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100 must-eat American foods

by Emily Matchar, Posted Aug 29th 2008 @ 11:00AM

hot dogs
Yesterday I posted the Omnivore's Hundred, a list of 100 "must-try" foods written by a British food blogger. I thought it was so interesting I had to try making my own, American-style. My ground rules were this: I didn't include any drinks, and I only listed foods that can be found in more than just one location (so "Krispy Kreme donut" is OK, but "cheese slice from Joe's Pizza in NYC" is not). I also tried to avoid foods that are American in origin but ubiquitous in the rest of the world (so no McDonald's french fries, much as I love them).

So here it is: Emily's 100 American Foods You Really Ought to Try Sometime Before You Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil. And by all means, tell me what you think is missing!

The American Omnivore's Hundred

  1. New York pizza
  2. Hoppin' John
  3. New Mexico green chile
  4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
  5. Tasso
  6. Whole Maine lobster
  7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
  8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
  9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme
  10. San Diego fish tacos

Continues after the jump...
  1. New York pizza
  2. Hoppin' John
  3. New Mexico green chile
  4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
  5. Tasso
  6. Whole Maine lobster
  7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
  8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
  9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme
  10. San Diego fish tacos
  11. Cheese curds
  12. Key lime pie
  13. Philly cheese steak
  14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich
  15. Lowcountry boil
  16. Huckleberry pie
  17. New England clam chowder
  18. Boiled peanuts
  19. Buffalo burger
  20. Eggs Benedict
  21. Pastrami on rye
  22. Corned beef and cabbage
  23. Pancakes with maple syrup
  24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
  25. Thin Mints (preferably frozen)
  26. Frito pie
  27. Potato knish with mustard
  28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
  29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
  30. Fresh-picked blueberries
  31. Sourwood honey
  32. State fair funnel cake
  33. Chesapeake crab cakes
  34. Candied yams
  35. Oyster dressing
  36. Snow cone or snowball
  37. Wild Alaskan salmon
  38. Sautéed morels
  39. Persimmon pudding
  40. General Tso's Chicken
  41. Frozen custard
  42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
  43. Chili dog
  44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
  45. Spam musubi
  46. Saltwater taffy
  47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
  48. Black and white cookie
  49. Frybread
  50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
  51. Baked beans
  52. Pumpkin pie
  53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
  54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
  55. Fried green tomatoes
  56. Succotash
  57. Shrimp and grits
  58. Hot water cornbread
  59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
  60. Chicken fried steak
  61. Carnitas burrito
  62. Apple butter
  63. Geoduck
  64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell (especially Dairy Queen)
  65. Pecan pie
  66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
  67. Oysters Rockefeller
  68. Homemade cranberry sauce
  69. Pimiento cheese
  70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola
  71. Pickled watermelon rind
  72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
  73. Smithfield ham
  74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
  75. Chicken and waffles
  76. Po'Boy
  77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
  78. Stuffed sopaipillas
  79. Turducken
  80. Shad roe on toast
  81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
  82. Cioppino
  83. New York cheesecake
  84. Pan-fried river trout
  85. Jambalaya
  86. North Carolina pig pickin'
  87. California rolls
  88. Burgoo
  89. Penuche fudge
  90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
  91. Scrapple or livermush
  92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
  93. Muscadine grapes
  94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
  95. Open-face turkey sandwich
  96. Chicago deep dish pizza
  97. Cobb salad
  98. Peach pie a la mode
  99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar
  100. Root beer float

Filed Under: Lists, Food Politics
Tags: america, american food, lists, omnivores

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)

Adriane

8-29-2008 @11:47PM Adriane said... Louisianna Jambalaya. Chitlins. An apple straight off the tree. corned beef hash![also with eggs], corndog, hello- apple pie?, fried clams, wine from a cali/napa vineyard, bagel[I know you mentioned this] with lox, turkey stuffing, whoopie pie[is that a moonpie?], chicken noodle soup or drop soup?...also I think if you's got krispy Kreme you might as well have Dunkin dounuts-- pretty much just as ubiquitous.

It's tough because the foods that make America so great, in my opinion, are a real mix of so many different cultures-- like perogies, mmmm-- Polish, of course, but I know so many who grew up on that food right here in the US
Reply

R. P. McMurphy

8-29-2008 @11:58AM R. P. McMurphy said... New Jersey Pork Roll.
Reply

Bethany

8-29-2008 @12:14PM Bethany said... In-N-Out Burger Double-Double with fries & chocolate shake; New England Whoopie Pies.
Reply

Alexi

8-29-2008 @12:15PM Alexi said... If you could please revise this list to include links and pics I'd appreciate it. I'm going to have to spend the next few minutes looking up Hoppin' John, Tasso, Cheese Curds, Spam Musubi, Frybread and Burgoo. And you can't be serious about Scrapple.
Reply

Barkin

8-29-2008 @1:01PM Barkin said... Unlike the previous list, this is not a list of specific foods that you need to have tasted in order to say that you're living life to the fullest.

