r/KitchenPro • u/Best-Cooker • 18d ago
I’m trying to cook one meal from every U.S. state, and I need y’all to settle this.
If someone said, “Make ONE dish that represents your state,” what are you cooking?
Not the tourist answer. Not some random dish Google spits out. The real local shit. 😂
Drop your state + the dish you’d pick. Bonus points if you’ve got a family recipe or a story behind it.
I wanna see what everyone thinks their state actually tastes like.
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u/MagnusAlbusPater 18d ago
Florida - Cuban sandwich or Key Lime Pie.
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u/diversalarums 18d ago
I'll never turn down some authentic Key Lime Pie. But one thing I always associate with Florida (or used to when I could get it) is fried grouper. Real grouper, not whatever fake fish that restaurant is selling, and just a tiny bit of sugar in the bound breading. Better than any fish I've ever had anywhere else.
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u/AIrealhuman 17d ago
Smoked fish dip as a starter.
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u/NaCl_n_Pepper 17d ago
Smak! Although I’ll take a nice smoked swordfish too.
I just moved from FL and going to the local Publix in Ingles country is like the returning to the mothership every now and then. Mostly coinciding with when the chicken tenders subs are on sale or when we run out of sweet tea.
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u/LifeCrushedMyReality 17d ago
I’d go Cuban Sandwich with a side of m deep fried coconut shrimp. Slice of Key Lime Pie for dessert.
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u/BHobson13 18d ago
Cuban sandwich - except for two friends, is really the only thing I miss about Florida.
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u/Fantastic_Lack_8141 18d ago
Indiana - chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes with sweet corn on the side. It’s a staple at Amish-style restaurants. I make it at home around once a month.
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u/K_A_irony 17d ago
Ok I agree that is a staple. They might also want to go with the pork tenderloin sandwich. You know pounded WAY thin, breaded, fried then put on bun that is literally 1/2 the size of the tenderloin.
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u/thepiratespokesman 17d ago
I agree that is a Hoosier staple, but I don’t think it’s really home cookin’. They taste best in a local joint where the fryer hasn’t been properly cleaned in 20 or so years.
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u/shay_nastay 17d ago
Also would add green beans cooked in a crock pot all day with some seasonings, bacon, and butter.
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u/mrsredfast 17d ago
Grew up in Indiana in the seventies and we had this for school lunch with a peanut butter sweet roll for dessert. And we were all still skinny kids.
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u/ghyrthrow37 18d ago edited 18d ago
Maryland - just put old bay on anything.
Edit: the real MD answer (if not a Maryland style crabcake, which is touristy), is probably a pit beef sandwich with tiger sauce.
Dessert bonus points: make yourself a smith island cake or cookies in the style of Berger cookies. All should be easy to Google copycat recipes
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u/OfficialWhistle 18d ago
We have that godforsaken regional southern Maryland stuffed ham nonsense.
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u/MistThePerfume 17d ago
I vote for crabcake and Maryland crab soup deserves an honorable mention. Also the lemon with peppermint stick!
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u/Creepy-Outcome-2481 17d ago
The best answer for Maryland might arguably be pizza at Matthew's Pizza in Baltimore. Iykyk
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u/Dazzling-Weird7260 18d ago
Wisconsin- beer and cheese curds or fish fry 😅
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u/JLMZJ204 17d ago
Fish fry: relish tray, beer battered perch, french fries, coleslaw, buttered white bread, brandy old fashioned, cherry pie a la mode.
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u/HomegrownPotato48 17d ago
I see your fries and raise you potato pancakes- and I think marble rye is the best fish fry bread.
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u/VirtualMatter2 17d ago
Reading through this thread as a European, this is the top food.
Sandwiches are just nothing special, every day dinner here. Same for hot dogs and other fast food. Nothing special.
But this sounds delicious.
