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PA is Full of Bologna... Lebanon Bologna (2010)

42 points| johntfella | 4 years ago |pabook2.libraries.psu.edu | reply

50 comments

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[+] JadeNB|4 years ago|reply
Removing the initial caps in the title makes the reference to Pennsylvania look like a reference to fathers, and it's all the more incomprehensible with the ellipsis removed. Can it be fixed to appear as in the article?

EDIT: Thanks! For reference, the title originally appeared as "Pa is Full of Bologna Lebanon Bologna", but has now been fixed to "PA is Full of Bologna… Lebanon Bologna".

[+] johntfella|4 years ago|reply
my apologies. when I copied the headline and submitted it seemed to auto fix into the original appearance. i'm not totally aware of all the functions here for editing as i'm more of a casual user.
[+] moron4hire|4 years ago|reply
When I was a kid, we were pretty poor. So a lot of our food was purchased in bulk, and whatever that thing was would be the only thing we had to eat for a week, maybe even two. It didn't happen often, but there are specific things that I just can't even get near anymore without getting physically ill from just the smell.

Lebanon Bologna is one.

(something called "Hot Dog Stew" is another)

[+] zachruss92|4 years ago|reply
I have lived in PA all my life and remember touring Lebanon Bologna and Wilbur Chocolate (in nearby Lititz) in one day. I loved seeing all the processes that go into making bologna. I don’t eat much of it these days but I love the unique sweet flavor it has. I may have to get some now!
[+] evanelias|4 years ago|reply
Oh man, I did the Wilbur Chocolate tour a couple times as a kid, that place was great. Years later, I ordered some Wilbur Buds online and they sent me like 5x the amount I ordered, seemingly intentionally. Good people! Apparently the Lititz factory closed 5 years ago but they still kept the storefront and museum open.

I haven't ever done a Lebanon Bologna tour, but a couple decades ago I did attend a large electronic music event ("rave" but that term was unpopular in the scene) in Lebanon PA. Naturally the vast majority of the attendees were coming in from Philly and other spots 2+ hours away. The small local police caught wind of it a couple weeks ahead of time, and called in a huge state task force, even though the event was legal and licensed. The state cops' attempt to place undercover agents was pretty comical -- a bunch of older balding guys dressed like goths (completely wrong scene!) jumping up and down and asking everyone if they "had any X pills for sale". Definitely an experience.

[+] 63|4 years ago|reply
I grew up in PA and my siblings and I used to have Lebanon bologna in our school lunches every day. I'm not sure what there is to say about it, it's alright, sort of like a sweeter thicker cut salami. Ama I guess.
[+] mbauman|4 years ago|reply
The best part of PA food IMO — particularly SE PA — is the snack/chip aisle in grocery stores. Whereas the aisle is almost entirely Lays brands in other regions, PA has a flourishing small-snack ecosystem and only a few have escaped to other regions or been eaten up by FritoLayCo (like Herrs, Snyders, and Utz).

Best parts include potato chips cooked in lard (many brands including Goods and Gibbles and Martins and more) and really good pretzels (Hammonds).

[+] f154hfds|4 years ago|reply
I grew up in Lancaster (just south of Lebanon county) and still visit family there often. There are all sorts of country stores and meat shops in the small towns. Each small town also has its own local chocolate company with Hershey being the most famous of course. In my humble opinion the best chocolate in the world is Wilbur buds: https://www.wilburbuds.com/

Anyway, check it out and don't forget to purchase sweet Lebanon bologna meat sticks for your trip home.

[+] imglorp|4 years ago|reply
Similar local PA vein: scrapple. They're both vehicles for less desired parts of various unspecified animals. Scrapple has some strong, distinctive spices, and it's usually sliced and fried as a breakfast protein.
[+] jimmyrocks|4 years ago|reply
From PA, can confirm. Also, it's pronounced Leb-nin.
[+] mtu9001|4 years ago|reply
Agreed, it'll do, but I'm more of a chip chop fan myself.
[+] ksherlock|4 years ago|reply
"Before reaching the bologna itself, the smoke from the generator first filters through water, which acts as a buffer to produce a cleaner smoke."
[+] bananabiscuit|4 years ago|reply
Are they using hookahs to smoke their bologna?
[+] astr0n0m3r|4 years ago|reply
The only thing better than Lebanon Bologna is Sweet Lebanon Bologna. A simple Lebanon bologna and cheese sandwich (on a Martin's potato roll) is a typical lunch when I'm visiting my parents. I've gotten about a dozen friends to try Lebanon bologna, and they've all been pleasantly surprised. It's never what they expect, probably because it looks like salami.
[+] tssva|4 years ago|reply
I have been eating and loving Lebanon bologna since I was 4 or 5 so about 48 years now. Twice this week I had a Lebanon bologna sandwich for lunch. Sweet Lebanon bologna however is an abomination. I know HN guidance is too assume the best intentions of others but with an opinion preferring sweet Lebanon bologna it is very hard.
[+] pachico|4 years ago|reply
I studied in Bologna, Italy, and I don't understand why you call that Bologna.
[+] ofrzeta|4 years ago|reply
Wikipedia says it's a derivative of Mortadella. It's different but you might see some family resemblance.
[+] RosanaAnaDana|4 years ago|reply
I'm going to express what I know will be an unpopular opinion.

PA snacks are terrible. Pretzels? The hell even are those things. Bologna wraps with cream cheese? I see so much pride around what I consider to be C- student level snacking culture.

[+] Galaxity|4 years ago|reply
I'm pretty sure people eat pretzels all over the western world. What makes that a Pennsylvania snack?
[+] stronglikedan|4 years ago|reply
Yeah, no, sorry, but pretzels are the best type of bread ever invented anywhere in any era. Even better than sliced.
[+] oh_sigh|4 years ago|reply
First of all, fresh pretzels are amazing. Secondly, what about the various tastycakes, stromboli, whoopie pies, funnel cake, water ice, peanut chews, pork roll, and tomato pies?

I'm from near philly and never heard of anyone eating bologna with cream cheese. Even "Philadelphia cream cheese" is actually from NY.

[+] Isamu|4 years ago|reply
What about cookies? You can’t even have a proper wedding without a full cookie table.
[+] TameAntelope|4 years ago|reply
Grew up in Lebanon, PA and have never been on the Bologna tour. Honestly, I'm surprised this is interesting to HN.

They do a Bologna drop for NYE though, so that's fun, I guess.

[+] jspash|4 years ago|reply
This ain't got nothing on some good ol Jumbo! Gimme a jumbo with ketchup on Wonder bread any day.
[+] cafard|4 years ago|reply
Great stuff. Now I'm hungry.
[+] howolduis|4 years ago|reply
you can't open this unless you're logged in to PA. I don't understand the point of posting this here or why this is on the front page!
[+] songshuu|4 years ago|reply
That's because YCombinator is full of bologna ;)
[+] Turing_Machine|4 years ago|reply
I'm many thousands of miles away from PA, and it's loading fine for me.
[+] johntfella|4 years ago|reply
as another noted, there should be no problem accessing it. I just double checked on tor and vpn. as for why it made it to the front page, all I can say is more often than not I'm surprised at what I post that gets attention over what doesn't. Last night I also posted an article about autism and parental age, was thinking that would get more buzz than this.

either or, more often than not I use hn as just a place to save obscure links with the additional benefit of reading insights from others when the posts get noticed.