Regional foods

Every region of the country has its own specialty food products. You don’t really realize it, though until you move away. Some of the things that I discovered were uniquely Baltimore or at least mid-Atlantic were Utz potato chips, Old Bay seafood seasoning (now available nationwide), Tastykakes (a local Hostess snack cakes type product, my favorite being Butterscotch Krimpets, Peanut Butter Tandy Takes, and the fruit pies), G&M crab cakes (now available online), and Berger cookies – imagine a large vanilla wafer slathered in chocolate fudge frosting (also now available online). But the penultimate is Rheb’s candies. Whenever I would return to Baltimore I would stock up on these goodies to take back to Jacksonville.

Surprisingly enough, a few months ago, I found Tastykakes in our local Publix. A month later, they were in the clearance section. Regional foods truly are regional. Another time in Chicago on a sub shop delivery menu under desserts it listed “Tastykakes available.” I was surprised to see that. But back to Rheb’s.

When I started working for the Daughters of Charity Eastern Cooperative Services Information Systems Division, the building was located on the grounds of St. Agnes hospital, a member of Ascension Health. Luckily it was about two years before I knew Rheb’s was across the street. The factory is still located in the original building, the basement of a row house. The candies are still made by hand and when you go in the store you can buy prepackaged or you can select every single piece you want to put in that box. And the selection is huge.

They are legendary for their lines out the door at holidays. They used to have to cut off guaranteed Christmas orders by Labor Day. And if you braved the line at the holidays it could take hours to get your order and when the chocolate ran out the store was closed. It was not unusual for people to place orders of twenty to thirty pounds, particularly at Christmas. A gift of Rheb’s meant you went to some effort.

The longevity of the employees is legendary. The last time I was in the store in December 2007 the daughter of the original owner was still working behind the counter. For the longest time it was cash or check only but they now have a web site and will ship, weather permitting. If it is too warm they will refuse to ship so as not to compromise the quality of the product.

I have often taken Rheb’s across the country as gifts. Many people feel that it is better than Mrs. Sees and other nationally known specialty brands. Since they’re currently not shipping due to the warm weather, I can’t even confirm the price but I believe that it is around $15 per pound. Best chocolate bargain in the country.

This topic of regional foods came up because I have had so many recent visitors from Baltimore. Many of these products have found their way to my room and just as quickly, unfortunately, have had to go home. Before they were sent home I did savor and sample them and shared them with my guests and visitors. But temptation is just too great. As a diabetic, my glucose levels are carefully monitored.

Since I have traveled around the country so much to our various facilities I have sampled some of your regional products. What are the ones that are dear to your hearts?