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The food I miss from Galesburg, Ill., is chili mac at the Steak 'n Shake. Since I have been in Tucson I always flew out to visit my mother and we would go to the Steak 'n Shake. Since she passed away several years ago, I can't think of going back there without her, for our good chili mac.

Jackie Sherwood

Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio. GLB is one of the best smaller brewers in the country, but GLB does not pasteurize the beer. That means it has a very short shelf life, or should be kept chilled during delivery and retail (and after purchase). Consequently, GLB beer is available only in states near to Ohio.  We are extremely appreciative of visitors bringing us a six-pack. Good stuff.

Ralph Ankuda

I've been in Tucson for over 40 years, but I still miss Ohio sweet corn fresh from the field. Every summer my cousin in Columbus gathers a large Styrofoam cooler chest, extra-large Ziploc bags, dry ice and old newspapers and goes out to a farm near town. She pulls several dozen ears of corn, cleans off just a few of the outer husks and packs the rest in dry ice. She takes it to Fed Ex, and by the next morning I have it here. I share a little of it — reluctantly — but I would have no trouble eating it all!

Lori Davisson

I am a Katrina survivor living now in Tucson. There is only one New Orleans po'boy sandwich — thin roast beef piled high and gravy to eat with warm french bread hot from the oven. I have traveled worldwide. There is only one New Orleans and I miss the delis.

 Darby Miller

Originally from Hawaii, I have lived in Tucson since 2000. Happily, the various ethnic grocery stores here fulfill most of my hometown cravings. There is, however, one taste of home that cannot be so easily satisfied. It can only be found at the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. Of all the tastes of the islands, I miss Makai Market, the mall's food court, the most. At last count there were 25 different restaurants from which to choose, including Japanese, Korean, Italian, Thai, Chinese, and, naturally, Hawaiian. Much like Hawaii itself, it's a mixed plate — and I love variety!

Camille J. Jackson

I miss a real kosher-style deli, complete with corned beef, hot pastrami, chicken-in-a-pot, whitefish salad, bagels, lox, blintzes and potato latkes. In a word, "Jewish soul food" and preferably located in the Northwest Side of town. Presently, I have to make the trip to Scottsdale to Chompy's to satisfy my deli dreams.

Evelyn Richards

While most people probably associate Wisconsin with beer, brats and cheese, the Wisconsin tradition that my wife and I miss the most is the "Friday Night Fish Fry." I believe this tradition goes back to the "meatless Fridays" that most Catholics once observed. Nearly every restaurant, and most taverns, offered a fish special on Friday night. Going out for fish on a Friday was a ritual of non-Catholics as well as the faithful.

A true Wisconsin fish fry served lake perch, freshly caught in Lake Michigan. Each restaurant had its own secret batter, often involving beer as an ingredient. The best fish fries consisted of "all-you-can-eat" perch, french fries and coleslaw. When perch became in short supply, walleyed pike, a close relative, was an acceptable substitute, but never the likes of cod or pollock that show up on menus in Arizona.

Jerry Krueger

Being a snowbird from New Hampshire, I do miss the fish. Lobster, clams, haddock, chowders! Nothing better than a "ride to the beach" for a seafood dinner. New Englanders will know what I'm talking about. Ice cream stands where you order outside and eat in the car or a picnic table. Moxie — a soft drink described by my daughter as carbonated motor oil, but the rest of the family loves it. Moxie, Marshmallow Fluff and lunch meats are what I bring to Arizona.                                                

Monica Koski 

I am originally from Minnesota, although I have lived in Tucson almost 30 years. I miss being able to buy elbow spaghetti, not macaroni, here. Elbow spaghetti is much thinner and doesn't cook to mush like macaroni does. You can't buy it here, so I get my family or friends to send it to me or I buy the biggest box possible whenever I go home. The reason is because my mother used to make a hamburger hotdish with it. It was comfort food for my five siblings and me. I have passed the liking on to my three children, and they also want some whenever we, or they, go to Minnesota. 

Darlene Rietz

I grew up in a Dutch community on the south side of Chicago. I miss the good Dutch desserts like Chicago-girl cookies and almond letter pastry. The windmill cookies I get in some stores here just don't have the same flavor. If anyone has a recipe for Chicago-girl cookies, I would love to have it.

I would also like to taste again the Holland-rye bread and Rusk with cheese sandwiches we had at teatime. We had coffee time with cookies at 10 a.m. and teatime at 4 p.m. when Grandpa came home from work. Neighbors and relatives would drop in.

Not Dutch, but I miss Green River pop. Frozen White Castle hamburgers are not the same as the hot, fresh ones available in Chicago.

Most of all, I miss the Fannie Mae chocolate shops where you can choose your favorites.

