Regional Food Items Infographic

I've began working on a US Infographic of regional food items and figured I'd ask for input because I know there is a lot of debate on what represents where and such. This is what I've started with. What do you think? What should be added/moved/changed? The middle states need some representation. Should So. Cal have tacos/burritos or should that me left out as Mexican? Where would you place biscuits? Cornbread? I think I'll add slingers and horseshoes too. Do french fries or burgers have a region to you? I'd probably put a green chile burger in NM. What about the different BBQs? How would you place them? Thanks for any and all input.

EatingTheRoad


I've began working on a US Infographic of regional food items and figured I'd ask for input because I know there is a lot of debate on what represents where and such. This is what I've started with. What do you think? What should be added/moved/changed? The middle states need some representation. Should So. Cal have tacos/burritos or should that me left out as Mexican? Where would you place biscuits? Cornbread? I think I'll add slingers and horseshoes too. Do french fries or burgers have a region to you? I'd probably put a green chile burger in NM. What about the different BBQs? How would you place them? Thanks for any and all input.

 
Are those California Rolls for So-Cal?
 
I'd put tacos/burritos in the "general southwest category"
 
I was thinking of putting together a similar list by state but with with actual food pics I took over the last 3 1/2 years and add on to the list with future trips.

why don't you animate the map and then you can show where items started and where they've ended up.
Everyone eats

That is a neat idea!! If you don't mind I would put Pasty's in the UP of M.I.  I have found they are served there more than most other states and are great. N.C. for whole hog chopped  or sliced BBQ, you dont see alot of ribs here. In thinking of Ort, Livermush in Athens G.A.(get well soon Ort)  Just my Two cents.. Love the Idea,, so original :>)

How about:

Coffee flavored milk syrup for Rhode Island.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches for Indiana.

Beer in Wisconsin or Cheese!

and 

Sopapillas for New Mexico

mar52


How about:

Coffee flavored milk syrup for Rhode Island.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches for Indiana.

Beer in Wisconsin or Cheese!

and 

Sopapillas for New Mexico

but there's the rub. I grew up with all those things locally, except for the WJ syrup.
Call it the WJ conundrum.

A good idea, but that infograph can get very crowded, very quickly. I don't have the graphic in front of me as I reply, so pardon if I repeat something already represented....
 
Wisconsin could claim beer, brandy, bratwurst, cheese curds.... SE Wisconsin would claim kringle
New England--donuts (is that a donut or bagel in the infograph?) 
Phillie--Cheesesteak
Maryland--crabcakes
Virginia--Virginia Ham
the Deep South--"meat and three"
 
Minnesota--the "hot dish. Perhaps also lutefisk and the juicy lucy
Iowa, rural Illinois, and Indiana-- the Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich
Nebraska--the Runza
Cincinnati area--"five-way" chili
Kentucky-- the Hot Brown, derby pie, mint juleps
Western NY--Beef on Weck, sponge candy
Oklahoma or the southwest--Indian tacos
Montana/Wyoming/Dakotas--bison, buffalo, etc.

you've got WAY too much time on your hands.

I think this is a great idea, and it is something I have been thinking about doing for a long time.  If you are serious about pursuing, I can build an app that enables you to map a region and label it for a particular food.  Hot dogs and hamburgers might be too generic, so you can specify the various styles of those food items in sub-categories.

start with a list (location:food) if you want input.  the map is just noise at this point in the exercise.  

Is New Jersey under all that food?
 
Pork roll is missing and that would be a shame.
 

I thought it was the center of the food universe, at least according to this site.
And I take back what I said earlier. The unmarked states all eat soylent green.

I've got a buddy that moved here from Nebraska. He and his wife are all the time talking about Runzas.

I've got to find those purple runza pictures.

Having spent a good 15 years in Hawaii, I'd put seafood and sushi on that state.

Seafood on the Alaskian coast, wild game in the interior.

North Dakota - "hot dish" in the local lexicon.

bill voss

And I take back what I said earlier. The unmarked states all eat soylent green.

Man, am I glad my state is already marked!

ETR

You have to understand Bill Voss -

He refers to traditional regional food as "Museum Relics" and believes that all foods should be celebrated everywhere.


My list is exhaustive ,however some regional dishes share two states or a region so it may be difficult to nail some of these down to one state.

wanderingjew


ETR

You have to understand Bill Voss -

He refers to traditional regional food as "Museum Relics" and believes that all foods should be celebrated everywhere.