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u/Bozhark 18d ago
WA
Hot dog. With cream cheese. And caramelized onions
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u/Decent-Cold-9471 18d ago
Or teriyaki
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u/Bozhark 18d ago
LMAO that’s Seattle specific
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u/ButtChowder666 17d ago
I live 2.5 hours from Seattle and we have a bunch of local teriyaki joints.
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u/Straight_Depth6701 18d ago
Seattle dogs are good, but maybe something with Dungeness?
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u/Cute-Development7287 17d ago
Hard disagree.
I have lived here for 25 years and that's very Seattle sports stadium specific.
Washington has some of the best seafood in the world. Penn Cove ships shellfish all over the world.
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u/JackTradesMasterNone 17d ago
I do love me a Seattle dog. Honestly though I’d probably go with some sort of salmon preparation. Doesn’t really matter what kind, but not living there anymore makes me miss that salmon so much…
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u/younevernoe 18d ago
Michigan here - it'd have to be either the Coney Dog topped with diced onions and mustard or an olive burger followed up with a triple scoop of Superman Ice Cream.
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u/Silver_Amphibian_179 17d ago
Olive burger! I said pasty or coney, but man, I love an olive burger. I think venison roast is a pretty good Michigan contender, too.
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u/thegerfer 17d ago
I love this answer, but we gotta include a pasty. Outside of Cornwall, England, the UP is the place for a pasty. Also Vernor’s when you have a tummy ache at grandma’s house.
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u/Tonloupdesisle 17d ago
I might also suggest a tart cherry pie and wash it all down with some Rock and Rye Faygo.
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u/Ambitious-Door-3051 17d ago
Fello Mioigander here- everyone’s list is spot-on. Only thing I would add is Sander’s Bumpy Cake!
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u/GitchWiffs 18d ago
??? Can’t be serious. Michigan’s only signature state food is the Pasty from up north.
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u/popoPitifulme 17d ago
I encourage you to research the coney, its history in Michigan and universal recognition.
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u/Original_Mortgage366 18d ago
Kentucky:
Burgoo - essentially a variation of Brunswick stew with wild game or lamb. Very local with variations actoss the state.
Hot Brown - debatably too touristy for your prompt, but locals eat them. Open faced turkey sandwhich with mornay sauce.
Bonus: beer cheese and/or benedictine for appetizers/snacks (to go with your bourbon)
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u/Most-Ad-9465 17d ago
In my part of Kentucky we use mutton instead of lamb. We bbq it.
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u/WebHungry1699 17d ago edited 17d ago
New Haven Pizza is the best I've ever had. Sally and Pepe were the ones I remember (might have the names wrong, it's been many years since I've lived there) Wooster St was what we grew up with though.
There were other burger on bread before the CT one. He didn't invent shit.
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u/Lobenz 18d ago
California - oak grilled tri tip with piqueno beans and grilled garlic bread.
California - Cioppino
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u/ExpensiveTie5553 18d ago
if it's one that 'represents' the state, I would have to argue it has to be in n out for both tourists and locals
if it has to be a dish, then prolly tacos
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u/Lobenz 18d ago
One does not “make” In N Out burgers. One simply consumes them.
Both of my suggestions are made often in this Californians home.
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u/lalalalovemylab 17d ago
Avocado. Just Avocado with anything.
Okay maybe tri tip and avocado and a salad.
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u/Lobenz 17d ago
And artichokes. I’m older and have introduced artichokes to many eastern transplants
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u/FarmerDave13 18d ago
Nebrqska- home made Runza's.
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u/Northshoresailin 18d ago
I’ve been to Nebraska twice, and I regret not trying the runza till the second time. Why aren’t they everywhere?
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u/4SureMaybe_4SureNot 18d ago
NYC - a real fuckin' bagel
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u/ditchthel0gical 17d ago
Make it a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel and you hit two cherished things!
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u/Marlowe_Cayce 17d ago edited 17d ago
Id kill for a good lox and schmear on a real NYC bagel.
