Alabamians go "nuts" for pecan pie—and who can blame them? A sweet, syrupy sauce and flaky crust make this pie simple to enjoy. The first pecan-pie recipes originated in Texas in the 1870s and 1880s, but most Southerners use the 1930s recipe produced by the wife of a Karo syrup salesman (a major ingredient).
Smoked salmon has been around for centuries, peaking in popularity all the way back to the Middle Ages. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the smoked-salmon industry was established in America, with Alaska leading the way.
Arizona hot dogs rarely have ketchup and relish. The Southwest state is famous for its Sonoran hot dog, a bacon-wrapped frankfurter with pinto beans, fried onions, jalapenos, mustard, and mayonnaise.
Arkansas is all about chocolate gravy and biscuits. For a decadent brunch, this sticky-sweet syrup is poured over warm fluffy biscuits using five ingredients: butter, chocolate, flour, sugar, and milk.
California's avocado toast fad has swept the nation for brunch enthusiasts. The Instagrammable food, which began as mashed ripe avocado on toast, now comes in hundreds of forms. Some like it sweet with sliced fruit and honey, others savory with a hard-boiled egg or sea salt.
Don't believe the name. Rocky Mountain oysters are bull calf testicles, not seafood. Though unpleasant, Coloradoans love the "oysters," which are cut, breaded, and deep-fried to golden perfection.
People in Connecticut say their next-door neighbors in New York have nothing on their white clam pie. The greatest "apizza" (a thin-crust Northeast version) is at Frank Pepe, one of America's oldest pizzerias, which started in 1925 and invented the pie with mozzarella, garlic, and fresh rubberneck clams.
Delaware fiercely claims the breakfast meat as its own, even though the Pennsylvania Dutch originated it. Delaware eateries serve it as a patty made of spices, pork, and cornmeal and pan-fried.