Originally Posted by ksandness

This is like the regional variations for coffee.

When I moved from Minnesota to the East Coast to attend graduate school, I encountered the concept of "regular" coffee.

At a Midwestern restaurant or lunch counter, the default option is black coffee, so the first time a waitress in a diner in an Eastern city asked whether I wanted my coffee "regular," I said, "Sure."

Imagine my puzzlement when she presented me with a cup of coffee that had been dosed with cream and sugar.

I also had to learn that a "chocolate soda" has chocolate ice cream in the Northeast and that to get vanilla ice cream, you have to ask for a "black and white soda."

On the other hand, I grew up with the Minnesota notion of a "California hamburger," which is a hamburger with lettuce and tomato. To me, a plain hamburger is a meat patty on a buttered bun, period.

In the Pacific Northwest, I encountered the practice of snacking on JoJo potatoes (big, fat French fries) with ranch dressing.