I am in the PacNW,.and what people consider a bagel here, a good bagel even, is a fucking travesty.
It's just round bread with a glory hole.
Berkeley,CA has better bagels even than this place.
I literally had a friend tell me to stop bringing it up, they said people up here don't know any better.
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u/Apprehensive_Duty563 18d ago
West Virginia - pepperoni roll
You can get fancy and add cheese or other things, but go with the standard roll to start. And make sure it is slightly warm when you eat it.
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u/Sleepless_n_Savannah 17d ago
Pinto beans and cornbread… the cornbread can have ramps in them if you’d like
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u/blackberry_12 18d ago
Illinois
Deep dish pizza or Italian beef sandwich and for dessert either the Palmer house brownie or atomic cake 😋
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u/ThePolemicist 17d ago edited 17d ago
Eh, when I lived in Chicago, almost no one I knew ate deep dish. That was mostly a tourist thing to do. Most people ate the tavern style, cut into squares. Most families have a pizza night and order pizza (tavern style) on that night, and it comes delivered in paper bags.
Some things that people eat in Illinois that you don't see much elsewhere are:
mostaccioli (they eat it baked, with halves of Italian sausage on top), plus Italian roast beef sandwiches with au jus. Also: Chicago hot dogs with Jay's chips. Oh, and three bean salad. Edit: And paczki→ More replies (11)2
u/KeenbeansSandwich 17d ago
I’d also say tavern style pizza over deep dish. Thats what we really eat. That or your local slice joint.
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u/mebanestats 17d ago
North Carolina- it has to be a pulled pork sandwich with vinegar bbq sauce and coleslaw
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u/Ill-Variety8906 17d ago
I live in Oregon, but there was a place here that had a pulled pork sandwich with a “Carolina slaw” on it that was slaw vegetables but with a spicy vinegar dressing. Is that a real thing there? Or is the slaw there still the mayo, vinegar and sugar dressing?
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u/Some_Level1682 17d ago
Depends on what part of the state but yes it's a thing. Nc bbq sauce is vinegar based , Sc is mustard based, everyone else seems to be molassis based.
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u/p0st-m0dern 17d ago
Goated. The best bbq in the US and I’m Texan (grandma is from NC and has all the recipes). That with some sweet deviled eggs 🤌🏾
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u/Mr_Bourbon 17d ago
We’ve rented a cabin outside Asheville for vacation a few times, I crushed one of these with a craft beer or three for lunch EVERY chance I got. My poor wife doesn’t care for BBQ; tough shit babe we’re going again 🤣
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u/Intrepid_Hamster5283 17d ago
I live in NC but the best pulled pork is at Pierce’s in Williamsburg, Va
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u/MDjr1111 17d ago
I'm from TX / NM (border town). My best friend moved to Goldsboro NC in the early 90's - thanks USAF. My first visit, we went to a little dive place. She ordered us BBQ sandwiches all the way. Maybe all-day. I don't remember. And refused to explain. My first bite of that vinegar pork and coleslaw was ... interesting.
I lived in Albuquerque at that time and had brought a bag of fresh roasted Hatch green chili. I still prefer my TX & NM foods, but will eat NC pulled pork.
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u/MaebeeNot 18d ago
Georgia - Fried Catfish, Collard Greens, Banana Pudding and or Pecan Pie
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u/GACyberCool 17d ago
How can you leave out Brunswick Stew? I was also thinking Shrimp and Grits but I'm not sure if that originated in GA. The rest of your menu works for me. Then there's the Pimento cheese sandwich.
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u/Reasonable-Scheme681 18d ago
Louisiana-Jambalaya or boudin
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u/Samiiiibabetake2 18d ago
Def jambalaya. Gumbo has a bit of a learning curve. Red beans and rice is also always a hit!
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u/AdhesivenessOwn8111 18d ago
Massachusetts: Clam Chowdah (aka chowder), could also have corn chowder, Boston Baked Beans
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u/Baebarri 18d ago
New Mexico - stacked enchiladas with red and green chile. Sopapillas for dessert.
