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meowises, it's simple...double the recipe. =)

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).

Since I'm incapable of leaving the Puget Sound [water + persistent green ÷ big mountains = giddiness], I've treated a number of people to lazy afternoons of crabbing and clamming, ending up with beachbakes. Sides of salmon, fresh corn, clams in the shell and that sweet, sweet crab. Mopped with butter & fresh herbs and lightly grilled, with plenty of bottles of Bob Andrake's bigger-than-life cabs to wash it all down, and the next thing you know, I've got new neighbors...

I am a native of Houston TX and recently moved back here after a stint in Chicago and Atlanta. The places I just had to go visit were Baba Yega's for their incredible turkey club sandwiches with dill potato salad, the 59 Diner for breakfast and the House of Pies for made from scratch lemon ice box.

When I go back to Chicago, I'll be pining for an Italian Beef from Portillo's... best non-Southern food I ever ate.

I hope to never again be subjected to Atlanta -- every time we found a good restaurant, it closed within weeks. Maybe we are bad luck.

I'll second the vote for the Northstar Cafe in Columbus, OH. A small menu, but with fresh, mostly local ingredients and not too expensive. For dessert there are two of the best ice cream places I've ever been to, Jeni's and Denise's (there's a bit of a rivalry between them).

When I go back to KC, a trip to Oklahoma Joe's or Arthur Bryant's for BBQ or Town Topic for burgers is usually in order. (Even better if I have enough time for all three.)

Aside from favorite little places in my small hometown outside of San Francisco, going back to California always means GOOD mexican food (not this New York fusion junk) and real sourdough bread.

I'm a DC area native, and there are only two real things I crave when I go home.. The first is Chinese food from the China House restaurant near my home, because they make the best Lo Mein and Eggrolls I have ever had in my life.. The second is Maryland crab cakes - I don't know why no one outside the state line seems to understand that crab cakes are meant to be made of /crab/ and very little else (and certainly not primarily breadcrumbs or bell peppers!), but I've never had their match.

And of course, on vacation, some Boardwalk Fries down on the boardwalk in Ocean City. ;}

Well, I'm a native Angelino and still reside in Los Angeles, but should I leave one local food institution I'd miss would be Tommy's. There are several Tommy's in operation around L.A. and they are FAMOUS for their chili topped burgers, dogs and fries.

I personally skip the burger (nuttin' special) but order their fries slathered with the chili and cheese. The chili is lethal. It arrives hermetically sealed in its own protective layer of orange grease. Whatever produces that color is beyond me but I try not to think about it. It's hearty, meaty, and totally delicious although not for the faint of heart. God I love it! I allow myself a trip about once a year because there are more calories and fat bundled in that cardboard tray than I usually consume in a week.