Ellie Mattausch

I am a Katrina survivor living now in Tucson. There is only one New Orleans po'boy sandwich — thin roast beef piled high and gravy to eat with warm french bread hot from the oven. I have traveled worldwide. There is only one New Orleans and I miss the delis.

 Darby Miller

I am from Texas and have lived in Tucson for five years. I dearly miss those yummy Texas tamales that are made in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston for fiestas and holidays.  They are made out of pork with a corn masa covering and are absolutely scrumptious! And, no I don't want to move back to Texas, I am very happy here, thank you very much . . .

The first time I tried ( a tamale in Tucson) with, heaven forbid, a green olive in it, I thought there was something rotten in the tamale! Yuck! They have an entirely different taste, but I guess if that is all you're used to, you don't know there is anything better.

Lynda Nuñez

Homegrown tomatoes and fresh asparagus. I've had both foods here, but they just don't have the same flavor. In western Michigan we'd stop alongside a country road and pick (snap off) stalks of wild asparagus. It was the best-tasting asparagus I've ever had. The tomatoes, especially the beefsteaks, were so flavorful — unlike the tomatoes that are grown here in Arizona. Must be that cold weather that makes the veggies taste so excellent there. Something good has to come out of all that cold!

Shirley Kosek

I am a transplant from Lancaster, Pennsylvania — home of the Pennsylvania Dutch, the movie "Witness," President James Buchanan, and all my favorite foods. Though I love chicken corn soup, red beet pickled eggs, creamed chipped beef, Utz potato chips, an Italian sub or a mushroom cheesesteak (with sauce) from Nino's, and Tastycake Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes, when I go home, my first stop is at a Turkey Hill (Lancaster's answer to the Circle K). 

In addition to being a minute mart, Turkey Hill is also a dairy that makes the sweetest, smoothest lemon-kissed iced tea. I buy a gallon jug, uncap it in the car, take a big swig, and let out a satisfying "aaaahhhhhhhh."

 Cathy Busha

Having lived in Kansas City, Missouri, most of my life, delicious barbecue was considered a culinary staple. A barbecue sandwich consisting of juicy, thinly sliced, beef, pork, ham or turkey piled high on a sesame seed bun slathered with tangy sauce is definitely the food I miss the most!

I have been disappointed in not finding good barbecue in the Tucson area since living here for the past four years.

Mary Braswell

I miss the creamy, rich taste of caramel ice cream that enveloped my mouth and throat like honey, creating total pleasure in a small candy shop on Kalamazoo, Michigan's pedestrian mall. The Chocolate Shop, as it was known, served other flavors and homemade chocolate candy, but I yearned for only one treat. It closed years before the mall returned to a thru-street in 1997, but the specialty ice cream will remain with me. I've tasted caramel concoctions in Tucson and Frost's caramel gelato comes close, but not quite there. Perhaps I need snowy or humid days to relive the ecstasy.

Ann Kuperberg

When we get back to Cincinnati in May we don't go home first, we go immediately to Montgomery Inn to feast on the most delicious pork ribs in the United States! (Even Bob Hope shared our opinion. When he visited Cincinnati, he ate these ribs and even had them shipped to his home.) And, after dinner we head, not home, but to Graeters for the yummiest ice cream you can imagine. This rich, creamy delight has the biggest chocolate chips. My mouth waters just thinking about it. We love Tucson, but oh, how we miss Montgomery Inn ribs and Graeter's mint chocolate chip ice cream!

Karen P. Randolph

I beg for visitors from upstate New York to bring us stick pepperoni! Margharita brand preferably. The sandwich-style pepperoni Tucson merchants carry is just hard baloney. The packages of sliced Hormel are wimpy, but a 2-foot stick of 1-inch real pepperoni has substance and texture and taste that lasts. It makes great pizza, a good snack with cheese and crackers, and wonderful pepperoni rolls for a homemade treat. I've requested it from several merchants, but have yet to find it anywhere. That's about the only thing I miss from upstate New York.

Virginia Glab

When the Germans came to Rochester, New York, to work on the Erie Canal and related industries, they brought with them an assortment of pastries and sausages. The sausage now referred to as Zweigles hot dogs are not duplicated anywhere. They are not frankfurters, steamers or the Western version of a hot dog. If they are made of beef, they are called Texas Hots; and if they are made of pork, they are called White Hots. The hots are about 6 inches long and over an inch thick. When put on the grill the outer casing pops open and releases the flavor. They are served on a roll with a spicy meat sauce or on a "garbage plate" with baked beans, macaroni salad and potato salad, as well as the sauce. Some Nunda Mustard also makes them special.

