Food Network posted a list of the most iconic food of each state. How do you feel about what they picked for your state? Remember the criteria is “iconic” not best.
For New Jersey they didn’t pick bad but it’s not what I would have picked. They picked disco fries. I would have picked a pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich.
I don’t love Porkroll, Egg and Cheese, but it does seem like right choice. That or simple Pizza.
Disco Fries seem like a terrible choice, I’ve been here for over 50 years and never thought of them as a Jersey thing and rarely seen anyone order them.
Link does nothing for me. I can’t imagine an “iconic” food for Nevada, unless it’s the 99cent Shrimp Cocktail.
bleh figures for CA they’d be trendy bastards … it should have been the infamous chili-sized cheese burger…
here ya go :
Known lovingly as “steggs,” the no-frills late-night/early-morning steak and eggs plate is a cherished ritual for casino workers, tourists and night owls alike. Among the many 24-hour eateries near the Las Vegas Strip, the Village Pub and Café inside the Ellis Island Hotel, Casino & Brewery rises to the top. The local favorite aims to please with a generously sized 10 oz. broiled sirloin, two eggs, toast and house-made potatoes.
Sounds Legit. Thanks!
Oregon is Marionberry Pie and that sounds OK to me. I’d have voted Cherry Pie but live in a cherry town.
And The Onion’s version:
MA is Clam Chowder, which is probably correct. I might go with New England Boiled dinner.
NH is poutine, which is just wrong. That’s a Canadian dish, no one considers it to be from NH. I would go with something maple syrup related.
VT is apple pie with cheddar cheese, and I totally approve. The only other option is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Maine is a lobster roll. No objections.
RI is coffee milk. I might go with Del’s Lemonade if we’re talking drinks. But I think clam cakes is more of an iconic food.
I had problems figuring it out. There’s an arrow on the right side of the main graphic of the US and its iconic foods. If you look just to the right of North Carolina, there’s a right arrow that blends into the graphic. It took me about a full minute to see it and figure it out.
Anyway, there’s only a couple I might take issue with. I agree that New Jersey should be that pork roll sandwich. But New Mexico is Frito Pie? Really? Not their Green Chili? When I think food and New Mexico, green chiles come to mind.
I would have gone gumbo before beignets for Louisiana, but that one is arguable.
The poutine strikes me as odd, but I see in previewTelemark has that covered.
Otherwise, no real quibbles, which is unusual for me for this kind of thing.
I’ve never seen anyone order them before midnight. Disco fries were first made in a New Jersey diner. Pizza might be best here but it’s certainly not from here.
The weirdest one on the list is steak for Oklahoma. I don’t think any one state can claim a steak.
For California I would’ve said the “Mission Style” burrito instead of avocado toast. And for Arizona probably a Sonoran Hot Dog over a chimichanga. Frito Pie for New Mexico is an okay choice, but it should have some Hatch Chiles tossed in.
I was going to say the Double Double, animal style. but if a burger isn’t unique enough, then my second choice would have been the mission style burrito. “Street” tacos would work as well.
For North Carolina I would have gone with the vinegary eastern style, but their choice of Lexington style barbecue is a fine choice as well.
Georgia is peaches.
Louisiana is either crawdad gumbo or Bananas Foster.
that was funny
I object to the format of that article - they force you to click through each state in alphabetical order, instead of having a list from which you can choose. Very click-bait-ish article in that regard. Pity the residents of Virginia, Washington, etc. who have to find their state!
As for Hawai’i - nah, I would not choose shave ice. I think they were lazy and just picked a local dish at random rather than doing any real research. Sure, shave ice is available here and fairly popular, but for every outlet, community gathering, food truck, etc. I’ve seen offering shave ice, I’ve seen 10 places offering a plate lunch*. THAT’s the most iconic dish, I think. It has a real history, one that reflects the multicultural nature of the state, not just the fact we grow tropical fruit here.
*A plate lunch is two scoops of rice, mac salad, and an entree like pork and cabbage, stir-fry, adobo, etc. Plate lunches became a thing when planation workers needed a hearty mid-day meal, and the influences reflect Hawaiian, Portuguese, Philippine, Chinese, and Japanese cuisines. As it should be.
Can Delaware really lay claim to fries with vinegar? That seems like an everywhere food, to me.
I’d have thought that Louisiana would be the po boy.
No arguing with clam chowder for Massachusetts, but was it really not invented until 1950?
You can definitely find huckleberry-flavored things in Montana, but I wouldn’t say that they’re at all characteristic of the state, and if Pickle Barrel in Bozeman serves huckleberry ice cream, it’s a new development in the past decade. Definite miss, here. I’d have to go with steak. Yeah, everywhere has steak, but the steak in Montana is really good.
New Mexico should definitely be green chili. I have no connection to New Mexico at all, and even I know that. Frito Pie isn’t associated with a state; it’s associated with hungry teenagers.
For my home state of Ohio, I wouldn’t have thought of Cincinnati chili, being up here at the north end of the state, but I can’t really think of anything northern Ohio has that’s as iconic as it, so I suppose that’s fair.
The cheesesteak is the right choice for Pennsylvania. Again, specific to one end of the state, but again, I can’t think of anything more iconic for the Pittsburgh area.
I had no idea that pepperoni rolls came from West Virginia.
WA gets “seafood chowder”, and there’s plenty of places in Seattle to find chowder for sure, but I would’ve thought that Dungeness crab, smoked salmon, or teriyaki would’ve been more iconic.
On my phone I just scrolled through the entire article. No clicking required.