I certainly know what okra is and have had it. (I don't like it, but that's not the question).
I've never had black-eyed peas, nor seen them.
I hear about them, mostly in books. I don't know of anyone who's had them. Whoops, correction. Hubby lived in NC and Texas for 18 years. I just asked him and he's had them. (He doesn't like them)

Pushy, pushy! With manners like that, they deserve not to know what okra and black-eyed peas are.

(PS: I didn't know about the peas until I was 25, and okra came some time later. But I had good manners!)

Could be Candians? We get alot of them down this way and I imagine Mayo/or Minn gets them also. But then they have some great food we have never heard from and most are quite friendly.

My mom has been pickling okra since I was about 5 years old... I've never liked it like that, but I do like it in a vegetable soup. Black-eyed peas are one of my favorite vegetables.. they are especially good in 'Cowboy Caviar' aka bean salsa. Yum!

Hope the visitors got to try some southern foods before they headed back to Nome. :-)

Did they *know* you were in mid-sentence? Not totally rude or unheard of to ask how the food is at a restaurant IMO. Perhaps they didn't realize you didn't want to be disturbed. I've always found in the "northland" people commonly will chat with each other at restaurants, stores and the like. Never thought it was rude.

Not knowing what okra and blackeyed peas is isn't *that* unusual. Fer crying out loud, how many drawlers know what lutefisk and lefse are? Potica? I would ask about pasties but no, probably *not* the same as they're thinking! LOL

I do have to say I'm not sure I'd patronize a place in Minnesota that serves okra and black eyed peas. I'd hardly expect it to be good when it's not common locally. A few years back a friend and I were in northern MN and a place had a jambalaya special and he wanted it, I said no way would I order it. Two bites and he said I should have listened to ya!".

FWIW I asked a local "Denny's" just how many people order grits around here and they laughed and said about what you'd expect but they're required to have them on the menu an required to ask. :) When they ask if I want hash browns or grits I've gotten to the point I just say "Are you serious? Do you know where you are?" We eat whole kernel corn, not by products! That's what's put in dog food! LOL

We talk to strangers often, even in restaurants. Here, it's called being friendly.

I live in Maine and have had black eyes peas, but only because I have some recipes that use them. I've never had them served to me in a restaurant or someone's home. Ever. And I've never had okra, but I know what it is, but don't know what it tastes like.

I don't think it is rude to ask what something is. What exactly should they have done? Only ordered something they were familar with? Isn't that what the waitstaff is for?

If I was at a barbeque place and someone came up to me and asked, "hey, how are the ribs here" I would just think they were eager and friendly.

Gosh I know what both of them, have grown okra. DD used to call black eye peas...'one eyed beans'. She knew there was something about an eye and couldn't remember the right name.

Nope, they could not be Canadian. No canuck I know would have gone up to a strangers table and asked you a question like that unless you made serious eye contact and spoke to them first. And even then, you might have gotten a polite nod as they requested to sit someplace farther from you ;).

However, by the same token, a Canadian might not know what okra or black eyed peas were. I know what they are because I have been a foodie all my life and have vacationed often in southern states. If I were to ask my DD what they were, I might get an answer something along the lines of "Okra is a killer whale" then she would sing Boom Boom Pow (get it, Black Eyed Peas? Get it?).

I don't think it is impolite to ask a waitress in a restaurant what a menu item is. Bothering somebody at another table is a whole other subject.

baked okra, fried okra , pickled okra, sweet potato fries and okra, boiled okra, fried okra and bacon salad.

Let me count the ways.

Shrimp and grits, grits and sausage, grits with red eye gravy, grits and greens casserole at Joels, weekly, grits on buttered toast, plain grits with salt and pepper, grits with butter and sugar

etc etc etc

Umm, what is potica, Cynic?

People who don't know about okra and black peas would be called "yankees" by most southerners I know. I don't think it would be considered impolite to ask questions of another diner. Friendly people talk to almost everyone.

I am surprised no one mentioned that it is a tradition to eat black-eyed peas for the New Year.....it is said to bring you"good luck". I always make a pot of them with a ham hock for New Years Day...
And I just made some okra about 2 weeks ago.
( In California )

Born and raised in California. I like Okra pickled and we have black eyed peas cooked with a ham hock and cornbread for new years.