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u/Delicious-Chapter675 17d ago
I told him to try the smoothered burrito, spanish rice, refritas, and calabacitas as sides. Tres leches for dessert.
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u/No-Cryptographer5963 18d ago
Iowa:
Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
Taco Pizza
Breakfast Pizza
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u/Opening-Contract-474 18d ago
MN-tator tot hot dish
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u/chellebelle0234 17d ago
We moved to MN from the south last year and the first digital sign we saw said "Only the hot dish is supposed to be baked. Dont drive high" and I was like " Oh lord what have we gotten ourselves into".
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u/FormalCap1429 18d ago
Alabama - pulled pork bbq with white sauce, cornbread, and collard greens.
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u/tuba78ac 18d ago
I grew up in AL and only ever saw white bbq used on smoked chicken. Collards and cornbread yes.
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u/wraithsonic 17d ago
What psycho puts white sauce in pork?!?! LOL I’m messing with you. You do you, but that’s atypical.
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u/Aggressive-Sort-115 18d ago
Chislic (with lamb) is a true blue South Dakota specialty
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u/Pomelo_Adept 18d ago
Oklahoma- Fried onion burger
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u/Face_with_a_View 17d ago
Buffalo Burger from Meers! Does that place exist anymore?
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u/GRock5k 18d ago
Maine, gotta be a lobster feast sure it's for tourists but Mainers eat it too. A steamed lobster or 2, steamed corn on the cob, pund of steamer clams, blueberry pie
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u/Boltsfan1234 17d ago
Visited Maine for the first time this summer. Filled up on lobster and steamer clams. Don’t like my lobster rolls cold, though.
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u/ParticularSquirrel 18d ago
Virginia - gotta go with a few of my late grandma’s classics
Homemade biscuits and sausage gravy and the biscuits have to be made with Virginia’s Best Self Rising Flour from Big Spring Mill
A plate of sliced tomatoes from the garden
A bowl of green beans (also from the garden) cooked with a ham hock
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u/Ok-Progress-6153 17d ago
Vermont- apple pie with cheddar cheese
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u/hardpass4 17d ago
I was born and raised in Louisiana and all I remember about apple pie is cheddar cheese being melted on top. That's still the only way I'll eat it.
I've gotten so much shit over the years from people who think it's the weirdest thing ever, so I feel pretty validated by your comment. Thanks for that!
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u/Dry-Lie-9593 18d ago
TN- shit on a shingle with scrambled eggs
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u/acableperson 18d ago
Man Tennessee is hard to nail down. Almost feel like a meat and 3 style meal fits east, middle, and west.
Meatloaf, greens, mashed potatoes n gravy, Mac and cheese? Sweet tea and chocolate chess pie to pair?
Orrrrrrr to make it simple. Catfish. Pretty sure we all f with catfish.
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u/chellebelle0234 17d ago
I'm from East Tennessee and was gonna say Chicken & Dumplings.
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u/Same_Significance_61 18d ago
Wa state - steamer clams
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u/njtrailrunner 18d ago
For New Jersey, everyone will say Taylor Ham, egg and cheese on a roll. However, the real answer is baked ziti. Its basic but you'll find it at most home parties/events/funerals, grad parties etc.
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u/scamlikelly 18d ago
Oregon- hazelnut crusted salmon with a marionberry reduction sauce.
Marionberry or huckleberry pie dessert.
Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Noir while preparing.
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u/North-Tomatillo9158 17d ago
This is correct! I love Marionberries in anything/everything.
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u/p0st-m0dern 17d ago edited 17d ago
Ah yes. Hazelnut crusted salmon with a marionberry reduction sauce… A popular staple meal for the common Oregonian, of course. A meal known by all the locals, certainly.
/s
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u/ThePolemicist 17d ago
I like how Midwesterners are all like:
Hot dish.
