Calling area natives
What Northeastern Pennsylvania food
do you miss? Comment at www.times
leader.com.
Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.
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