Joan_mn, it's a pastry. Here's a description:

In the small towns of Northeastern Minnesota, holidays mean Potica ("po-teet-sah").

Potica is known to those of Slovenian ancestry, as well as to anyone who grew up on Minnesota's Iron Range.

An old world pastry, Potica is made from a dough rolled so thin and wide that a newspaper can be read through it. Then layered with walnuts, butter, cream and vanilla, is rolled into a spiral and baked to a crisp amber brown. Serve it with any meal or for a snack. Potica is delicious plain, by itself, heated or unheated. But you can enjoy it many different ways.

Serve with:
-Ham - Bacon and eggs - Sausage - Fruit

Top with:
-Ice cream or vanilla pudding
-Lemon, chocolate or caramel sauce
-Whipped cream and strawberries

Additional serving suggestions would include:
-Top with a slice of ham, and heat if desired.
(A traditional way of serving)
-Top with a slice of cheese and heat until cheese is melted.
-Spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon,
top with a teaspoon of honey, then heat until warm.
-Spread with butter, microwave for approximately 10 seconds, then top with one scoop of butter brickle ice cream.

Grew-up growing and eating both okra and black-eyed-peas. both are very healthy. Mama still fixes big pots of black-eyed-peas and takes some to each of our elderly neighbors. All of the family that grew up eating them and all the neighbors that did are in their 80's and 90's and are still very sharp minded.

Black-eyed-peas has the highest amount of frolic acid of anything you can eat and that is good for your blood/heart. If you're pregnant it is a must for normal brain development.

The peas make an excellent soup, especially if you add some pieces of pork. (Papa liked ham-hocks).

Okra is best when rolled in cornmeal and fried. It makes a thickening agent in southern style soups too.

P.S. Any one who likes cornbread, cornmeal gravy, hominy, corn tortillas, cream corn, or using cornmeal to bread something can not pick on grits.

The Southern area where I live is so pea-fied that we have two communities Pea Town and Peavine. Do not know of any named Okra though. I am not aquainted with anyone that does not delight in eating both veggies.

For some reason, I thougth Bigbaby was from Texas where everyone talks to everyone about anything.

To answer your question, Ron, (this may be outdated information BTW): I lived the 1st 38 yrs. of my life in NE OH. We moved to Louisiana in '88. I'd never heard of/tasted okra, black-eyed peas, jambalaya, gumbo, grits, corn bread, greens, and a lot more other Southern cooking, which I now love. And how many native Southerners have enjoyed the deliciousness of cabbage rolls, pierogi, spinach soup, spaetzle, borscht, etc. that were staples up North? It's ALLLLLL GOOOOD!

It is very common to talk to strangers in a restaurant around here. It would be considered rude in a formal white cloth place but not in a diner or family restaurant.

I've heard of okra and black eyed peas but in California we are pretty diverse about food. I always find it strange when I see posts asking what to do with an avocado or fresh garlic for instance. Here those are practically their own food group. LOL We can get black eyed peas,grits,okra and greens if we want them. Not something most people serve in their homes in general but there are restaurants that serve them and ethnic groups that probably serve them.

I have a neighbor who has a beautifully landscaped front yard. He has incorporated pepper plants into his landscape. All kinds of varieties. If I need anything from chiles to habaneros I can stroll over and pick some. Nice.

I've eaten okra but not black eyed peas. Don't care for okra unless it's in gumbo.

Seriously? There are people who don't know what lutefisk, lefse, pasties, and poticia are? LOL! Not to mention okra and black eyed peas? What is wrong with the world?

Cynic, if Ron is talking black eyed peas and barbequeue in Rochester, I bet he's talking John Hardy's barbequeue, and if you like barbequeue but passed on John Hardy's because they serve black eyed peas (in the north) you'd be doing yourself a big dis-service! Yumm....

I know what both are, but have never eaten either. I'm more interested in why anyone would think it rude for a stranger to speak to them. I find it friendly!

All I can say is, potica sounds DELICIOUS!