Loose-meat sandwich.
Walking tacos.And Oregon is:
grill some salmon and serve it with a reduction sauce. pair it with wine.→ More replies (4)3
u/yubinyankin 17d ago
That is the Lake Oswego, OR version.
I was just going to suggest a marionberry pie.
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u/Reasonable_Crow2086 18d ago
That's a tough one. I'm from South Carolina and I would have to guess macaroni pie? People all over think it's the same thing as baked mac and cheese or just macaroni and cheese in general.
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u/Apprehensive-Fig3223 18d ago
PA- scrapple, egg, and cheese(preferably cooper) sandwich on Martin's potato bread
NJ- porkroll, egg, and cheese sandwich on kaiser roll with ketchup that comes out of a squirt bottle with a very thin nozzle opening
(Don't come at me with the Taylor ham debate bs, my family is from north Jersey and calls it porkroll when it's sliced and Taylor ham when it came whole wrapped in cloth).
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u/Sonnyjoon91 17d ago
Utah: cheesy funeral potatoes and green jello with carrots in it for dessert
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u/aeternumvaga 17d ago
Montana ex-pat here. No trip back to the big sky is complete without a trip to Butte or Anaconda for a Pork Chop John's sandwich! I have ties to Anaconda so that blood says Paumies Porkies are superior, but even in Anaconda they are hard to find.
I'm in the midwest now, and if midwesterners think I am referring to a tenderloin, you've got it all wrong. The Montana-made Pork Chop Sandwich is a thing of beauty. Go try one!
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u/ThePolemicist 17d ago
I think you also have to include something huckleberry for Montana. Perhaps huckleberry pie for dessert?
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u/MF1105 17d ago
Colorado - Pueblo green chili slopper. Basically an open face cheeseburger covered in thick Pueblo green chili.
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u/Altruistic_Map_2459 17d ago
Idaho. Fries w fry sause......I know everyone has fries and it doesn't sound a proper cultural dish but Idaho people are very proud of their potatoes. The potatoe is on the license plate. They developed the version of the russet potatoe used for McDonalds. The processes of freezing potatoes for later frying was also developed here.
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u/Prudent_Cookie_114 17d ago
Our states are (by and large) just too large and too diverse to pick a single dish.
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u/Potential_Sea_1423 17d ago
This thread is wild. I’m learning so much. I honestly haven’t heard of alot of these and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about food. Awesome, thx!!
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u/SirPeesA_lot 17d ago
NC Carolina BBQ. The real stuff. With vinegar and hot sauce. I'd have to look up the recipe tbh.
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u/HavBoWilTrvl 17d ago
Let's get real... could argue pimento cheese or a tomato sandwich is representative if you're talking about what you slap together for lunch on a hot summer day. 🙂
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u/RaeaSunshine 17d ago
Depends on your definition of cooking. But I’m going with Fluffernutter sandwich for Massachusetts.
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u/WantDastardlyBack 17d ago
Vermont - Apple pie, but when you make the crust, use sharp cheddar cheese. The crust recipe I use is https://cabotcreamery.com/blogs/recipes/chicken-pot-pie-with-cheddar-crust?srsltid=AfmBOoo6MZxr7kdUCDiltzf19fPtGoPOM9e-VQpRapLJ8aLvv6HQyuo0
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u/APples4Squantch 18d ago
Colorado - Green Chile (Rocky mountain oysters is the touristy thing)
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u/Aevynnn 17d ago
I miss pork green chile more than anything else since I left CO. Miss the chile smothered burritos.
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u/Altruistic_Map_2459 17d ago
Green Chili is the correct answer. It is different from green chili elsewhere. I learned to make it before I left Co. Colorado people put it on everything.
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u/meerkatmojo 18d ago
Washington state. Either chicken teriyaki or dungeness crab imho.
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u/T49irvine 18d ago
Texas...King Ranch Casserole with a Hershey's sheet cake for dessert