They are so popular that at the Rochester Airport one can buy a small cooler with the hot dogs to take on the plane when traveling or you can have them shipped direct to your destination. My mouth waters just thinking about them. 

Jerry Ochs

I am a transplant from the Detroit area and the food I miss the most is the Greek Coney Island hot dog. They are made with a natural casing hot dog and exquisite no-bean chili with onions and mustard. There is nothing in Tucson that can compare to them, including Mexican and Chicago-style hot dogs. 

On my last visit back to Dearborn, I overdosed on them and spent about an hour trying to talk the owner of the Parthenon Greek Restaurant into moving to Tucson and opening a restaurant here. Alas, it was to no avail.

 Kenneth Koch

I am a 16-year transplant from Northern California, and what I miss most is that wonderful chewy sourdough bread, especially in the Fisherman's Wharf restaurants. Living across the Bay, access was daily. Now when I return to that area, I try to indulge as much as I can while there. 

Katherine B. Ramage

Even though I have called Tucson my home for over 23 years, I still miss the Falls Brand hot dogs and franks from my home state of Idaho. I have never found another hot dog that can beat its taste or texture. Falls Brand hot dogs are never greasy, mushy or a funny red color like some I have found here. Whether they are pan-fried, boiled or put on the grill, they always have excellent taste. I always look forward to a Falls Brand hot dog when I visit Idaho and have been known to freeze several pounds to bring back to Tucson.

Janice Brandt

As a transplanted Yankee originally from Connecticut, there are two special foods I really miss. Yodels, a rolled cake with cream filling covered in chocolate made by Drake's (that a Hostess Ho-Ho tries to imitate), can be purchased online, but I want to be able to just grab a box off a store shelf here in Tucson. The second item, Rhode Island Johhnycakes, a pancake of cornmeal, water, sugar and salt, fried in butter (of course), I could make at home, but without the special stone ground Indian cornmeal, made only in New England, it's definitely not the same!

Julie Nicolay

I am originally from Wisconsin and so, of course, I'm a major cheese lover. Fortunately, good cheese is easy to find in Tucson so I've never felt deprived, with one exception. I miss cheese curds! Those yummy little dairy morsels that squeak as you chew them have proved to be elusive here in the Old Pueblo. In the summer of 2000, my sis and I visited our home town of La Crosse and made a trip to a real dairy in Westby for the real thing. It was heavenly! We attempted to share with my Missouri relatives, but they didn't seem too impressed — maybe it's an acquired taste? That was okay, more for us!

Julie Nelson

My food craving comes from the sandhills of North Carolina: the big midday dinners of locally grown "summer vegetables," which included butter beans, white corn, a salad of ripe tomatoes, sliced onion and cucumbers, and, my favorite, field peas. I've never seen field peas anywhere else in the country, and don't know any other name for them. They are gray-green when they are put in the pot of salty water with chunks of fatback, and turn a deep brown after cooking a couple of hours. They are even better the day after, and the day after that, if indeed you have any left over. In Tucson, the salad is pretty easy to make; I can make do with frozen baby limas for butter beans, and once in a blue moon I can find decent white corn. But field peas? Our family's former housekeeper has to send me a bag of peas from her garden so I can get my fix.

Maggie White

The food I miss from my hometown of Vassar, Michigan, is lake perch. It is a white, mild fish. The best way to prepare it is to fry it with a beer batter. Pan-fried or even broiled is pretty good, but you really can't beat a beer-battered perch dinner. Every time I go home, I try to have a perch dinner.

 Christine Gaulton

I am a snowbird. My doctor is always telling me to lower my cholesterol, lose weight and watch my diet. But the one thing I always want to eat when I return to Kentucky is a Wigwam hamburger.  

The site of the first Wigwam Motel is at the crossroads of Highway 218 and U.S. 31E near Horse Cave, Kentucky. (There is another WIGWAM Motel in Winslow, Ariz.) 

On that site is now the Wigwam Country Store. Like most country stores in Kentucky, they serve fresh sandwiches to the farmers in the area. Now, this one not only serves cold, fresh sandwiches, they also serve the best-ever hand-patted, fully-dressed, palm-sized, griddle-cooked hamburger-on-a-soft-fresh-bun with a MOUND of homemade french-fried onion rings served up on a paper towel-padded paper plate for only $1.50 (breath) that there ever was.  

My cholesterol level goes up, weight rises and arteries clog just thinking about it. But I will stay on my fat-free diet at least until I get to the Wigwam Country Store. Mmmmmm, can't wait!

Pat Skinner

The food that I miss most is tomatoes grown in the rich black dirt of northern Indiana.