The first year we bought our Florida place, we went to a chili cook-off. Someone asked me if wanted yellow rice. I'd never even heard of yellow rice! I asked why it was yellow...the first few people didn't have any idea (also not native Floridians). Then I was told it was saffron (which I'd heard of, but not tasted).
I LOVE yellow rice (I think black-eyes peas taste terrible, though. Sorry. Also don't do grits...or lutefisk).

grew up in chicago, mostly lived there till i was 30 had never heard of black-eyed peas till i moved to orlando. heard of okra, only because i gardened, was a master gardener and a degree in plant sciences. until i moved to orlando, 13yrs ago i thought grits were a joke thing, i was shocked to actually see them at the grocery store LOL and that they were real. those things are regional, just as i'm sure most outside of the great lakes are unfamiliar w/ lake perch, 2" thick chicago style pizza etc... also the growing season is often not long or hot enough to produce decent okra or probably black-eyed peas. ~ liz

I was born & raised in NJ, I never heard of Okra or Blackeyed peas there. I never heard of a Roach either until I moved to Fla.

Hey all! I AM from Texas and have NO problem talking to anyone, anywhere!!! The problem is that it's rude to be interrupted. I was in the depths of telling my honey something important when this woman walked straight up to our table and began talking over me, without so much as an "excuse me" "ahem" or "kiss my grits," which is just plain rude. "Are those ribs good?" "They look good." (Several questions ensued and the moment with honey bunch was completely lost.) I don't like it when waitress interrupt either and it was just plain startling to boot!!!!

We just thought it was funny, not rude when they were questioning the waitress about okra and black eyed peas. Ron and I got a good chuckle over that. The poor waitress was a real champ and virtually read them the entire menu which incited many questions from them!!

Jel, it WAS John Hardy's BBQ!! I had the ribs which are sooooo good and smoked!!!

I don't think mid-sentence is too terribly rude, although I suppose they could have stood there waiting and you would have cut yourself off mid-sentence and asked "can I help you?" Mid-mouthful would be a different story, that is what waiters and waitresses do! lol

Grits are a staple in the south and while I don't care for them, (born and raised in WI) the people who grew up eating them consider them delicious and my husband calls it "southern ice cream". He loves grits prepared any way he can get them and I wouldn't ever insult him for liking something I don't. I think restaurants are smart for having a variety of things on the menu, it's not like people all live 10 miles from where they grew up anymore. People move around and it's nice if they can get favorite foods no matter where in the states they live now.

Gosh, yellow rice is a given at any Mexican or Cuban restaurant, I think. Isn't saffron one of the most expensive spices in the world? Hand-gathered from crocus blooms or something? I use it when I make Spanish Bean soup.

Well, I guess I'm rude - I talk to anyone - not the least bit apologetic about it.

I grew up in Illinois and ate lots of okra and b.e.p. - love 'em!

Wow that is kind of pushy to barge into a conversation between 2 people. They could have easily waited for a more natural opportunity to ask after they were seated.

Growing up in Western PA I wasn't familiar with okra or black eyed peas. But I don't blame that on geography. They were available but my Mom just didn't bother to make them, she had a fairly limited variety of meals that she prepared. My DH had a much broader knowledge of different foods and he grew up in the same town.

When I married and moved to Philadelphia I was introduced to Scrapple, fried mush and all kinds of fresh seafood.

I'd never even had cheesecake until I left home. What's even worse is my Mom only made steak in a skillet and I never had a wonderfully grilled steak medium rare until I started dating and dining in restaurants. I later leaned she didn't broil because she didn't want to clean the inside of the oven.

I understand what you're saying, Ron and Bigbaby; I don't know why some posters read your post as you being unfriendly. I think you made it clear that your point is that without even pausing to see if they were interrupting you, the folks just barged in on you. Of course that's rude. It's not difficult in that setting to observe the other party and pick your timing. If I want to ask someone how their meal is or what it is, of course I watch for a second first and wait until there's a pause in their conversation before smile and ask. That's just courtesy! It doesn't sound like your co-diners were courteous.

With respect to the foods mentioned, I never met an okra I liked. Icky and slimy is my experience with okra. Black-eyed peas? Eh, they're Ok, wouldn't specifically order them. Grits? No thanks. People often say grits are like cream of wheat. I don't think so, but I guess I can't think of anything else to compare them to.

I'm from Minnesota. My husband and I lived in Texas in the 80's.

I had never heard of:
Chicken Fried Steak
Okra, I always wondered what the strange vegetable was in Campbell's Minestrone was. I liked the fried okra.

