Haitian restaurants in Miami are special in so many other ways; besides the fresh food and welcoming atmosphere, they are filled with Haitian pride. The most obvious place to go for Haitian cuisine in Miami is the Little Haiti neighborhood (north of downtown) and North Miami (near West Dixie Highway). I would absolutely recommend Chef Creole, a place where Haitian music and Creole compete to welcome guests. I probably eat here twice a week, or any other chance I get! My favorite Chef Creole dish is the griot (fried pork) with rice and green peas… A lesser known Haitian spot is in Little Haiti, Piman Bouk. Walking into Pimak Bouk you instantly feel like you are in Haiti. Tables are lined with colorful printed clothes and walls are covered in Haitian history, photos, flags, posters. Just be prepared to be greeted in Creole, “Bonswa.” Although I have never had the opportunity to visit my country, Haiti, it is very dear to my heart.
— Hailey, Miami Country Day School
Living on the coast, an essential food in our community is seafood. There are many restaurants near the beach that have amazing seafood like Blue Water, Fish House, and Bridgetender, however, nothing compares to the flounder dish at Brasserie Du Soleil located in Lumina Station on the way to Wrightsville Beach. The flounder is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside drizzled in a light, creamy butter sauce with capers sprinkled on top. It comes with buttered green beans and roasted potatoes cut into the size of a half-dollar coin on the side.
— Grace, Block 2, Hoggard Highschool in Wilmington, NC
Essential Dishes of Our Hometowns or States
Each country, state, or city have their own unique and native dish. In my case, my essential home dish is pupusas. This dish is made up of a stuffed flour tortilla, usually the stuffing is beans & cheese or “revuelta” which is a mixture of cheese, beans, and pork. Furthermore, this essential dish is paired with a thinly-cut pickled cabbage, carrot, and jalapeños with a side of salsa which is composed of tomatoes, jalapeños, and unions. Despite the fact that pupusas are my essential hometown food others may vary depending where they come from. Of course, pupusas are a famous dish throughout Central America, but are only native to certain countries.
— Brian, Don Bosco Cristo Rey HS
I think Miami is a great place to try and answer this from, considering how many different kinds of food you can bring up due to the melting pot of cultures that is Miami. There’s Cuban food, Colombian, Venezuelan, Italian, Jewish Kosher, Mexican, Dominican and American food, along with some other types I’m definitely forgetting. My personal favorite food would be a Haitian food called griot. It consists of marinated pork and plantain, meant to be eaten together. It doesn’t sound that exotic but Haitian food is seasoned incredibly and the flavor of the pork combined with the base of the plantain is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. There’s a lot of different places you can find griot in North Miami and Little Haiti and each is always a little different.
— Nate, Miami Country Day School, Miami FL
New Mexico has so many great foods to choose from but I believe our main essential food is chili. It is a part of our culture and heritage and is also what we are famous for. Chili is an important crop for farmers here and something that we value a lot. Everyone from here knows what the question “Red or green?” means. You have your opinion on whether you like red or green chili better and people here have different preferences. It´s something everyone asks and every New Mexican has their answer. We put chili on just about anything and that really shows when you go out to eat and you see that chili can be added to almost any dish you order.
When it comes to the topic of Chicago foods, most of us agree that deep dish pizza is seen as a Chicago staple. However, this agreement ends when it comes to the question of who actually eats it. On one hand, many true Chicagoans say that only tourists and suburbanites eat it, while others stress the significance of deep dish pizza as a part of Chicago culture and argue that many people enjoy a nice deep dish pizza from their favorite local spot. Personally, I am one of those suburbanites who loves deep dish pizza, and my Chicagoan brother is on my side.
— Jacob, Glenbard West High School, Illinois
Fond Food Memories of Other Places
When I moved to the States, four years ago, from my hometown in South Africa, Pretoria, one of the most precious things I left behind is: the food. Where I lived -approximately 2 flight hours away from the gorgeous and very famous CAPE TOWN-there blooms a mini india consolidated with hints of South African culture to create mouthwatering dishes that tickle your tastebuds even years later. Here are some of the most delicious dishes I recommend you give a try if you are lucky enough to take a trip. Barbecues in South Africa are called Braai’s from the Afrikaans language that consists of Dutch influence. Braai’s usually consist of boerewors(farmers sausage), lamb chops and kebabs. While I discuss meat, I want to make sure you know about Biltong, a form of dried, cured meat that varies in flavors similar to jerky in the States. I’m saving the best for last: Desert. First off, we have Malva pudding which consists of both an almost spongy pillow like textured cake and is served with oozing hot custard. I’m going to end off with my classic favorite melktert (milk tart), reminiscent of custard pie but more delicate, with a lighter texture and a strong milk presence that’s finished off with a dust of cinnamon.