This is nuts. If somebody asked you to name Hawaii’s signature food, how would you answer?
Editors of Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, or CQ Roll Call for short, have decided that Hawaii’s signature food is macadamia nuts. Not that there’s anything really wrong with that, but the publication is pitting our desirable nut against signature foods from all the other states in its Taste of America contest as a lead-up to the congressional baseball game.
But how come some states get two signature food choices?
California has fish tacos and guacamole; New York has cheesecake and Buffalo wings; Ohio has buckeye candy and Cincinnati-style chili; Illinois gets to put up deep-dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches; while Wisconsin gets macaroni-and-cheese and bratwurst. Barbecue and corn dogs are Texas’ two signature foods, while Florida’s choices are stone crab and Key lime pie. Maybe those states’ divided votes between their food choices will dilute the vote enough to give mac nuts a fighting chance.
But what’s up with Nevada getting to vote on Chuckwagon buffet? That hardly sounds like a single signature dish, while a macadamia nut is, well, a nut.
This is the fifth annual Taste of America competition, which allows readers to vote in support of their state.
Utah’s cherry cobbler has won twice, in 2012 and 2014, and is defending champion.
The eight finalists will be served at a reception before the June 11 congressional baseball game, and it’s at the game where the overall winner will be announced.
"The voting in this competition gets pretty heated between Capitol Hill offices," says CQ Roll Call’s publisher, Beth Bronder, in a statement. "Each year, a few clear favorites emerge and dominate the final rounds. Surprisingly, it’s never the biggest states that turn out the highest vote count," she said.
Maybe it’s not about the offices, though if there ever was a time to call your congressional representative, this has got to be it.
Given the choice between a steak, a deep-dish pizza or a macadamia nut, which one gets your vote? What if the Aloha State’s honor and bragging rights are at stake?
Guam’s signature food is supposedly coconut candy, according to the um, culinary experts at CQ Roll Call, while red rice is the Mariana Islands’ entry. American Samoa’s signature food is supposedly banana cake.
Maybe, along the lines of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s mispronunciation of Marcus Mariota’s last name, CQ Roll Call didn’t realize "palusami" was food, let alone how to spell or say it.
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On the Net:
» 808ne.ws/MacNutsCQ2015
Kaulana o Hilo
Hilo is in the running to be named the Best Town in America by Outside Magazine, and the first five days of online voting started Monday.
The magazine wants the winner to have "top-notch restaurants, vibrant farmers’ markets, friendly neighborhoods, and unparalleled access to hiking and biking trails," publicists said in a statement.
The voting is being done bracket-style, with 60 towns chosen by magazine editors and four wild-card entries chosen by readers during a social media contest.
In the Western bracket, Hilo is up against Juneau, Alaska, in this first round. Other towns in the Western division are Ashland, Ore.; Bainbridge Island, Wash.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Fort Bragg, Calif.; Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Las Vegas; Ogden, Utah; Pagosa Springs, Colo.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Sheridan, Wyo.; Victor, Idaho; Whitefish, Mont.; and Port Angeles, Wash.
Each round of voting will last five days, and in the final round of voting, the surviving two towns face off to claim the honor of Best Town of 2015. The winner will be featured in the magazine’s September issue.
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On the Net:
» 808ne.ws/OutsideBestTowns2015
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