Never had, until Texas:
Grits, like the cheese ones.
Never heard of having to have black eyed peas on New Years Eve for good luck. A friend made them for me using lots of hot sauce, yum.

Well I'm a southern girl and I know both but I am sure there are many things from the far north that I don't know of and wouldn't hesitate to ask. Speaking to someone in a restaurant in any area where I have lived (and that's many) wouldn't be considered rude, unless it was a formal place with "atmosphere"....so to speak. I guess timing might be the issue but I would welcome a conversation with strangers. My husband speaks to anyone and everyone and asking if the ribs are good would be something he might do....I've seen him ask someone what they were eating from the menu because it looked so good. We are pretty friendly people and love talking to people and that does include strangers so it wouldn't bother us......My ex-MIL from Staten Island had never eaten Black eyed peas......

Well, once again the KT has taught me a thing or two. I've been thinking about your responses and while I still think it was rude to interrupt someone who was in the middle of something, a kind word can go a long way to someone who is on unfamiliar terraine! I have my moments when I can be very generous, but other times I'm all spent up. I'm only about 1/2 extrovert and after I've been with people all day I get anxious when I've had enough and people are still in my face!! Anyway, loved ALL of your answers!!

Impossible that they were Canadian. Canadian mothers don't raise rude people. (And it WAS rude to interrupt your dinner like that!)

Canadians are the literate people who cheerfully pay us to use our Maui condo for two weeeks...then write a 'bread and butter' note of thanks, praising the place! (I could wish for ALL Canadian guests.)

Oh, I am SO sorry to see lutefisk mentioned here. My day is ruined! Ack, ick, yuk!

cynic....your potica sounds like the slovenian version of a rolled baklava...which has it roots, depending on whose neighborhood here in detroit, is either greek or middle east...

have you ever made it from scratch? we buy filo dough as it's so difficult to get those paper-thin layers...

Ron-Nothing against you and bigbaby,but if someone came over to my table in a casual eating establishment and asked if the ribs were good I wouldn't think it was rude.But,I'm from Texas so that wouldn't be an unusual occurrence.
Black Eyed peas,AKA cow peas.Maybe they knew about black eyed peas but by another name? There are a lot of foods that I don't know about so I don't think that is unusual either. Different parts of the country have different names for lots of foods.Take Chicken Fried Steak for instance.It's called CFS in TX but could be country fried or some other name somewhere else.
I think those people were just being friendly and wanting an opinion on the best food to eat there.Maybe you should have struck up a conversation with them and found out where they were from? I have to admit,DH and I are probably those people! LOL We are always talking to people we don't know in restaurants and other places and are usually responded to in a cordial manner.I can usually tell though when it's time to shut up and I guess now's the time!

I live in Iowa...and I love okra....haven't eaten blackeyed peas...but I've heard of em....

patti

susanjf yes baklava is very much like it and to be honest I've never had potica (or baklava either!) but if I'm in the area there's a bakery in Virginia, MN famous for them. When I'm there I'll pick one up. It's more known in northern MN as are pasties, and I'm not sure if it's pasty or pastie! (I *am* sure it's pronounced pass-tee though, not paste-ees!), which for those who don't know are a, well, pot pie without the pot. A folded over savory pastry filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables but recipes vary. Many events in the northland feature pasties as the popular food concession. As I think back one of my secretaries (years and years ago now) used to occasionally bring in a "meat pie" that her daughter made. She never shared it though!

I was just watching the Two Fat Ladies (and that's their show name and trade name - before someone is "offended" that I called them "fat") where Clarissa did a pastry with apples. Not the same but similar in concept and looked fantastic. But I can't imagine having the patience to hand press the dough into a 3'-5' circle, newspaper thin. I wouldn't have the patience anyway...

Actually the similarities between Baklava and Potica end at the fillings which both contain walnuts and cinnamon.

Baklava is made with layers of phyllo dough, a very light airy pastry. The dense sweet filling and the butter content make it not so light. LOL

Potica is made with a sweet yeast dough. Much denser and rolled rather than layered. It would be considered bread rather than pastry.

Baklava is readily available here. We treat ourselves now and then. I've only seen Potica in catalogues at the holidays. Never tried it.

Potica is more like a bread, at least the stuff I have had (Croation father with his parents "off the boat"). Baklava is gooey and flakey and the honey taste is very evident.