Every state has its own unique cuisine. Just in time for your summer road trip, we picked out 50 of our favorites that each state regards as their own. Chow down!
Alaska
King Crab
A delicacy around the world, Alaskan king crab is the one of the tastiest meals on this list — and one of the most dangerous to catch, as seen in the Deadliest Catch TV show.
Alabama
Fried green tomatoes
A southern speciality, fried green tomatoes became famous because of the movie by the same name. Cooking them after being coated in buttermilk results in a firmer, less crunchy cornmeal coating.
Arizona
Chimichanga
Allegedly the chimichanga was invented when someone dropped a pastry in a deep-fat fryer in Tucson. Halfway into a Spanish curse, she stopped and changed to “chimichanga!”
Arkansas
Catfish
It’s not going to win any beauty prizes, but fried catfish with a creole dip with a side of corn on the cob or potato salad can be a feast fit for a king.
California
Fish tacos
Fried up and put on homemade tortillas with fresh pico de gallo and avocado, fish tacos are a favorite on the beaches over a campfire.
Colorado
Rocky Mountain Oysters
While Colorado is the traditional home of Rocky Mountain Oysters, the largest festival for the consumption of cattle, pig and sheep testicles is held in Idaho.
Connecticut
Hamburgers
Connecticut isn’t generally thought of as a hamburger state, but one of the first places believed to have sold hamburgers — a tiny luncheonette still in business today called Louis Lunch — is in New Haven. The title of first hamburger is up for debate between locations in New Haven, Hamburg, New York, Seymour, Wisconsin, and Athens, Texas.
Delaware
Scrapple
While leftover pig parts combined with pork stock and grains doesn’t sound that appetizing, people in the mid-Atlantic states have been enjoying scrapple for decades. The world’s largest producer of scrapple, Rapa Scrapple, is in Bridgeville, Delaware.
Florida
Key Lime Pie
Named for the limes grown in the Florida Keys, key lime pie was invented in and around Key West, where sponge fishermen would put limes, eggs and canned milk together so they wouldn’t spoil. Housewives adopted the recipe into pie form.
Georgia
Peach pie/cobbler
In Atlanta alone, there are 55 streets with the name “Peachtree” in them. Peaches — it’s a thing. If you can’t get enough cobbler, a group each year makes what they bill as the world’s largest cobbler — 11 feet by 5 feet.
Hawaii
Poke
Poke is similar to shashimi, but can be cut in rough pieces from less-expensive fish. When it was made by the first Hawaiians, it was seasoned with seaweed, kukui nut and sea salt. Later on, scallions, chili peppers and soy sauce were added.
Idaho
Potatoes
If you need convincing about this, you can always visit the Idaho Potato Museum, which will document the state’s relationship with the spud since the first crop was planted. (July 22, 1847, for those keeping score at home.)
Illinois
Deep-dish pizza
This is pizza as pie, as ballast, possibly as doorstop. None of this namby-pamby weak sauce thin crust nonsense — this is where the cheese is deep and the diets are ignored.
Indiana
Pork tenderloin sandwich
No less an expert than Gourmet magazine said pork tenderloin sandwiches — based on wiener schnitzel consumed by German immigrants in the 1800s — are more popular than hamburgers in Indiana.
Iowa
Loose-meat sandwiches
Take a Sloppy Joe, remove the tomato sauce, add onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard, and you’ve got a loose-meat sandwich. These were made popular in Iowa by a chain of restaurants called Maid-Rite.
Kansas
Wheat Bread
It’s called the nation’s bread basket for a reason — nearly 20% of all the wheat in the United States comes from Kansas.
Kentucky
Bourbon
There are several notable foods popular in Kentucky — burgoo, barbecue and derby pie are three — but we need something to wash all these dishes down with. Cheers!
Louisiana
Gumbo
There are many different kinds of gumbo, and just as many sources that have contributed to the various types, ranging from Africa to France to Native Americans.
Maine
Lobster
New England summers are not complete without strolling out to a windworn shack on the Maine coast – preferably one sitting on a dock with a tied-up boat nearby — and diving into a couple of fresh, juicy lobster rolls.
Maryland
Crab
Steam up a pile of Maryland blue crabs, season liberally and crack open an ice-cold beverage while you savor the delicate flavors and textures. Go ahead. We’ll wait.
Massachusetts
Clam chowder
The best clam chowder is really more of a thick stew — diced clams with chunks of potatoes and onions. Don’t forget the oyster crackers.
Michigan
Pasty
If you’re in the Upper Peninsula, you know the pasty — a baked pie introduced to the area by Cornish miners. It is still popular in Cornwall, where it is called the national dish.
Minnesota
Lutefisk
Lutefisk is a traditional Nordic dish that came with Scandanavian immigrants to the upper Midwest. It is made from stockfish (air-dried whitefish) and soda lye (lut), and is traditionally eaten around Christmastime.
Mississippi
Mississippi mud pie
A favorite of choco-holics everywhere, Mississippi mud pie was invented after World War II. The dark chocolate resembling the banks of the Mississippi River gave it its name.
Missouri
Barbecue
While many states have strong barbecue backgrounds, it has been part of the culture in Missouri for more than a century. The Kansas City Barbeque Society is the largest known group of barbecuers in the world.
Montana
Pemmican
Invented by Native American tribes in the area, pemmican was made from strips of buffalo meat that was pounded into pieces and mixed with local berries. The fatty, protein-filled food could last for a long time without going bad.