My husband's great-uncle was a tomato farmer. Each year there would be a family reunion about the same time that the itinerant workers had finished harvesting the crop of tomatoes from his farm. On those warm late summer days we were allowed to go into the fields and pick whatever tomatoes we wanted or needed for our personal canning and/or eating. Do you remember those teeny-tiny Morton salt shakers? Well, we did not go into the field without one. I believe we ate as many of those tomatoes as we put in the baskets and cardboard boxes to take home for canning. I can taste them now, still warm from the sun, the skin would pop when you bit into one, and then shake salt on it and eat the whole thing. Pick a few more and eat another. Our mouths and shirts would be red from all that picking and eating. 

Patricia C. Gregory

My husband and I spend part of the year in the Tucson area and enjoy the foods of this region. We look forward to the change from the fare we have available in the Davenport, Iowa, area. One item we have to bring with us is Boetje's Mustard. It is a stoneground Dutch mustard made in Rock Island, Ill., from the same recipe used for 106 years.

Dianne F. Barker

My husband and I are from southern Ontario and have made Tucson our winter home for 12 years, long enough to feel "at home" here, too. There are, however, some food items we do miss from Canada, and we bring two things with us. Tetley tea bags (two cup bags, no string attached), about 300 of them, enough to last the winter, and some cookies called "Digestive Biscuits," which are perfect with a cup of the aforementioned tea. Both of these are readily available at any supermarket at home.

Marion Rathwell

We, from up North Dakota way, miss our lefse. Lefse is always available (or can be made) and is most popular during the Christmas holidays. In December 2004 we purchased a supply to bring back on our airflight. However, it was left in the freezer. We had it Priority mailed to Tucson. Due to our postal instructions, our First Class Mail was returned to Fargo (of course), so our lefse had three flights before we served it with butter made from grass-fed cows and sugarbeet sugar. We also miss our dried beef purchased from a deli.

Marilyn and Don Hanson

I divide my time between eastern Washington and Southeastern Arizona. I am accustomed to having an espresso drive-thru shack on every corner in Spokane, and at least one per tiny town everywhere else. They all have huge menus of every kind of latte/frappacino/blendeds you can imagine, or will make any kind you can dream up. I guess it's the difference in climate, but hey, it's cold in the morning in Southeastern Arizona! I guess down here they go more for gas station coffee (yuck!) and canned soft drinks.

We were transferred to Arizona from the Midwest, namely the Quad City area. We have lived in Tucson 29 years, love the territory, the laid-back style of living and Western ways, but we do miss some of the foods which we really liked and have not been able to find here in Arizona, namely large breaded tenderlions and Maid Rites, which we could find at any local restaurant in that area. Maid Rites were seasoned ground beef in a bun, which you then topped with condiments. Very good! Tenderlions so crunchy. We really miss them.

James M. Anderson

I miss Adams brand peanut butter. Ingredients: peanuts. Those other brands like Jif, Skippy, etc., have sugar and other bad additives. I also can not get Uncle Dan's dressing and dip mix and Johnny's seasoning salt here. All are made in the Pacific Northwest, where I come from.

Catherine Bernius

As a new Tucsonan, I never found any rum balls that tasted as good as the ones made by Von's Market bakery in my hometown of Reseda, Calif. These rum balls were decadently rich before people heard of or used the word "decadent." As a preteen it was innocently sold to me despite one of the ingredients being rum. But I didn't buy it for the rum; I would buy it for the satisfaction of sinking my teeth into fudgey, rich and tasty goodness better than any boring chocolate bar.

Andre Smith

My husband and I are yearround residents, having relocated from southeast Pennsylvania Dutch Country where we both grew up. We really love all the ethnic foods available here, but the one item I found that I missed the most was genuine, Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish-baked, gooey, warm, covered with genuine whipped cream, wet-bottom Shoo Fly Pie. With a crust made with lard, flaky to the point of falling apart on your fork. It gives you a sugar jolt that will knock your socks off — not for the faint of heart or those on a diet.

Fortunately for us, every Christmas our son and his wife have one sent to us special delivery and we keep it in the freezer and use it up, one slice at a time. It never lasts long, and it's not quite as good as fresh from the oven but we eagerly look forward to that treat.

Marie Urbine

In St. Louis, where there are many, many Italian restaurants, especially "on The Hill." It is called "toasted ravioli," ravioli lightly breaded and toasted or deep-fried to a golden brown served with a marinara sauce. This is a favorite with St. Louisans, and in all of my travels I have only found it in two other places, in Montreal and Austin, Texas.

Penny Taylor

After 31 years of living in Tucson, I still crave cashew chicken from Springfield, Missouri. I was born there and lived on a farm about five miles outside of Springfield most of my life until coming here for my daughter's health.

