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I haven't actually gone back since we moved, but when we return to Columbus, Ohio, we'll definitely be visiting Betty's and the Northstar Cafe (and possibly Hounddog's Pizza). It's sad that the only things I really miss about that town are the restaurants.

Mayo, mustard, pickles. Tomato if it's in season. Lettuce if it's not nasty-looking.

Austin: Al pastor tacos (Arrandas #5, various stands south and east), my dad's BBQ (see: brisket), bun thin nuong (Sunflower, other sources), BurgerTex, salt and pepper shrimp at T&S Seafood, big-money meals at Wink or Ushi, $1 Lone Star.

I'm from the extremely tiny village of Sunfield, MI (while actually, a township--read farm land-- outside of it, but close enough), so the only place to go is the Old Timers' bar, where they do have quite good wet burritos. I do enjoy a good wet burrito (with so much sauce and cheese piled one shouldn't think about the calories being ingested), and I've only encountered them once outside of MI.

I don't have a hometown per se, but here are some of my favorites from places I've called home:

Mainz Gonsenheim, Germany - Capri Palma; tortellini alla panna. Homemade tortellini in a cream sauce with peas and ham.

Mainz Finthen, Germany - the Italian ice cream shop; spaghetti eis. Vanilla ice cream put through a potato ricer to look like spaghetti, topped with strawberry sauce to look like marinara sauce, sprinkled with almond slivers to look like grated parmesan.

Northampton, MA - Eastside Grill; blackened scallops, tenderloin w/bernaise sauce, Mississippi mud.

Curtis & Schwartz (gone now); poppyseed onion waffle with smoked salmon; any benedict; smoked bluefish omelet.

Houston, TX - Kahn's Deli; hot pastrami with swiss on rye. This is THE BEST hot pastrami this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Bar none.

La Mexicana; chicharron en salsa verde tacos (pork rinds in green salsa) with flour tortillas and a side of rice. PORK RINDS. Need I say more?

The Original Givrals; thit nuoung. Vietnamese char-grilled pork sandwich on crusty French roll with fresh cilantro, fresh/sliced jalapeno, lightly pickled julienned carrots, butter, and some exceptional char-grilled pork. $2 lunch, $3 if you have a soda. You can't beat it.

Catalan; foie gras bon-bons. Oh yes. You read that right. The texture on the outside is kinda like a tater tot, and when you bit down it bursts all that yummy goodness in your mouth. OMG.

Honolulu, HI - Leonard's Bakery; malasadas. Portuguese donuts made fresh every 20 minutes. Forget the fancy ones, just get the regular, original malasada. Buy a 1/2 dozen - just for yourself. Best eaten hot.

There is an infamous so-called "destination" Mexican restaurant in our town. It was once raided by the FBI, the DEA and the IRS for various crimes related to drugs and money laundering. The food is pretty good, but the salsa sucks. In the next town to the south there is another Mexican place called Betty's that serves the best Mexican food around-- and the salsa is as good as mine. :-)

Des Moines, IA - Tasty Tacos (with the fried flour shell!), BeBops burgers, and Scornovacca's Pizza.

Also, the noddle guy at the Downtown Farmer's Market has the best tempura veggies. There's also a burrito stand that always has lines a block long (my husband loves the burritos, I'm too busy eating my tempura veggies to stand in a line that long).