Nebraska
Steak
Omaha Steaks, one of the world’s leading beef producers, calls Nebraska home. Fueled by the cattle herds of the Midwest, Nebraska beef is some of the best in the world.
Nevada
Shrimp cocktails
For a landlocked state, Nevada owns the shrimp cocktail. It was invented and sold at the Golden Gate hotel and casino in Las Vegas in 1959. Since then, the hotel has sold more than 30 million of them.
New Hampshire
Apples
Another New England fall family favorite, the apple farms in southern New Hampshire are traditionally filled with people picking apples for a fresh apple pie. You can also get some excellent pies from the state fruit: pumpkins.
New Jersey
Hot dogs
There are several different types of hot dogs in Jersey, ranging from the ripper — deep-fried until the casing rips open — to the Italian hot dog, which involves two deep-fried hot dogs stuffed into a pizza pocket with fried onions, peppers and potatoes.
New Mexico
Chili peppers
The fiery soul of Southwestern cuisine is the co-state vegetable of New Mexico with pinto beans. Legislators argued that the two were inseparable, so they were adopted together in 1965.
New York
Bagels
You could go with thin-crust pizza, or buffalo wings, or several other foods — but a warm bagel with slightly melting cream cheese? Heaven. Why is that? Some say the water, some say the bakers — I just know I’ll take a dozen.
North Carolina
Pulled pork
There is a statewide divide in North Carolina over their pulled pork. The eastern side of the state tends to use the whole pig soaked light, vinegary sauce, while the west side just uses pork shoulders and flavors their sauce with tomatoes.
North Dakota
Knoepfla Soup
The Germans who immigrated to the Upper Midwest from Russia during the early 20th century brought many of their recipes with them, including the dumplings (knoephla, or little buttons), served in a thick chicken and potato stew.
Ohio
Chili
There are as many ways to make chili as there are states, if not more. One of the most distinctive, though, is Cincinnati-style chili, which includes cinnamon, cloves and chocolate. It’s rarely eaten by the bowl — serving as more of a meat sauce to go over spaghetti or hot dogs.
Oklahoma
Chicken-fried steak
Oklahomans have a healthy appetite. They didn’t choose a state food — they chose a state meal, which includes chicken-fried steak. Oklahoma restaurants featuring the dish have been regular features on cooking TV shows and magazines.
Oregon
Marionberries
The marionberry was developed by the Oregon state university system and the USDA as a new type of blackberry. Its complex flavor has led it to be dubbed the “Cabernet of blackberries.”
Pennsylvania
Cheesesteaks
Like most awesome things, there is some debate over who invented the Philly cheesesteak. But the basic formula is generally the same: shaved grilled meat and provolone or Cheez Whiz cheese stuffed into an Amoroso roll.
Rhode Island
Quahog stuffies
Take one clam, mix the meat with bread or cornmeal stuffing and bake in the shell for a Quahog stuffie. Eat quickly, before Peter Griffin and the rest of the Family Guy cast come gobble them up.
South Carolina
Grits
There’s no shame in being the base ingredient — the part of the meal that everything else builds from. Thick ground corn meal can serve as a breakfast food, or be mixed in with seafood like rice.
South Dakota
Chislic
This sounds like a great Super Bowl snack food: cubed red meat, grilled and served hot on a skewer after marinating in the family’s secret sauce. There are some differences across the state, but mutton and venison are popular.
Tennessee
Hot chicken
Hot chicken is a specialty of the culinary scene in and around Nashville, where chicken is fried and then covered in a cayenne pepper paste before it is served on white bread. It’s become a favorite for late-night diner visitors.
Texas
Breakfast tacos
Eggs, cheese and a flour tortilla — breakfast tacos are about as easy as it gets, and Texans eat them more than any other food. Other ingredients can vary, but should include barbacoa or carnitas, a good spicy salsa, and perhaps a little avocado.
Utah
Fry sauce
A rarity outside Utah, restaurants in the 1950s developed an alternate dipping sauce for French fries. Today, most restaurants have their own version, featuring some combination of mayo, ketchup, relish and spices. If you’re looking for something a little more substantial, try the pastrami burger.
Vermont
Maple syrup
Maple syrup straight from the drawing pan is a heavenly gift to pancakes, waffles, and every other kind of breakfast bread. For a little dessert, don’t forget maple sugar candy.
Virginia
Smithfield ham
There is a state statute defining how exactly Smithfield hams are meant to be cured. It defines the meat as: “hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry-salt method; and aged for a minimum period of six months.”
Washington
Salmon
Yes, we know all about the coffee. But salmon is generally regarded as one of the world’s great superfoods, with tons of protein, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fats, which contribute to healthy brain, heart and joint function.
West Virginia
Pepperoni roll
Pepperoni rolls were invented as a lunch option for coal miners in the early 20th century. Since they don’t need to be refrigerated, they’ve been adopted by the U.S. military as part of their MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat).
Wisconsin
Cheese
As the home of the famed Cheeseheads — fans of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers — Wisconsin’s cheese reputation is a little goofy. But they take their cheesemaking very seriously, with more than 2.5 billion pounds produced each year in more than 600 varieties.
Wyoming
Buffalo jerky
Buffalo are a state icon in Wyoming, and buffalo jerky is a staple in every gas station and convenience store from one side of the state to the other. If you’re making that long drive, you might want to stock up.
(Photos: Associated Press, Getty Images, Flickr, Creative Commons)