>Thanks - can anyone enlighten me as to what 'Hoosier', 'Manhattan' and 'Biscuits and gravy' are (I'm guessing that my mental image of the latter is not quite correct: the British equivalent of 'Rich Tea and Bisto' does NOT sound appealing).
>
>(They are mentioned at http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/subscribers/news.php?topicid=1071)

Biscuits and gravy is usually buttermilk biscuits served on a plate and covered with gravy with bits of sausage in it. Do a search on images.google.com and you'll find lots of pictures. Hmmm, I think I'm getting hungry...

Not sure what a Manhattan is in this context. There's an alcoholic drink by that name but it sounds like they're referring to a food item, so I don't know what it is. Could be a local specialty of some kind, a lot of restaurants have something like that.

A Hoosier is the name for someone from Indiana. AFAIK nobody really knows what the word actually means, if indeed it has a meaning. It's just a name, I guess.