Here is why Springfield cashew chicken is so special. At least 40 years ago a Chinese family named Leong moved to Springfield. Being exceedingly wise, they concocted this dish. Boneless chicken is cut into bite-size pieces and "Southern fried." It is topped with a special cashew chicken sauce, then topped with cashews and sliced green onions. When the Leongs served it, you got one-half plate cashew chicken and one-half plate fried rice. No where else on this Earth, and I've even been to several Asian countries, is the cashew chicken like in Springfield. The idea spread like wildfire in Springfield, and now there are lots of little cashew chicken takeout places.

 I've tried throughout the years to copy their recipe. My chicken is never as crispy, nor my sauce ever as good. I crave it just writing about it. 

 Jean Ann Blackwell-Miller

No doubt about it. I miss the sweet, pungent flavor of home-grown tomatoes. A dim memory in December, they never arrived before mid-July, and with that first, long-awaited bite, the taste buds exploded with unexpected pleasure. They taste of the earth and the glories of a summer's day which were all too fleeting in St. Louis. Not long ago, at a farmer's market here in Tucson, I saw a sign, "Home Grown Tomatoes," and baskets of them, perfectly formed, utterly flawless. Disappointed, I said to the vendor, "But these look like hydroponic tomatoes." Indignantly, she replied, "They ARE hydroponic tomatoes!" She just didn't get it.

Sherry Cohn

I am from the suburbs of Pittsburgh. You might have heard of the place, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 2006 Super Bowl champs! The food I miss most is a fish sandwich. Yes, a lowly fish sandwich.

I have tried most of the fish sandwiches in Tucson, and they can't compare to Pittsburgh's. In "da Burgh," "does" fish "samwiches" are made almost exclusively of cod. You get a pound or more, breaded and deep-fried quickly in real hot oil, and served on a hard-crusted hoagie roll. Never with tarter sauce, always cocktail sauce, and of course an Iron City longneck or draft beer. Simply delicious! Tucson eateries should take some lessons.

Edward Godwin

There's no Chinese restaurant in Tucson, to my knowledge, that makes egg foo yung the way it's made in Chicago. Egg foo yung as I like it consists of three fluffy omelet-style pancakes filled with a choice of ingredients: chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, vegetable, plus scallions and sprouts, then covered with a rich, velvety brown sauce. In Tucson, the egg foo yung is likely to be three overbaked tortilla-style pancakes topped by a stew of ingredients of your choice and smothered in a thin soupy gravy laced with a heavy dose of soy sauce and salt. Yecch.

Bernard Ury    

We are from Kansas City, Missouri, and we miss the Smokehouse Barbecue restaurant. They have the most wonderful baked beans. We love their ribs. We also miss having Topsy's popcorn. When we visit our children out of town and can, we are suppose to bring them Smokehouse beans and Topsy's popcorn. We bring with us La Tiara Taco Shells. They are nice and thin. Can't get them in any of the stores here in Arizona. They are manufactured by Gladstone Food Products in Gladstone, Missouri.

Glenn & Joan Fowler

Growing up in southeastern South Dakota, one of my favorites was "taverns," something like what latter became known as sloppy Joes, but much better. My recollection is that in addition to hamburger they contained cracker crumbs, mustard and onions. If anyone has the recipe from the Blue Moon Drive-In in Yankton or the Lutheran Church "tavern feeds" of the area, I'd love to have it.

Jerry Edgerton

My husband's family moved here from the Chicago area this past year, so of course we've been making regular pilgrimages from the Southeast Side of Tucson to Pizzeria Uno in Oro Valley for Chicago-style pizza. But what I hear about the most, and what may be irreplicable in the desert Southwest, are the offerings of the Oberweis Dairy. The milk, which was the freshest, richest and creamiest, was widely available in grocery stores there. But it was so much more fun to go to the Oberweis store and get a scoop of the world's yummiest and (possibly) most fattening ice cream!

My family lived in Southeastern Arizona until I was 14. Periodically, some of my relatives came back for visits. More than once they flew back on the plane with an insulated Party Pac of pina colada Eegees!

Linda Feltheim

Maurice Lenell cookies are what I always bring back to Tucson with me from Chicago.  They are baked at a factory on Harlem Avenue in Norridge (a suburb of Chicago), and they have a wonderful outlet store at the factory with lots of free samples. The cookies are great tasting and are just the right size with a cup of coffee. My brother-in-law also sends me two large tins of Maurice Lenell cookies every Christmas. Their logo is a boy in a cookie jar. They are the best; I wish we could get them in Tucson.

Jackie Thompson

I grew up in Indianapolis. I've lived in Tucson for over 35 years, but I still miss White Castle, Steak 'n Shake and breaded tenderloin sandwiches. Those are the things I always go for when I go back to visit. I just wish Steak 'n Shake would expand westward, but it seems like they never will.