My list is exhaustive ,however some regional dishes share two states or a region so it may be difficult to nail some of these down to one state.

I can certainly understand that perspective.

Any items you think should be included for sure?

sk bob


you've got WAY too much time on your hands.

That is a big 'ol fat truth my friend

You know what it is? I recently went on a roadtrip and I was just blown away by all the regional eats that I didn't even know about.... I mean how come no one told me about hushpuppies? ...or green chile burgers, slingers, horseshoes, coffee milk, johnny cakes, shoo fly pies, fried cheese curds, runzas, etc.? I think it's amazing that some of these items have stayed local.

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a restaurant that served a bunch of these dishes from all over the country? They couldn't even have to live up to the greatness that they are but as long as you could get them in your own neck of the woods all at one place....I think that would be fantastic. I think that's what I'll do with my free time now

WarToad


Having spent a good 15 years in Hawaii, I'd put seafood and sushi on that state.

Seafood on the Alaskian coast, wild game in the interior.

North Dakota - "hot dish" in the local lexicon.

sorry, Hawaii can't have Sushi. It was invented in California.

Goetta - greater Cincinnati area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetta

bill voss

WarToad


Having spent a good 15 years in Hawaii, I'd put seafood and sushi on that state.

Seafood on the Alaskian coast, wild game in the interior.

North Dakota - "hot dish" in the local lexicon.

sorry, Hawaii can't have Sushi. It was invented in California.

"Invented' in California? What ever happened to Japan?  Just askin' !
 
Russ

russ2304

bill voss

WarToad


Having spent a good 15 years in Hawaii, I'd put seafood and sushi on that state.

Seafood on the Alaskian coast, wild game in the interior.

North Dakota - "hot dish" in the local lexicon.

sorry, Hawaii can't have Sushi. It was invented in California.

"Invented' in California? What ever happened to Japan?  Just askin' !
 
Russ

 
Bill Voss is aluding to and over generalizing to the fact that these are the ravings of a madman (me) insisting that Sushi was invented in California, think along these "We all know that Pizza was invented in Italy so  if NYC were to claim Pizza as their own, that's utterly ridiculous and absurd"
 
Here are the real actual facts: American Sushi Rolls (wacky rolls, crazy rolls etc) were in fact invented in Southern California and don't exist in Japan
 
 

Move the ribs out of North Carolina and into Memphis.  Maybe replace the ribs with a whole piggie in the Carolinas.

For Hawaii Spam could be included.  

How would you put a picture of a buffet for Nevada?  

mar52
How would you put a picture of a buffet for Nevada?  

Uh, oh.....  It better not be a photo of me.

LOL.  Also, you now have me thinking about donut pizza, so thanks for that.  :)

How about fried catfish for Mississippi? With hush puppies.

How about fried okra and hush puppies and crackling cornbread for Alabama?

mbrookes


How about fried catfish for Mississippi? With hush puppies.

tamales are more iconic, aren't they?

bill voss

WarToad


Having spent a good 15 years in Hawaii, I'd put seafood and sushi on that state.

Seafood on the Alaskian coast, wild game in the interior.

North Dakota - "hot dish" in the local lexicon.

sorry, Hawaii can't have Sushi. It was invented in California.

http://travel.blogdig.net/archives/articles/March2008/17/We_Stuff_Our_Faces_in_LA_Seriously__Los_Angeles__.html

A Cuban sandwich for Florida and one for New Jersey. North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami and Cuban sandwiches are Roadfood in this part of New Jersey.

CCinNJ


A Cuban sandwich for Florida and one for New Jersey. North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami and Cuban sandwiches are Roadfood in this part of New Jersey.

Where is North Hudson?  Are you referring to the northern part of Hudson County or a town called North Hudson?  More importantly, who sells the great Cuban sandwiches there?

You can get great Cuban sandwiches in Fairfield OH also as well as fantastic plantain chips.

CCinNJ


A Cuban sandwich for Florida and one for New Jersey. North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami and Cuban sandwiches are Roadfood in this part of New Jersey.

Can you find good Cuban paellas there? Like:

http://bestcubanrecipes.blogspot.com/2006/02/cuban-paella-paella-cubana-very.html

Pigiron

CCinNJ


A Cuban sandwich for Florida and one for New Jersey. North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami and Cuban sandwiches are Roadfood in this part of New Jersey.

Where is North Hudson?  Are you referring to the northern part of Hudson County or a town called North Hudson?  More importantly, who sells the great Cuban sandwiches there?

