Regional Food Items Infographic

wanderingjew

EatingTheRoad


I...uhh...added this note to the front page here:
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Regional+Foods

"A regional food shall be clarified as either having been originated from a specific area and thus still being strongly associated with that region, regardless if it can be found elsewhere, like the Philly Cheesesteak or a food that can only be found in a certain location (for the most part) as in poi and Hawaii."

What about ethnic food that was incorporated into the fabric of regional food?
I'll cite several examples
Like I mentioned previously- Fish Tacos that came up from Baja Mexico but became popular in the US through San Diego
 
Pasties- brought by Cornish Miners to the U.P. of Michigan as well as Butte Montana
 
Basque Food- Very popular in both Northern Nevada and Southern Idaho as well as Central California which is where the Basque settled.

 
I agree--It might be good to add to the original text something like:"...or originated elsewhere but has become strongly identified with the locale." Without such a clause, Wisconsin couldn't claim cheese or beer, Racine couldn't claim kringle, etc.
 
Overall, it seems to me that ETR is trying to pinpoint foods that are iconic of places, whether in terms of origination (Buffalo Wings in Buffalo), gateway function (fish tacos in San Diego), historical reputation (cheese and beer in Wisconsin), geographic proximity (Maine lobster in Maine), commercial prominence (coffee in Seattle), or other factors.   
  
ETR, are you really more interested in ingredients and dishes with unique origins in the geographic 50 states?
 

 

quijote, I'm really interested in anything that could only be found in a specific local (like Runzas, Slingers, etc) or something that is the iconic and the best in that local (as in New York Cheesecake, Philly Cheesesteaks, etc). Also if an area is really associated with a specific food item as in WI and cheese, CA and wine, etc.

So I've done quite a bit of work on the Wiki. All of the states have at least one item but some need help (I'm looking at you Delaware & Colorado). You can go through all the states here:
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Regional+Foods

..also I've sorted them by category which you can see here:
http://eatingtheroad.wiki...onal+Foods+by+Category

Please feel free to make additions/changes as you see fit. Any recipes, regions, further information, pictures, places to find items, helpful hints, etc. that you can add would be awesome. I've just made everything generic for the most part. It would be great if everyone that was familiar with a particular place put in their 2 cents.

Great Thread
Jack

Thanks Jack....feel free to edit the wiki with anything you see missing or erroneous:
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Regional+Foods

I would love to have the input of a BBQ guy.