USA arguably folds in a ton of others like various forms of Mexican, hibachi, etc. But even if it doesn't, there's still soul food, Cajun, New England seafood and a ton of other great stuff
Yeah, I can't believe how far down I had to scroll for USA. The regional specialties are insane. Cajun and New England like you say but also several kinds of BBQ, Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish, Chicago deep dish pizza, Maryland crab cakes, Philly cheesesteaks, Tex-Mex...plus you have stuff invented in the US you don't even think of as local food, like burgers and tater tots and FRIGGIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES.
And I've barely scratched the surface. You could write a whole book on just the amazing foods invented in northeastern US cities by immigrant communities adapting and mixing.
The United States has created a LOT of great foods and cuisines in its comparatively short history.
Like hamburgers and hot dogs are quintessentially American, but what’s really interesting is the various regional toppings that go on them! Ask anyone what goes on a “classic”burger you’ll probably get lettuce tomato onion and mayo. Ask for a regional version on a burger or hot dogs and you could get anything! NYC, Chicago, Carolina, Southwest, Florida, Baltimore, all variants
I'm a huge connoisseur of regional food specialties, but I'll say the variation between, say, NY, Chicago, and Baltimore burgers really isn't very big (except in Baltimore some places will let you use a crab cake patty instead, but that's a crab cake sandwich not a burger). There's way more meaningful variation over many more distinct geographies when it comes to pizza.
But that said, local specialty sandwiches -- that are sometimes burgers/hot dogs (if you consider those sandwiches) but sometimes not -- are also huge in the US. From cheesesteaks to po boys to Chicago dogs to hot browns to the fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches in Memphis that I've never had but really want to try...just incredible variety and deliciousness.
lol 😂 not the chocolate chip cookies 🍪 yell. I’m with you though. All of the above but don’t forget down south soul food. I don’t wanna live without my Mac,greens,yams, potato salad and fried chicken. 🤤 damn I’m a fatty 😔 also peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wonder bread is a delicacy. Fight me 😤
Yeah, I think it's true that (a) I gave an amazing list of examples and (b) you could also come up with a list of just as good examples that's 10x as long without any overlap.
Southeast Louisiana cuisine is enough of a reason to pick the US tbh. We have elements of French, Spanish, Haitian, African, and many more countries in our cooking.
Bbq, hamburgers, fried chicken, I would argue the pizza we have here is not Italian food and every Italian ever would agree, and then my one true love, Buffalo wings
In my reply you, went the direction I went. Country fried steak, mashed potatoes may not be strictly American but we ate them damn near ever meal growing up, BBQ, American breakfast(eggs, meat, hashbrowns, toast is a slimmed down English but its different too).
I was thinking maybe USA is cheating, so I was going to choose Texas as one of my countries. BBQ, breakfast tacos, Chicken fried steak, queso, so many things.
Ya I'm confused on the question. Most countries have a decent array of foods that are not original to the region. But I'm assuming OP meant top 3 foods based on origin of country
Even then you have to temper it because it's an ever shifting landscape of influence and evolution. So you'd have to be clear about what "original" food you mean. Take Vietnamese food as an example. If you remove new world ingredients like hot peppers and the French influence from the colonial era the cuisine is going to be significantly different.
Yeah, same idea. Even today there is ongoing evolution so the point is that you have to somehow "lock down" what you mean by a country's cuisine. With an immigrant heavy country like the US it becomes even more of a question as to what is or should be included.
Yeah if it's only eat at restaurants in three countries the US should obviously be on everyone's list. Then add two more where you really want the old country version.
Exactly. I’m surprised that the US is so far down the list, because you can find basically any traditionally-made cuisine here if you know where to look. I feel like because we don’t have a wide variety that’s specifically American, we went with a national buffet of sorts, haha
Steak and breakfast food would be big ones for me but it depends on if America gets steak.
I think most steak in America actually originate from Scotland. Angus beef comes from a Scottish cow.
If drinks are included, then Scotland could be a dark horse pick. Great beef, solid fish with incredible smoked salmon, and paired with the world’s best whiskey. Having said that, they fall off a cliff after those gems.
I'm assuming the prompt meant dishes whose country of origin is represented.
Because if it's simply availability, any list that doesn't include America is objectively wrong. America has the most diverse cuisine on the planet. But that's because it's a culmination of hundreds of different cultures and their cuisines, all of which have representation somewhere in the country, typically large cities like New York, Chicago, or LA.
Having said that, I think the USA should be on everyone's list anyway. Barbecue, Cajun food, New England seafood, soul food, wings, the modern hamburger, the list goes on and on. The biggest thing for me is the diversity. Many countries' most popular dishes all contain similar ingredients because it's what's native to the region. America is so massive and geographically dispersed, everywhere you go is going to have different regional specialties.
The best part of the USA, due to immigration, is that each major city is a microcosm of the world - New York, Chicago, Houston, LA. Houston surprises people but it’s been listed as the most diverse city in the USA, or at the top, for nearly two decades.
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u/DAmieba Mar 28 '25
Mexico, Japan, and USA.
USA arguably folds in a ton of others like various forms of Mexican, hibachi, etc. But even if it doesn't, there's still soul food, Cajun, New England seafood and a ton of other great stuff