Yes North Hudson County. Union City West New York Guttenberg area.
 
Pan Con Todo is very good. No website but a NYT story...
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/nyregion/21towns.html?ex=1361250000&en=6f0ba743389c27d4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
 
 
 
 
 

wanderingjew

Here are the real actual facts: American Sushi Rolls (wacky rolls, crazy rolls etc) were in fact invented in Southern California and don't exist in Japan 

At first I was going to call BS on this as urban myth, but then I took a razor blade to what you said and I'll agree.
 
Makizushi ("rolled sushi", or "sushi rolls")goes back at least a 150 years to the Kansai region and being a festival food.  But it originally was a roll of straightforward fish, pickles, or fresh vegetables.  This was an evolution from temakizushi which was a cone shaped roll of the same items.
 
California, being California, had to make it snazzier, brighter, hipper, and threw in avacado, bean sprouts, cream cheese... and it caught on.  Then went world-wide.
 
You can order these Americanized sushi rolls in Japan.  Kind of.  They often go by different names, not a lot of sushi joints have them.  Sometimes you have to tell the chef whats in them and watch his eyebrows raise.  They are very much considered yet another American oddity and bastardization of Japanese food.  (In the manner of Benihana and teppan-yaki, which purely American.  Or teriyaki in the US, which is far sweeter than in Japan.)

Why not sprouts and grass for CA ?

Russ

WarToad

wanderingjew

Here are the real actual facts: American Sushi Rolls (wacky rolls, crazy rolls etc) were in fact invented in Southern California and don't exist in Japan 

At first I was going to call BS on this as urban myth, but then I took a razor blade to what you said and I'll agree.
 
Makizushi ("rolled sushi", or "sushi rolls")goes back at least a 150 years to the Kansai region and being a festival food.  But it originally was a roll of straightforward fish, pickles, or fresh vegetables.  This was an evolution from temakizushi which was a cone shaped roll of the same items.
 
California, being California, had to make it snazzier, brighter, hipper, and threw in avacado, bean sprouts, cream cheese... and it caught on.  Then went world-wide.
 
You can order these Americanized sushi rolls in Japan.  Kind of.  They often go by different names, not a lot of sushi joints have them.  Sometimes you have to tell the chef whats in them and watch his eyebrows raise.  They are very much considered yet another American oddity and bastardization of Japanese food.  (In the manner of Benihana and teppan-yaki, which purely American.  Or teriyaki in the US, which is far sweeter than in Japan.)

Exactly, don't mess with my limited but pinpointed food knowledge that's why I was using the same logic with Pizza. It was invented in Italy, so one can argue that NY trying to claim it as it's own is a crock of BS, however a typical NYC slice is quite different than what you might find in Italy, same thing with the "tripped out" sushi Rolls which got it's start in LA.
Although the "caught on" thing I don't agree with I've yet to see what I've seen in LA in either Rhode Island, or even Boston or NYC. I've even asked other sushi enthusiasts in both cities about it and they look at me as if I have 3 heads. I showed some of my sushi eating co-workers my review of the California Roll Factory and they just stared at it "glassy eyed" one just kept looking and repeated several times ......"wow"


Other examples would be Cuban Sandwiches which apparently were invented in Tampa- I'm sure there has to be something in Cuba they remotely based it on but I'm sure it's nothing quite like the ones we're familiar with

Another example is Chinese food, even in the best of Chinatowns in NYC and San Francisco,much of what you'll find you won't typically find in China.

dupe post

Are NY bagels like those in Poland?

watch out WJ, its a trap!

Not so!!!!!

My Czech family tell me that Kolache are strictly fruit or poppy-seed or sweet-cream cheese filling pastries, and the Chicago and  other Midwestern Czech seem to agree. How then did the Meat/Sausage filled Pastries we find in the Czech communities in TEXAS come to be "Kolache"?? Living testimony to the realities of foodie-evolution!

I won't attempt to take sides in the debate over sub-specialties in burgers, or pizza, other than to say that evolution does indeed occur with lots of foods as they grow in different parts of the country.

On the Info graph Kentucky needs to have the following added to it's credits
   BOURBON
   Hot Browns
   Mutton BBQ
   Derby Pie
   Burgoo
   KFC -
 
I would credit Washington State with
  Salmon
  Apples
  Cherries
 
Nevada and Idaho can split the BASQUE Label
 
 How can we narrow the BBQ credits?  The Big 4 have been Texas, Memphis (TN), Carolina and Kansas City, but the sub specialties here have spread like wildfire over the past 20 years or so.
The Tri-Tip of California, and the Mutton of Kentucky deserve attention, as does the Luau of Hawaii and the new stores in the Northern States are proving to have brought  BBQ to those areas quite well.
 