Sandy McKenna

As a New England transplant, the food I miss the most is fresh Atlantic haddock, cooked to flaky perfection, with lemon butter sauce and served with a potato baked in a real oven and freshly steamed veggies.

Close on the heels of the haddock would be any other Atlantic coldwater fish. And oh, cod cheeks! They make the most heavenly chowder! People out here just don't know how to cook fish!

Sylvia Burnside

"What'll ya have?" the server at The Varsity shouts as I move to the head of the counter. "Two heavyweight dogs and a F.O.," I yell back. (Translated, that means two chili dogs and a frosted orange.) I push through the throng to another counter and order the best onion rings in America. Everything's made from scratch at this Atlanta institution, from the chili to the rings and fries. I enjoy a fried peach pie for dessert. It's a Tums lunch, and worth every greasy bite. The Varsity is the taste of home I miss most.

Suzanne Moore

In my high school days in the early 1960s, I lived in Kalama, Wash., 10 short miles from Longview. In Longview was Cap'n Yoby's, where we could get fish and chips that exceed any I've ever had elsewhere. Cap'n Yoby's is still there with its batter-dipped halibut and tartar sauce so creamy and rich the french fries beg to be dipped in it. The family house just sold; Dad is gone and Mom lives with me in Tucson. Only thoughts of Cap'n Yoby's fish and chips can tempt me to visit that rain-soaked state again.

Janis Rothschiller

My husband and I were born and raised in Flint, Mich. We grew up eating many Flint Coney Islands, made with Kogel hot dogs. They are the best, made with crunchy dogs, smothered with mustard, onions and a very special Coney Island sauce. When we visit Michigan we always bring back about five frozen pounds of the hot dogs and coney sauce. We have a family dinner and serve the treats.

Last summer during a visit, we ate the hot dogs at least twice daily. Our hotel was located across the street from the best Coney Island restaurant in Flint.

Joan McGinnis

I have two from my upbringing in Iowa. Pork Tenderloin sandwich: a thin sliced piece of pork; breaded then deep-fat- fried. Served on a bun with all the trimmings. The ones in Iowa are so large the tenderloin sticks way out beyond the bun! I found a diner in Green Valley which serves them, Mama's Kitchen. Not like home, but pretty darn close.

And Taco John's restaurant, the first Mexican food I ever ate in Iowa. Taco John's is no fancier than a Taco Bell, but to me still serves the best soft shell tacos. When I lived in Stockton, Calif., on three occasions I swindled someone to drive with me to Reno, Nev., because that was the closest Taco John's I could find. When my family picks me up from the airport in Iowa, they know before we even go home, we have to stop at Taco John's.  

I did find two Taco John's in Arizona, but you must get onto one of the bases such as Davis-Monthan Air Force Base or Fort Huachuca. They think you're nuts when you try to get a pass onto the base just to eat at Taco John's. But to me it's worth the hassle of showing your license, car registration and insurance. 

Paula McCloskey

We are originally from the Milwaukee area and the foods we miss most are German foods, especially since the few European restaurants in this area that served German-style food have closed. Foods like weinerschnitzel and sauerbraten.

We also miss Frozen Custard and the ambience of Milwaukee's custard stands, like Leon's and Kopp's with their hot fudge pecan sundaes. While we can get some Wisconsin cheeses here, we have a lot more choices back in Wisconsin. We love it here so we are staying, and all we need to know is to have someone tell us of a good German restaurant.

Richard and Nancy Heisel

We recently moved to Arizona from Philadelphia. We miss Rita's Water Ice and Wawa coffee. Rita's Water Ice was only around in summer, but it was so good. They had so many flavors, some changed every week, but they were all so excellent. They cooled us down in the hot and humid summers of Philadelphia. The Wawa coffee was so crisp and delightful. It just woke you up and gave your day a good start. It tasted better than other major coffeehouse chains (sorry, Starbucks lovers!). So that is what we miss most from our move from Philadelphia.

Victoria Adamson

When in Buffalo, I seek out that most cherished of western New York cuisine, the "beef on weck" sandwich. (Chicken wings are a distant third.) "Beef on wick," as it is sometimes known, consists of thinly sliced prime rib piled high on a kümmelweck bun, a Kaiser roll laden with caraway seeds and coarse salt.  

Beef on weck is usually served with horseradish on the side, accompanied by a dipping dish of "au jus." 

Countless expatriates have tried to duplicate the kümmelweck roll with little success. Two Tucson entrepreneurs tried and failed. Legend is the Lake Erie water makes the difference.  

