Taste of the Town: For those who crave Open Pit barbecue sauce, try 99 Cents Only
As I’ve said many times over the years, some food items are highly personal, the “right” recipe generally being whatever formulation, variation or idiosyncratic details you grew up with. This especially seems to apply to pizza, marinara sauce, Chinese food, hot dogs and barbecue.
In the case of the latter, you have your vinegar-based sauces in North Carolina, dry rubs in Memphis, white barbecue sauce in a tiny corner of Alabama and tomato-based sauces in Texas and most of the rest of the South.
In the lower Midwest, a popular choice is Open Pit, with roots dating to 1953 Detroit. As the company’s website says, “Family chefs all over the U.S. are ‘boss of their sauce’ — whether they’re in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee …” They forgot only Cleveland.
And Las Vegas, where Open Pit clearly enjoys some popularity. Taste of the Town readers reported finding local sources of the sauce’s original flavor for fellow reader Terri McCoy.
“That is my first choice also,” emailed William Isaac, who said he found it at 99 Cents Only stores across the valley. Ed Bordenka, Mike Torsiello, Ben Carlisle and Wendy Ocelnik also reported finding Open Pit at 99 Cents Only. Ruth Bentel and Mary T. Byrne emailed that they get it at Larry’s Great Western Meats at 420 S. Valley View Blvd., which, Byrne added, has other varieties as well. And Claudia Wolt finds it at the Wal-Mart at 6310 W. Charleston Blvd. …
For Scott Lee Baranoff, Renee Passadore said she had boquerones at Lakeside at Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South, adding that she advises calling ahead because they apparently aren’t on the regular menu. And Libby Casolari found them at Firefly, which has three locations in the valley, as well as at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South, and Michael Mina Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South. “Better still,” she added, “go on Amazon.com; there are 14 varieties to pick from.”…
For Connie Skaza, Michele Rambicur emailed that she can find Penn Cove Mussels at www.ILoveBlueSea.com or www.Farm-2-Market.com, and added that she lives about 20 minutes from Coupeville, Wis., where they’re famed. …
More on Mrs. Grass’ soup: Torsiello reported finding it at Smith’s at 3160 N. Rainbow Blvd.
MORE READER REQUESTS
Charles Waddell is looking for a local source for thick, Amish-style noodles, which he used to get at Glazier’s Food Marketplace. …
Bill Eller is looking for local sources for British foods and sweets. …
Kathy Collier is looking for Tennessee Pride sausage, mild variety. …
And Elaine Van Nostram is looking for Mexican green onions, which she used to get at Food 4 Less. And she wonders why most valley supermarkets don’t have fresh salad bars, as they do in the Midwest.
Readers?
Submit information to Heidi Knapp Rinella, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. You also can send faxes to 702-383-4676 or email her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Include your first and last names and, if emailing, put “Taste of the Town” in the subject line. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.