Yeah a person could do a PhD Thesis on this topic thats for sure!

mayor al


My Czech family tell me that Kolache are strictly fruit or poppy-seed or sweet-cream cheese filling pastries, and the Chicago and  other Midwestern Czech seem to agree. How then did the Meat/Sausage filled Pastries we find in the Czech communities in TEXAS come to be "Kolache"?? Living testimony to the realities of foodie-evolution!

I won't attempt to take sides in the debate over sub-specialties in burgers, or pizza, other than to say that evolution does indeed occur with lots of foods as they grow in different parts of the country.

On the Info graph Kentucky needs to have the following added to it's credits
   BOURBON
   Hot Browns
   Mutton BBQ
   Derby Pie
   Burgoo
   KFC -

Let us not forget lamb fries (testicles):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_fries

For Hawaii, Malasadas, Portugese Sweet Bread, Portugese Sausage, Kahlua Pig, Manapua and Saimin.

What do you think?

If you really have this much time on your hands, could you come help me clean my house? I need you to sit on my bed while I try on outfits & give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. This is to include handbags, shoes & hats as well. It's fall cleaning @ the _Detective residence b/c if the clothes decided one day to rebel against me, I would die. Dinner from Jimmy's Grotto, gelato from Divino Gelato  & cocktails would be included.

What should be added/moved/changed?

We are so much more than our cheese, it pains me to even look at the map. I knew what was going to be there before I even looked. FISH FRY!!!!! Supper clubs, etc.

"Should So. Cal have tacos/burritos or should that me left out as Mexican?"

Not unless you want Arizona, New Mexico & Texas to pout.

"Where would you place biscuits?"

The South

"Cornbread?"

The South. There is no one particular state for these things. Trying to pick one is just gonna create fights.

"I think I'll add slingers and horseshoes too."

This is over my head, sounds like games on the playground, not food. I am a bad Roadfooder.

"Do french fries or burgers have a region to you?"

Do bears do algebra in the woods?

"I'd probably put a green chile burger in NM."

Yes.

"What about the different BBQs? How would you place them?"

hahahahaha, good luck!!! :) Kansas City, Memphis, the Carolinas, Texas brisket...everyone has que.

"Thanks for any and all input."

You're welcome, looks like a cool project. Is it just you or would you consider donating the idea to the Roadfood website? I think it would be cool to be able to click on a region on the map or hover over it & be able to get pics & recommendations for that area.

stricken_detective

If you really have this much time on your hands, could you come help me clean my house? I need you to sit on my bed while I try on outfits & give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. This is to include handbags, shoes & hats as well. It's fall cleaning @ the _Detective residence b/c if the clothes decided one day to rebel against me, I would die. Dinner from Jimmy's Grotto, gelato from Divino Gelato  & cocktails would be included.

Man have you ever got yourself a deal!

You're welcome, looks like a cool project. Is it just you or would you consider donating the idea to the Roadfood website? I think it would be cool to be able to click on a region on the map or hover over it & be able to get pics & recommendations for that area.

Well as you can see there is quite a lot of info to include...I would love to have it be clickable and interactive...I'm not quite sure best how to attack it. I just started kicking around the idea and am still working on it...just looking for input. It would be awesome if it were somehow "Wiki-able" and users could add/edit items themselves....

EatingTheRoad

stricken_detective

If you really have this much time on your hands, could you come help me clean my house? I need you to sit on my bed while I try on outfits & give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. This is to include handbags, shoes & hats as well. It's fall cleaning @ the _Detective residence b/c if the clothes decided one day to rebel against me, I would die. Dinner from Jimmy's Grotto, gelato from Divino Gelato  & cocktails would be included.

Man have you ever got yourself a deal!

You're welcome, looks like a cool project. Is it just you or would you consider donating the idea to the Roadfood website? I think it would be cool to be able to click on a region on the map or hover over it & be able to get pics & recommendations for that area.

Well as you can see there is quite a lot of info to include...I would love to have it be clickable and interactive...I'm not quite sure best how to attack it. I just started kicking around the idea and am still working on it...just looking for input. It would be awesome if it were somehow "Wiki-able" and users could add/edit items themselves....