Kerry "Mac" McLaughlin

Jimmy's Quick Lunch in Hazleton, Pa., has awesome hot dogs with chile sauce to die for! You cannot eat just one. And if you're hungry now, Senape's Pitza is the original "fast food." Senape's is not the rest of the world's idea of pizza. It is packaged fresh daily in a box with 12 square-cut pieces, sold in most grocery stores (and of course at their bakery) and is enjoyed out of the box cold. Tender bread and delicious sauce and cheese. Unbelievable! Then for dessert, Victoria's Candies. Chocolate that melts on your fingers and buttercream fillings that ooozzze out.

Mary Bollman

We moved here permanently last July, and we crave cheeseburgers and shakes from Steak 'n Shake in the Aurora-Naperville vicinity of Illinois. These aren't just cheeseburgers, they're "steakburgers"; however, these steakburgers are made very thin. To top it off, they are served with skinny fries and little pots of baked beans. The shakes are the real deal, made with real ice cream. I do not know of anyplace like this in Arizona, and Steak 'n Shake only goes as far as Texas. Please — I want my Steak 'n Shake!

Kathleen Makowski

From southwest Illinois: I really miss home-grown-in-the-garden, vine-ripened tomatoes that fall off in your hand when they're ready to eat. And corn on the cob that we could eat raw, or take into the house and cook in the already boiling water on the stove for three minutes, then eat with butter and little salt. And new potatoes that tasted so good raw with salt or fried with onions and garlic. The onions, lettuce, and green cabbage so crunchy and loaded with flavor. Slaw, made with cabbage, onions, grated carrots and beets. And sauerkraut Daddy made in the big crock in the basement. Mom cooked it with spare ribs. We ate some kraut raw. Fresh dill. Cukes made into pickles. Turnips and kohl rabi, and Kentucky Wonder beans Mom loved. Salsify. And sweet taters. Popcorn Daddy popped. Pumpkins made into the yummiest pies in history by Mom. And the blue grapes loaded with rich sweet juice. Fuzzy ripe peaches ready to fall off the tree, and dripping with so much juice it ran down to your elbows. There's no substitute for a garden! Not even in all of Arizona.

 Melba Vickery

Ah, saudades do Brasil (saudades are like nostalgia, only more intense), my home of the spirit, the mind and the body — especially my stomach with its constant craving for feijoada, Brazil's national comfort food. Every weekend has family/friends gathering to share the combination of meats simmered in black-bean broth, buttered manioc flour, shredded and sautéed greens. Plus, fresh pico de gallo splashed over the pyramid. Yum. Then, for good measure, round slices of brilliant oranges, ripe and dripping their nectar in all directions — guitar music, laughter, quiet conviviality.

Please — where is Tucson hiding such a Brasilian paradise?

Jo C. Searles

I am from Tuscaloosa, Ala., and I miss good ol' fashioned bar-b-q served with great coleslaw. This is cooked meat with bar-b-q sauce cooked on the meat until golden brown. Tried places in Tucson, not very good here.

Carolyn Cottle

I am a 93-year-old evacuee from Katrina, now a resident of Tucson. Prior to the storm, I lived in New Orleans all of my life. New Orleans was a unique place, famous for incredible foods. The foods I am dreaming about, the sumptuous foods I really miss are rich, ruby-colored pearls of flavor, sweet bits of ham and rounds of spicy smoked sausage, combined with a mound of soft, white grains and a mouthwatering piece of cornmeal-covered, spicy fried chicken.

What is this meal I crave? Traditional New Orleans red beans and rice, with deliciously piquant fried chicken!

Gilda M. Larre

Being a native of western Oregon, the food that I miss the most is being able to buy fresh fish directly off the fishing boats and eating the many variety of berries as they are picked from the vine.

Bill Reiman

Boyd's Burger Master on 10th Avenue South in Great Falls, Mont., was the place to be and be seen on a Friday or Saturday night. With its curved ramp up to the order window, and the saucer-shaped building, it was quite a sight. My favorite thing to order was their "flying shrimp burger." This little slice of heaven contained a delicious shrimp cake, breaded and fried, and was topped with lettuce and a seafood sauce thinned with a little mayonnaise. The ingredients were placed between two slices of toasted bread, then compressed in a mold that resulted in a flying-saucer-shaped sandwich. Boy, they were great!

Valerie LaMaster

Tucson would do well to expand it ethnic European restaurant offerings! We are amazed that the city, which has so many excellent restaurant choices, has so few with menus based on tastes from North and Central Europe. 

I live in southeast Michigan near what would be the triangle formed by the cities of Ann Arbor, Brighton and Plymouth. Within that triangle we have four Irish pubs, three German restaurants and several Hungarian, Polish and Scandinavian restaurants to enjoy, all within easy driving distance!

To me, it seems to be a no-brainer that Tucson is waiting for some good people with culinary skills and financial backing to make a killing!

