# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/41 "2024-05-05T11:25:44Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > For California I would’ve said the “Mission Style” burrito instead of avocado toast. I think Mission burritos are more of a San Francisco iconic food, not a California iconic food. ---
**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, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/42 "2024-05-05T11:47:04Z")
Col. Blake: What is this? Hawkeye: It’s a Spam lamb. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/43 "2024-05-05T11:48:33Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > 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. BBQ Ribs is really Kansas City, both on the Missouri and Kansas sides. The most iconic food for the state of Kansas is chicken fried steak. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/44 "2024-05-05T13:39:35Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Nailed it for Missouri (at least the part of the state I’m from): Toasted Ravioli. St. Louis does have an impressive (ish) list of contributions to cuisine. There’s burnt ends, the aforementioned toasted ravioli, provel cheese\* and pizza made with same (and on razor-thin crust), gooey butter cake, and its own take on BBQ. Kansas City has BBQ and … more BBQ, I guess? \*Provel cheese is considered, by some anyway, an abomination, and I have to agree. ---
**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, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/45 "2024-05-05T14:02:20Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > The most iconic food for the state of Kansas is chicken fried steak. Interesting. I definitely associate this with “The South” and having it at my grandparents house as a kid, who hailed from southern Missouri (basically Arkansas). I had no idea it was a Kansas thing, even though I lived in Kansas for quite awhile. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > There’s burnt ends And this I assumed was a KC thing, as I’ve only ever had them at Gates and Joe’s, not any place in STL (which, while there are a few good places now, can’t really compare to KC for BBQ). And Provel cheese, in itself, is in fact vile. But somehow on thin-crust pizza with a ton of toppings it seems to work… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/46 "2024-05-05T14:45:04Z")
Damn, Wisconsin’s is right on! “Culver’s Wrapper: Too blackout drunk to rip it off first.” ---
**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, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/47 "2024-05-05T15:49:26Z")
_The Onion_ is originally from Madison, so they’d get that right ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/48 "2024-05-05T16:01:31Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > 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. Eh, not necessarily. You need people who have lived in the state, to know what’s popular there, but you also need people who’ve lived elsewhere, to know what’s not popular elsewhere. If you just go by residents, then you end up with things like New Yorkers who think that New York is the only place with American-style pizza. > [@Kron](#): > > (I know, nobody can claim steak, And yet they did, for… Oklahoma, was it? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/49 "2024-05-05T16:01:43Z")
I thought Michigan would have the Coney Dog. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/50 "2024-05-05T16:06:05Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I had no idea it was a Kansas thing, even though I lived in Kansas for quite awhile. Most any home-owned small-town cafe will have chicken fried steak on the menu. There are a couple of restaurants close to my home that advertise as having the largest portion, which basically covers the entire plate. The mashed potatoes are heaped atop the meat. Everything is topped with white gravy. Heart attack on a plate, but oh so good. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/51 "2024-05-05T16:09:55Z")
Most any home-owned small-town cafe anywhere on the continent will have chicken fried steak on the menu. It’s not a Kansas thing. ---
**Author:** ![Yosh99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yosh99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosh99)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/52 "2024-05-05T16:16:08Z")
As a Minnesotan, hot dish is good. I’m grateful they didn’t pick lutefisk. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/53 "2024-05-05T16:44:26Z")
Steak for Oklahoma isn’t _completely_ ridiculous but I’m pretty sure Cattlemen’s Steakhouse paid for that post. IMO the most iconic food from Oklahoma is the onion burger. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/54 "2024-05-05T16:46:41Z")
Same is true for Texas, and probably most of the south. BTW, my tablet does not like that website, so what was Texas? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/55 "2024-05-05T16:49:27Z")
Brisket is right for Texas. As far as New Mexico’s Frito Pie, I don’t know if that’s correct or not, but the photo they use is not typical for a Frito pie. The Texas version, which I assumed (maybe incorrectly) is typical of all Frito pies, is served with chili or chili and cheese. I’ve never seen a Frito pie with lettuce or tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/56 "2024-05-05T16:51:08Z")
I wasn’t surprised that they picked deep-dish pizza for Illinois, but that’s more a Chicago thing than an Illinois thing (although I can’t think of a better “iconic food” that _would_ be representative of the entire state). Some of those foods are associated with their state as a whole, but others are associated with a specific city or region of the state. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/57 "2024-05-05T16:56:46Z")
Well, that’s fair, given that Illinois is mostly Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/58 "2024-05-05T16:58:09Z")
Yes, I am aware that Chicagoans think so. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/59 "2024-05-05T16:58:36Z")
Lamb chop for Colorado. Nope! Green Chili by far. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151/60 "2024-05-05T17:02:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 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. For Ohio, I would have guessed square-cut pizza. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-iconic-food-from-each-state/1001151.md?page=4)