The United States unites people from various backgrounds and cultures, and this rich diversity makes for oodles of foods to try. Add these uniquely American dishes to your next cross-continental itinerary.
1. Poke
If you’re trying to up your intake of fiber, antioxidant-rich veggies and omega-3-rich fish in your diet, start your culinary journey with a poke bowl. This traditional Hawaiian dish consists of fish, rice and vegetables in a tasty sauce.
Traditional poke borrows from the Japanese influence, relying heavily on foods like seaweed. However, you can find many varieties today, including vegan tofu. The sauce often contains soy, rice vinegar and occasionally sriracha if you prefer a meal with some heat.
2. Nopales
Your trip now takes you to the desert southwest, where you’ll find Mexican restaurants dotting nearly every corner. Those with a more traditional menu may serve up nopales in their dishes — a species of cactus you might know better as the prickly pear. Its crisp, cool and grassy flavor can take some of the burn out of hot salsa.
You can cook nopales as a side dish or part of many recipes, including salsa and chili. Some breakfast joints offer a nopales omelet as a delicious way to start your day.
3. Fry Bread
Your culinary road trip now heads north to hit Interstate 40, and no trip to northern AZ is complete without fry bread. This unique food originated from the Navajo people, originally made from crushing grains like amaranth into flour with manos and metates — hand-held stones meant for grinding. Many today use store-made flour, although you can get lucky and find authentic stuff made on the spot in Native shops and restaurants.
Fry bread is heartier than a tortilla but not quite as thick as sourdough or rye. That makes it the perfect sandwich stuff for anything from pulled pork to roast beef and provolone “sliders” at your next big gathering. Delight your guests with something unexpected.
4. Texas Chili
As you traverse the Midwest, you must stop in Texas for some chili. This stuff contains no beans or other vegetable fillers, including tomato. It’s simply beef stewed in chili pepper sauce.
A bowl of Texas chili makes a hearty meal on its own. However, it’s also a delicious topping for tortilla chips, and you can cut the heat by serving over rice or noodles, although some might raise their eyebrows and call you a greenhorn.
5. Kansas City Barbecue
Your trip across America’s heartland continues with Kansas City barbecue. This area spans two states and embraces similar diversity in their food.
Unlike Texas — which tends to stick to beef — Kansas City barbecue can involve multiple meats, from chicken to beef to pork. What sets it apart is the sauce. It’s a to-die-for combination of molasses and tomatoes with various spices. Prepare for messy fingers and bring your wet wipes, if you don’t lick off every savory drop.
6. Nashville Hot Chicken
Before heading to the Upper Midwest, swing into Nashville for some hot chicken. What Texas does for beef, this state does for poultry. Unlike buffalo wings, you won’t find a thick, goopy sauce. Instead, it comes dusted with cayenne and other spices to fire up your tongue with less mess.
Many people credit Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville for pioneering the recipe. However, today, you can find hot chicken all over the city and beyond its limits.
7. Pasties
As you travel north to the Upper Peninsula, warm up on chilly nights with pasties. This flaky, hand-held pie contains meat, potatoes, and rutabagas or other root vegetables and is the perfect filling meal when coming in from the snow.
Visitors to Michigan can even take a pasty tour. There’s a pasty fest in August, and you can pick up a map and passport at the Visit Keweenaw Visitor’s Center in Calumet.
8. Scrapple
Scrapple is a meat-and-grain spice loaf that is popular among the Amish, who dwell throughout the Ohio Valley into Pennsylvania and rural areas of the mid-Atlantic East Coast. It’s similar to pemmican — a kind of jerky that also contains grains and sometimes fruit — but you eat scrapple freshly cooked, not dried.
Many people eat it for breakfast instead of sausage or bacon. However, it’s equally delicious any time of day as a sandwich filling.
9. Fried Pickles
If you head south from the mid-Atlantic region, it won’t be long until you find a restaurant serving fried pickles. They’re generally a healthier option than fries, as they are lower in calories, but you get plenty of salt from the brine.
To make a tasty homemade version that almost qualifies as a healthy food, use your air fryer. Keep your salt shaker on the counter — you’ll get more than enough from the pork rind coating.
10. Lobster Rolls
Head north from the mid-Atlantic region, and you’ll hit Massachusetts. Everything from Boston north is a budget seafood lover’s extravaganza, and one of the most popular local treats is the lobster roll.
Once upon a time, this delight was the sole province of poor anglers making the most of their catch. However, it didn’t take long for folks of all socioeconomic backgrounds to fall in love with the flavor, and you can find lobster rolls on the menu of 4-star restaurants.
Unique U.S. Foods to Try
America is a melting pot, and it shows at mealtime. Dig into these ten unique U.S. foods and take your tongue on a cross-continental journey.
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