Dog meat tacos on Heqing Lu, between Pengcheng Lu and Jie Fang Lu. There are two alleys leading off from Heqing Lu and you want the one closest to Pengcheng Lu. Quite easy to find. Look for a collection of skinned dog carcasses hung up on the corner, usually having the last bits of fur cleaned from them with a propane torch. The bread is amazing, cooked in a stone oven, a bit salty, a bit sweet, coated in sesame seeds. The dog meat is tender and flavorful and stringy, torn from a pile of bones in a big metal tray you can't dog meat with a knife.
Sha tang. Everyone in Xuzhou knows the cute little story about the Emperor tasting this soup and asking what the name was. The chef thought the emperor was calling it "What? soup," so he changed the name to that. It's a thick, mucus-y soup full of eel, chicken meat originally pheasant or other game meat, beans, and a ton of black pepper. The best place to cop it is Ma Shi Jie 马å¸è¡, a joint on Jie Fang Lu that's the city's recognized favorite sha tang place there's also a branch on Heping Lu, near the church but popular opinion says it's just not as good. The soup here comes from a massive pot, as tall as the man ladeling it out. Outside, you buy your dipping items: fried dumplings, salty fried dough, etc. The clientele is mainly ancient men that have been eating it for breakfast every day for fifty years and come equipped with their own bowls and spoons.