Bill Dixon

We are from Columbus, Ohio, and we miss Donato's Pizza. It is thin-crust and covered from edge to edge with pepperoni. It has been a staple of Columbus since 1963. It is the first place we head when we return home for the summer. We call our special friends from the freeway and tell them to meet us there. My mouth waters just thinking about it. 

We also have huge creampuffs at Schmidt's in German Village in an area near downtown Columbus. We miss those, too.

Connie Wilt

Where to start — I miss Blue Bunny Malt cups. I grew up on those tasty little things. Most stores have Blue Bunny products, but none can get me my malt cups! Schweppes Lemon Sour Mix is another product that is not down here. Again, Schweppes products are not here and what is here is not lemon sour mix. You can't have certain drinks w/out lemon sour! I love sloppy Joes, but nowhere in Tucson is a brand called "Sloppy Joes." It comes in a jar and the name is Sloppy Joes! Ah, and try to find natural casing weiners like at home in Wisconsin! Very few places have them, and those that do cost a fortune and are not nearly as good as back home.Marzetti's Honey Ranch dressing is the only French dressing my husband enjoys!

Lynn Heggen

I'm from rural Kentucky, bluegrass country, and although I love Tucson, I can't get:

● Country ham, sugar-cured, from the small market down the street. We have to import it for traditional ham-eating occasions like Derby Day (of course) and Christmas. There is simply nothing like it.

● Blue Mondays, a candy bar made in Mount Sterling, another small Kentucky town, by the Ruth Hunt Candy Company. It's cream candy covered with a thin layer of dark chocolate. Said to be the antidote for a blue Monday.

● ALE8, a ginger-flavored soft drink of almost mythical reputation, made in Winchester, my hometown, and shipped all over the world (including to troops in Iraq) to thirsty ex-Winchesterites.

And the optimal lunch, of course, is a country ham sandwich (mayonnaise on white bread), with a side of Charles potato chips, washed down by an ALE8 (from a glass bottle, over lots of ice), capped off by a Blue Monday.

Karen Wood

I've lived in Tucson for over 20 years. I miss these foods from Cincinnati a lot: Skyline Chili, White Castle hamburgers, Hellmann's mayonnaise and goetta (often compared to breakfast sausage or scrapple). Visiting family has brought these to me, mailed them to me and I've carried them frozen while flying back to Tucson. Skyline Chili is served over spaghetti, topped with mild Cheddar cheese with optional onions and beans. White Castle hamburgers are small, mighty. Goetta, delicious anytime, is mainly a breakfast food. Hellmann's mayonnaise is closely related to Best Foods mayonnaise here. Awesome.

Anna Collins

I am a part-time visitor to the Old Pueblo. I am enjoying all the foods of the Southwest I have tasted so far. If I stayed away from Minnesota too long I would miss walleye battered and fried over a campfire. Wild blueberry pie made with the tiny blueberries picked with patience in Minnesota. Last but not least the versatile wild rice. Yummy casseroles, soup, pancakes. The real dark, nutty lake-harvested variety is best. All these delicacies are enjoyed and harvested in our too-short Minnesota summer.

Gloria Nodgaard

Having grown up in Cincinnati, Ohio, all my life, I miss:

Barq's Creme Soda, Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili, Frisch's Big Boy sandwiches, goetta, White Castle hamburgers (of course you can get these at Fry's, but it is not the same fresh).

When I am back in Cincinnati I make a point of having these things. I also bring a cooler back to stock up on the things I miss most. I have a freezer full of goodies.

Ron Friend

The food I miss from back home in New Jersey: corn on the cob, tomatoes, all fresh-picked veggies, Manhattan (red) clam chowder and the wonderful ice cream at the Carole Custard Stand on the way to Cape May or Wildwood.

Carol McCarthy

The food we miss the most from Pittsburgh (home of the Steelers) is Isaly's chipped ham. This is baked him "chipped" extremely thin. Chipped ham makes delicious sandwiches with whatever you choose. We like lettuce, mustard and Swiss cheese. Or, combine with a little of your best barbecue sauce, heat, heap it on a soft bun and you have a wonderful ham barbecue sandwich.

Anne and Bill O'Brien

I've been in Tucson for over 40 years, but I still miss Ohio sweet corn fresh from the field. Every summer my cousin in Columbus gathers a large Styrofoam cooler chest, extra-large Ziploc bags, dry ice and old newspapers and goes out to a farm near town. She pulls several dozen ears of corn, cleans off just a few of the outer husks and packs the rest in dry ice. She takes it to Fed Ex, and by the next morning I have it here. I share a little of it — reluctantly — but I would have no trouble eating it all!

Lori Davisson