Found a great article yesterday via the group “I Support Farmers Markets” on Facebook. Take a look at it if you have 5 minutes, as it discusses how retailers are taking advantage of the recently-popular local food movement by putting the “local” label on NOT local items.

For me, “local” is the Tri-State region (the confluence of the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana borders). I’d even go so far as to specify a 75 mile radius from downtown Cincinnati as my local. If I saw “local” on a sign or label, that’s what I’d expect.

I’ll extend my “local” for some things: Northern & Central Ohio for honey, certain produce and ice cream, Eastern Kentucky for sorghum or baked goods, Central Kentucky for bourbon, etc.

But for me, “local” is also where I grew up – I still consider products of Upstate New York to be local, whether it’s Bison French Onion Dip, Yancey’s Fancy Cheeses, Perry’s French Vanilla ice cream, Sahlen’s hot dogs & deli meats, Hunt Country Wine or Java’s coffee. They’re imported delicacies now that I call Cincinnati home, and I think I’d rather they stay that way.

See, we all say we want those things we loved when we were growing up to be close to us in adulthood or in retirement. Pastrami Dan’s in Naples, Florida, is a great example. But are their pastrami sandwiches as good as the genuine article you may have grown up with in New York or Montreal? Is a waffle cone of Graeter’s Ice Cream just as good in Phoenix as it is on Fountain Square?

Some say, “Well, yeah, why would it be different?”

I suppose my barrier is that I’m an experiential purist at heart, and for me the ingredients and preparation as just as important as the ambiance and the people of the place. My father-in-law loves the TGI Friday’s at Kenwood because he “always has a good time there.” I’d never disagree with that, but I think it has more to do with the people with whom he enjoys his time there than the green bean fries and generic domestic beers.

I’ve been fortunate enough to find other things to satiate my hunger for old-school favorites with things found locally: great ice cream (Jeni’s Splendid, Graeter’s, Aglamesi’s), encased meats (Kroeger & Son’s, Avril-Bleh), wine (Burnet Ridge, Moyer, Slate Run), and coffee (Lookout Joe, Coffee Emporium) are all readily available, right here.

So the next time you place a trans-continental order for a favorite item from back home, consider the possibility that there is an incredible version of it just around the corner from where you are right now.

Except for a Beef on Weck. There’s no substitute for a Schwabl’s beef on weck.