Rather, it's just a catalog list of famous American regional foods. (And not a very good list at that... where's the Chicago hot dog?)
Reply

jon

8-29-2008 @1:26PM jon said... Maid-Rite(r) Sandwich from Iowa
Reply

jon

8-29-2008 @1:31PM jon said... Cope's Dried Sweet Corn (from Pennsylvania)

Lebanon Bologna (from Pennsylvania)


Reply

robby1051

8-29-2008 @2:21PM robby1051 said... what!? how is a White Castle Cheeseburger not on this list?
Reply

RobynT

8-29-2008 @4:16PM RobynT said... This list is so interesting! I'm so proud that spam musubi made the list! Yeah I had to google a couple of the items but so what.

I think it would be interesting to see how many of the items originated in African American culture. Off the bat, it seems like a lot to me. Reminds me of how you always hear that most "American" music is actually African American so I guess I wonder if it's the same for food.

I also didn't know some of these were American, like corned beef cabbage and eggs benedict.
Reply

Emily Matchar

8-29-2008 @4:44PM Emily Matchar said... Great suggestions! I'm definitely going to have to try a Maid-Rite sandwich.

-Emily
Reply

Jason

8-29-2008 @5:26PM Jason said... Horseshoe from Springfield, Illinois.

Italian beef from Chicago.
Reply

Bernie B

8-29-2008 @7:57PM Bernie B said... 21. -or- Reuben
23. Maple syrup is more a condiment than a food
24. This is american food?
27. American?
31. I love varieties of honey, but seems more a condiment. Fresh honeycomb is more of a food experience
43. Chili Dog - Midwest Coney Style [http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/07/america-regional-hot-dog-styles-coneys-half-smokes-reds-whites.html]
57. Grits -or Polenta. Who needs shrimp? =P
35 & 67. Oysters listed twice
62. Condiment
65. -or- Shoofly Pie
66. Doesn't need to be "catfish" specific. Local fish fry's are fantastic though.
70. That's two "foods", seems kind of cheaty
Oysters listed multiple times
84. or Halibut
86. huh?
95. -or- Kentucky Hot Brown
98. Peach Cobbler would be unique to the americas, Peach Pie, notsomuch
99. Baked Macaroni and Cheese using "real" cheeses

Some foods I thought with potential:

Muffuletta
Pasty - they're kinda a big deal up here in de great white nort.
Bundt Cake
Freshly picked Pineapple - Amazing
Hot Chocolate
Kettle Corn
Grilled [american] Cheese Sandwich & Tomato Soup (a two-fer)
Nachos
Waldorf Salad
Butternut Squash
Fried Green Tomatoes
Reply

piccola

8-29-2008 @9:05PM piccola said... Warm spinach salad
Pickled okra
Stone-ground grits
Kettlecorn
Fresh cottage cheese
Grape pie
Whoopie pies
Bean pie (I swear, I'm not obsessed with pie)
Reply

Gobo

8-30-2008 @5:27AM Gobo said... @BernieB,
Completely agree on the coney dog,especially "Cincinnati chili" style. Actually, Cincinnati-style Skyline chili should definitely have made the list... it's even in Joy of Cooking as a signature American chili.

Everything bagels are very American... you won't find them anywhere else.

This is a fantastic list!
Reply

carly

8-30-2008 @8:19PM carly said... hot spinach and artichoke dip
Reply

Misty

8-30-2008 @5:23PM Misty said... Only the tourists call it "Lowcountry Boil", and that's because they're afraid to go home and tell anyone they ate Frogmore Stew.


Reply

Juana Moore-Overmyer

8-31-2008 @11:06AM Juana Moore-Overmyer said... Things i miss on this list - planked whitefish, pasties, White Castle hamburgers, grits, biscuits and gravy, muffuletta, corn dog.

i don't mind 'chili dog' filling in for all the variants like Coneys and Cincinnati. Have a wee problem with General Tso chicken, not because it isn't American, but because you can go to a dozen Chinese restaurants and get a dozen different meals with that name, some of which you couldn't recognize as the same dish without the menu. It is a (sometimes delicious) American dining experience, though!
Reply

Hannah

9-02-2008 @2:31PM Hannah said... I think it's wonderful that Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese made the list. Did you know that Tillamook has a yearly contest to see who has the best Macaroni and Cheese? Voting for the people's choice award is going on right now.

Check it out: www.macaroniandcheeseandcheese.com/contest
Reply

Sarah

9-04-2008 @8:57PM Sarah said... I filled it out on my blog: http://yummysmells.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-this-best-of-us.html
Reply

Emily

9-18-2008 @11:44AM Emily said... A Chicago Italian Beef (dipped w/ sweet peppers) is something everyone should have at least once in their lives!!
Reply

21 Comments / 2 Pages

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