Map Monday, Favorite Food in each State

What’s the favorite food from each state in the union?  Sounds like a potentially interesting debate or an opportunity to spark quite an argument.  Never one to shy away from controversy, the Cooking Channel took on the challenge.  Using an unscientific poll, i.e., they asked their viewers to vote, the Cooking Channel collected data for the signature or favorite food from each state.  The results of their efforts are shown below in the most appetizing Map Monday feature yet.  (Aside from some of the choices there is at least one error in the map – can you spot it?  Answer at the end of the post)

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I have not tasted or in a few cases even heard of some of these foods, but for those I have I think the Cooking Channel did pretty well.  It’s hard to argue with Louisiana as shrimp gumbo, Tennessee with Memphis dry-rub ribs, and salmon in Washington.  It may be hard to think of Wisconsin without thinking cheese (or beer), but bratwurst seems a fair choice.

Big City Dominance

It was interesting (at least to me) that not all of the choices reflected the dominance of the largest cities in each state.  Even the most die-hard upstate New Yorker (disclaimer I live in upstate) would have to admit that New York city dominates the state in almost every way (money, politics, cultural influence, etc.,), but apparently not in food.  Buffalo wings beat out New York style thin crust pizza as the signature food of the state.  I’ve eaten wings at The Anchor Bar in Buffalo where Teresa Bellissimo created the first Buffalo wings.  While I don’t know the location of the first NY style pizza I’ve had it in several local NYC restaurants.  In my unbiased opinion, the wings are better and deserved to win.

That said, one could certainly quibble about a few choices.  How can Vermont be anything but maple syrup or at least a dish made with maple syrup.  I’m not a crab person (other than in personal disposition), but I’ve always thought of Maryland as a crab cake place rather than steamed crabs.  If that’s not controversial enough for you, how about the Philly cheese steak vs. Pittsburgh’s Primanti brothers sandwich (fries and slaw served on top of an open faced sandwich) or even Philly’s own soft pretzels?  Do any of the other choices seem wrong to you?  What are your personal favorites?

If you’re interested in trying some of these dishes you can find the Cooking Channel’s recipes here.

As always thanks for reading.

Armen

PS While the pictures for the foods are correct, the labels for Nebraska and Kansas are reversed.