ETR

As I've said previously, my list is exhaustive. To get an idea, you might want to check out my prior trip reports, because 98% of the time, I strictly pursue traditional regional specific  restaurants, moreso than most of the folks on this forum. But since Mexican food was mentioned I thought i would give an example of how regionally specific it can get.
For example

Fajitas and Chili are specifically Tex- Mex,  possibly Nachos too, but I'm not completely sure about that.

The Mission Style Burrito is unique to the San Francisco Bay area

Both New Mexico and Colorado share Green Chili, however the New Mexico Version is "soupier" and the Colorado version is thicker.

Carne Adovada is primarily New Mexican and when I was in Denver I saw many Mexican Restaurant menus offering a Mexican Hamburger, I had one and wasn't impressed (although it  could have just been that specific restaurant)

Chimichangas were invented in Tucson

Of course Fish Tacos came up from Baja through San Diego

and Navajo Tacos are apparently common in the four corners area ( New Mexico- Utah- Arizona)....

This is just a very small example of regional differences  (and yes, Bill Voss I know that you can get these in other parts of the country too)  I thought I would respond before I heard from the peanut gallery.

A map of the US could be clickable like when you look at a chain restaurant's site.

You first click on the state and then only that state comes up.

When that is fine tuned you can then add a zip code option.

Looks like this is going to be a long, well thought out and wonderful project!

what are you showing for Louisiana?  Is that a muffuletta or poor boy sandwich?  Muffs are round - probably be easier to show oysters or blue crabs, and more colorful. 

Alight, I love the enthusiasm and the collaborative idea of this whole thing ...seeing that everyone will know their area best anyways. So rather than the whole infographic idea I thought a wiki would suit this application best. This way anyone can add/edit items as they see fit. It seems like a lot of you would like to help and work on this. It's probably a huge undertaking and the more the merrier.

I've put together something for us to start with. Here is the structure:

http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Regional+Foods - Full List of states
http://eatingtheroad.wiki...ylvania+Regional+Foods - Individual State
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Shoofly+Pie - Individual Entry

What do you think? Mess around with it a bit, add items, etc. and let me know what you think. This is my first venture into wikis so it'll have to be tweaked here and there but I think this will give us a good start.

Excellent!  Great work!

The thing about user input is...  Will there be someone to make sure the added data is correct?

Maybe new data could be sent to a central site and then if proven true it could then be added?

I really like it.

Super!

Well that's the whole thing with wikis....it's an open community and that is supposed to be what makes it work. We'll leave it as such for now and see how it goes. The thing is if you see something that is incorrect you can change it so that it's proper.

Excellent job!
 
Just wait until some cheeky character puts in some inappropriate regional dish. Let the bodies hit the floor...as they may!

EatingTheRoad


Alight, I love the enthusiasm and the collaborative idea of this whole thing ...seeing that everyone will know their area best anyways. So rather than the whole infographic idea I thought a wiki would suit this application best. This way anyone can add/edit items as they see fit. It seems like a lot of you would like to help and work on this. It's probably a huge undertaking and the more the merrier.

I've put together something for us to start with. Here is the structure:

http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Regional+Foods - Full List of states
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Pennsylvania+Regional+Foods - Individual State
http://eatingtheroad.wikispaces.com/Shoofly+Pie - Individual Entry

What do you think? Mess around with it a bit, add items, etc. and let me know what you think. This is my first venture into wikis so it'll have to be tweaked here and there but I think this will give us a good start.

Keep in mind some dishes that may be listed could be designated for an entire region versus a state, for example, some one could put "country ham" in for Tennessee, yet  country ham is popular all throughout the mid south.
 
Also  a dish could be ethnic but could be designated to a specific state because of a large concentration of that particular ethnicity. For example, "Picadillo" is a cuban dish, but could be designated as a dish popular in Florida because of the large Cuban population in South Florida.

wanderingjew


...
1)   Fajitas and Chili are specifically Tex- Mex,  possibly Nachos too, but I'm not completely sure about that.

....

2)  Of course Fish Tacos came up from Baja through San Diego

#0   and Navajo Tacos are apparently common in the four corners area ( New Mexico- Utah- Arizona).... ....

1) I've been through Mexico quite a bit on a shoestring budget in my youth, and I've had nacho's of all sorts at locals only places.  Are they authentically Mexican? Did they filter through the US and come back to root?  I don't know.  I do know you can get them completely off the tourist path in Mexican locals only holes in the wall.

