# Most iconic food from each state **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 4, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151 "2024-05-04T23:48:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/21 "2024-05-05T01:12:27Z")
Kentucky is bourbon. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/22 "2024-05-05T01:24:48Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > Oregon is Marionberry Pie and that sounds OK to me. I’ll second that. The only other food I think can be thought of as iconic from Oregon is Dungeness crab, but it’s equally available in Alaska, Washington and California. So marionberry pie is great. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/23 "2024-05-05T01:25:05Z")
Wisconsin is homogenized by now, but not too long ago the state was different enclaves, predominantly German around Milwaukee, Norwegian in the west, Swiss in the south, Belgians in Door County, etc. So a bar food staple of cheese curds seems like a universal compromise. For Hawaii, poi and [lau lau](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C5%AB%CA%BBau_(food)) are acquired tastes. But shave ice isn’t enough of a “dish,” just a treat. @CairoCarol is right about plate lunch. Or poki, which has been introduced to the mainland, but not yet reaching the quality found in Hawaii. Same complaint for Georgia: boiled peanuts aren’t a dish. Better a meat & three with BBQ. And they eat more boiled peanuts in Hawaii than they do in Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/24 "2024-05-05T01:35:20Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > And The Onion’s version: Some of those cracked me right up! Idaho was especially notable. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/25 "2024-05-05T02:03:38Z")
Kentucky is fried chicken, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/26 "2024-05-05T02:10:53Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > As for Hawai’i… Every Hawaiian I’ve know (been a few…) would say Spam. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/27 "2024-05-05T02:24:00Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > And The Onion’s version: “Oklahoma - Tornado Pie: Whatever done blow’d up on the porch is free eatin’!” mmm ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/28 "2024-05-05T03:42:37Z")
Hmm, yeah, you have a point. In fact, my first thought was Spam musubi, not a plate lunch. I guess it depends on the criteria you want to use: I like the plate lunch idea better than Spam, because it originated in Hawai’i and encapsulates its history, neither of which is true of Spam. And in terms of calories ingested per capita, plate lunch probably wins (there is doubtless plenty of Spam IN some of the plate lunches). But if you asked people born and raised in Hawai’i, which would be the best way of all of deciding, Spam might win out. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/29 "2024-05-05T03:44:41Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > On my phone I just scrolled through the entire article. No clicking required. It was required on my computer. (I thought maybe I’m just an idiot, so I double-checked. Yep, no other way.) ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/30 "2024-05-05T03:51:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > … 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. … MHO, Montana’s should be Rocky Mountain Oysters. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/31 "2024-05-05T04:01:19Z")
Nailed it for Missouri (at least the part of the state I’m from): Toasted Ravioli. Of course those from the western side of the state would say BBQ, but they gave that to Kansas so I guess it works out. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/32 "2024-05-05T04:21:04Z")
I would have picked Fry Bread, but Chimichangas are OK with me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/33 "2024-05-05T04:26:12Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@CairoCarol](#): > > > > As for Hawai’i… > > Every Hawaiian I’ve know (been a few…) would say Spam. I think that would be considered an ingredient rather than a dish. The title says food but the article talks about dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/34 "2024-05-05T04:29:06Z")
Apple pie and cheddar cheese is Vermont? No, apple pie and cheddar cheese is Ontario. When I was a kid in Toronto, nobody ever served apple pie without cheddar cheese. Great Ontario apples and the best cheddar cheese. Okay, there were a few outliers who wanted it with ice cream, but that was never allowed in our house. Vermont should be Ben and Jerry’s. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/35 "2024-05-05T04:32:55Z")
Colorado is _lamb_? You know I’m one of the very few people I know who eat it, cook it, or order it. And it’s NOT on the menu almost anywhere. You’re infinitely more likely to see buffalo or bison as a meat critter. It’s not that it isn’t available at all, but it’s not iconic, or _commonly_ eaten. It feels more like they picked a restaurant and picked the most ‘local’ food they thought of off it it. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that as a former New Mexican of 12 year, I’d say a Pueblo Chile option here in the Springs, but that (like the lamb) is more regional than state wide. Honestly, I don’t think Colorado has a lot of iconic food, other than Pike’s Peak High Altitude Donuts. 🙂 And frito pie for New Mexico is a freakin’ disaster. No, not iconic. Iconic food loved by, and eaten frequently by all walks of life would be the green chile cheeseburger. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/36 "2024-05-05T06:01:25Z")
Wyoming - Fry Bread…? Don’t get me wrong, I love frybread, but I certainly ate far more of it in South Dakota than I ever have in Wyoming… it is definitely not iconic, nor widely available. I’d have accepted anything made from Bison, or steak (I know, nobody can claim steak, but considering the entire damn state (near enough) is either cattle ranches or bison ranches, it would at least _make sense_. Hell, the Onion’s pick for Wyoming was closer to reality… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/37 "2024-05-05T06:11:50Z")
Long ago, I had a Hawaiian girlfriend. She told me for Thanksgiving, the family would mold a turkey out of Spam. I did not marry her. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/38 "2024-05-05T06:44:04Z")
For Arizona I would nominate green corn tamales over chimichangas. For the latter, there are several other restaurants, all in California, that claim to have originated it while I’ve never seen the latter offered outside this state. It’s corn husks with the usual masa layer then the filling is not quite ripe sweet corn, one of the mild white cheeses like cotija or queso fresco, and green chilis, diced or strips. [![](https://simplysophisticatedcooking.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/sweetcorn-tamales-with-roasted-green-chilies-1.jpg?w=640) ](https://simplysophisticatedcooking.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/sweetcorn-tamales-with-roasted-green-chilies-1.jpg?w=640) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/39 "2024-05-05T06:55:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > 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. Hot smoked salmon was my first thought, but teriyaki would have been a good choice, too. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/40 "2024-05-05T10:45:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Hot smoked salmon was my first thought, but teriyaki would have been a good choice, too. I would go with hot smoked salmon over seafood chowder. Or something with Rainier cherries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151.md?page=3)