2) I'm entirely sure fish... seafood of all sorts... tacos are 100% authentic to all coastal parts of Mexico.  I have several Mexican work-peers in Mexico city I communicate with weekly over the last decade, and they assure me it's as Mexican as hamburgers, hotdogs, and apple pie are embraced as American.  In mexico, from street vendors, I've had salmon, cod, halibut, unidentifiable, octopus, shrimp, lobster, scallop, clam, oyster,... I'm trying to think what seafood I haven't had taco-style.  I can't.

3) Add in North and South Dakota.  You see them everywhere at community functions as "Indian Taco's"

WarToad

wanderingjew


...
1)   Fajitas and Chili are specifically Tex- Mex,  possibly Nachos too, but I'm not completely sure about that.

....

2)  Of course Fish Tacos came up from Baja through San Diego

#0   and Navajo Tacos are apparently common in the four corners area ( New Mexico- Utah- Arizona).... ....

1) I've been through Mexico quite a bit on a shoestring budget in my youth, and I've had nacho's of all sorts at locals only places.  Are they authentically Mexican? Did they filter through the US and come back to root?  I don't know.  I do know you can get them completely off the tourist path in Mexican locals only holes in the wall.

2) I'm entirely sure fish... seafood of all sorts... tacos are 100% authentic to all coastal parts of Mexico.  I have several Mexican work-peers in Mexico city I communicate with weekly over the last decade, and they assure me it's as Mexican as hamburgers, hotdogs, and apple pie are embraced as American.  In mexico, from street vendors, I've had salmon, cod, halibut, unidentifiable, octopus, shrimp, lobster, scallop, clam, oyster,... I'm trying to think what seafood I haven't had taco-style.  I can't.

3) Add in North and South Dakota.  You see them everywhere at community functions as "Indian Taco's"

Would you be so kind to  ask your Mexican friends if fajitas had any beginnings in their country?

I have been told this is so by  a Mexican restaurant owner here but the info on the Internet seems to indicate  they started in Texas.

WarToad

wanderingjew


...
1)   Fajitas and Chili are specifically Tex- Mex,  possibly Nachos too, but I'm not completely sure about that.

....

2)  Of course Fish Tacos came up from Baja through San Diego

#0   and Navajo Tacos are apparently common in the four corners area ( New Mexico- Utah- Arizona).... ....

1) I've been through Mexico quite a bit on a shoestring budget in my youth, and I've had nacho's of all sorts at locals only places.  Are they authentically Mexican? Did they filter through the US and come back to root?  I don't know.  I do know you can get them completely off the tourist path in Mexican locals only holes in the wall.

2) I'm entirely sure fish... seafood of all sorts... tacos are 100% authentic to all coastal parts of Mexico.  I have several Mexican work-peers in Mexico city I communicate with weekly over the last decade, and they assure me it's as Mexican as hamburgers, hotdogs, and apple pie are embraced as American.  In mexico, from street vendors, I've had salmon, cod, halibut, unidentifiable, octopus, shrimp, lobster, scallop, clam, oyster,... I'm trying to think what seafood I haven't had taco-style.  I can't.

3) Add in North and South Dakota.  You see them everywhere at community functions as "Indian Taco's"

 
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Tortilla_Taco_history.htm
This explains the history of the fish taco. If you've read the one of the Stern's earlier books which included Rubio's before it became the chain that it is today, it does indicate that Ralph Rubio brought the fish taco from Baja to San Diego.
 
Also I didn't know that the Navajo Indians reached into The Dakotas.
 
 

WarToad

wanderingjew


...


#0   and Navajo Tacos are apparently common in the four corners area ( New Mexico- Utah- Arizona).... ....

3) Add in North and South Dakota.  You see them everywhere at community functions as "Indian Taco's"

 
Ah- hah!
Further research reveals that the Navajo brought the Navajo Tacos from the Four Corners region  to the annual pow-wows many of which were held in the Dakotos, so that explains how they got there.

wanderingjew
 
.... 
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Tortilla_Taco_history.htm
This explains the history of the fish taco. If you've read the one of the Stern's earlier books which included Rubio's before it became the chain that it is today, it does indicate that Ralph Rubio brought the fish taco from Baja to San Diego. 
  

Baja being Mexico, that makes sense.  And I'd be surprised that he just didn't make it to mainland coastal Mexico and see that seafood taco's were there too.  Kinda like saying some guy brought pizza back from Napoli, not realizing it was practiaclly everywhere else too.
 
I sent an email to my Mexican work friends about fajita's, see what they have to say.