Poultry, pork, porterhouse, potage, pulses, pie ... and poltergeists.

[holehogg]

South Africa is a diverse country with no single "culture of South Africa" but made up of many different races and cultures, the tokoloshe included (kind of Poltergeist.)
We like to call ourselves the "Rainbow nation." Because of this diversity we have a unique blend of influence in a lot of our food dishes. Meat is definitely the centre piece from familiar favorites like pork, lamb and beef to the more exotic regional specialities like ostrich, springbok and crocodile.

Braai is our equivalent of your BBQ and one of our most popular if not most popular cooking style for sure. Where meat is obviously the star. If your vegan, don't worry you're able to find plant based stuff too. Braai-ing spans all cultures and groups with the main ingredient being meat. The sides served with the star can be influenced by your culture.

The different Provinces ("States") cities, town's and even suburbs can have a regional uniqueness to them, many of which unfortunately I may never get to know or try.

I'd like to know what is eaten in America that is "unique" in the different States from the big cities to the very rural areas that you may find yourself living in.

[Donw]

With today’s food distribution systems you find things in your grocery store that were once unfamiliar. My wife and I were talking just the other night after we had a dinner of tacos and the question came up when did we ever see our first tortilla? We decided that we had to be in our mid twenties. The first time I had pizza was when I was 18 years old and in the Coast Guard. Now we eat it all the time.
However I would say for the most part, our unique foods are now more regional than limited to state lines. What first popped into my mind when considering your question was “Rocky Mountain Oysters” which are fried bull testicles. Popular in just a few rural ranching areas of our country, what I would call “Cowboy Country.” I would list some states out West but once I started someone will pipe up and tell me I missed Queens NY or someplace similar which I wouldn’t have even thought to consider.
Tough but really interesting question.

[holehogg]

I'm with you it's on the tough side (including the testicles.) In my neck of the woods it gets down to the like folk living in the different suburbs. The community within has their own unique cuisine.

[Draznnl]

The one really local food item that came to my mind is the horseshoe sandwich in Springfield, Illinois.

https://visitspringfieldillinois.com/Landing/SignatureHorseshoe.aspx

[Dewesq55]

Philly Cheese steaks in Philadelphia area.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Pork steak - a thick slice of pork butt. Very popular in the middle part of the Mississippi river area.
1” thick cooked to fork tender. I believe it’s popularity is spreading to other areas because it is so good.

[hoovarmin]

I agree with what Donw said about food distribution systems and regional rather than state offerings. The one thing that comes to mind is very regional, and that is grits. Growing up, grits were served nearly every day. When I moved to Philly, and anytime I've ventured out of the south, I've found that grits aren't even a thought in most places outside the southern region.

[Oak Smoke]

Very true, green chili-cheese grits are so good with with a lot of main dishes.

[Purc]

Garlic cheese grits or shrimp and grits on many a Southern Sunday brunch. Plain grits with scrambled eggs.

[acorgihouse]

Grits. I grew up on them. I used to spend time trying to find real grits, so as to prevent my grandmother from rolling in her grave, now I get them by mail order. I've tried them all over, and if not south of Mason-Dixon line they will be inedible. They also require salt, and REAL butter. Cheese is add on, and sugar is NOT. Grits and Cream of Wheat are NOT the same.
My SIL would tell you that "country sausage" is another, but that is harder to define in writing. She could write up a tutorial.

[Skip]

Hot Dish in Minnesota. A mix of protein and vegetables and/or pasta all cooked together.

[Purc]

When I lived in Reading PA, it was scrapple due to the PA Dutch influence. For years in South Carolina only sweet tea was available.

[klflowers]

Scrapple. I never want to see it again. I spent 5 years in Reading

[Mosca]

Polish food here in NEPA, but it isn’t found in restaurants. People either make it themselves or have it at church picnics and firemen’s bazaars. Pierogies, haluski, galumpkes, kielbasa (both store bought and home made), potato pancakes, stuff like that.

All the food is made from scratch, like scratch scratch, Women get together and make thousands of pierogies ahead of the picnic, cut cabbages, make fillings, grind meat and make kielbasa, all of it. Here is a potato pancake station from Saint Mary’s bazaar in 2022:

[Mosca]

My grandmother spoke several Eastern European languages, as well as English. My great grandmother didn’t speak any English at all, she died in ‘59 when I was maybe 5 years old. They emigrated in the late 1890s, so that was 60 years in the US!

[Willy]

Them folks in the pic are women?

[Mosca]

The women get together to make the pierogies. Potato pancakes are everyone.

[Texas Larry]

Many people think Texas has one style of bbq, but the truth is it is a big state with varied food cultures and history, not just bbq. But here is a sketch of four different TX regional bbq styles.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/a-guide-to-texas-barbecue

[58limited]

Yes indeed Texas has a diverse food culture. Large immigrant populations of Germans, Poles, Czechs, Hispanics, and more, settled here 100 - 200 years ago, or even before that. Plus we get influences on our borders: Cajun, Southern U.S., Southwest/New Mexican, Northern Mexico, and we developed our own TexMex style of Mexican cuisine. Lots of fresh Gulf seafood too.

EDIT: Looks like Oak Smoke beat me to it.

[58limited]

My region in SE Texas has a large Italian population and a local restaurant just turned 89 years old. We also have a large Vietnamese population and thus some really good Asian markets and restaurants.

[Oak Smoke]

We live in an area where several food cultures overlap. The Mexican influence is everywhere, different peppers, tortillas, enchiladas, tamales, and chili are common place here. There are dishes we eat that are from the deep south. We love fried okra, black eyed peas, sweet tea, and fried catfish. There’s a definite German influence also. We cook bierocks regularly and German potato salad. Many of the old established BBQ joints in south Texas were established by German families. Czechoslovakian kolaches are available in every donut shop in our area and there are some made in West Texas that are incredible. The Cajun culture of Louisiana gives us red beans and rice, gumbo, and shrimp etouffee just to name a few. We do eat Rocky Mountain oysters too. If no one told you that you were eating them you would thing it was tenderized round steak that was battered and deep fried.

[holehogg]

I'd prefer not to be told I'm eating rocky mountain oysters beforehand but I'd still give them go irrespective.

[DaveD]

Another regional aspect is for fish & seafood. There are several regions known for their aquatic fare of various types. In New England, lobster is a big deal; here in the mid-Atlantic coast area, crabs are prominent. Sport fishing is a big thing in more southerly Atlantic waters, the Gulf of Mexico has its specialties, and the Pacific Northwest yet another whole subset.

It's remarkable how many types of customs and practices still persist regionally from the initial waves of European colonization centuries ago. Some really fascinating history there.

[holehogg]

And so too here in RSA given we have 11 official languages.

[Johnny Booth]

Good question. I think because of advanced communications, supply chains, etc. our food supply has become nearly homogeneous. I would say that the Flavor Profile will change from region to region. Where South Carolina might like a tangy mustard sauce for BBQ, Kansas City would be considered Tomato-based, sweet with heat. North Carolina would favor a Vinegar-based sauce. Most likely all of them would have brown sugar though.

I think the most notable to me is Louisiana. Cajun-style cooking is unique to that region. (Northern Gulf Coast) That would include parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida panhandle. However, like soul food, which is a Southern experience, small Cajun restaurants could pop up anywhere in the US

[klflowers]

Coney Island dogs in Detroit, Michigan where I am from. It is basically a hot dog with a chili sauce, mustard and onion. The Detroit coney "chili" is unique to Southeast Michigan. I've tried them everywhere but nothing comes close to the Detroit coney dog.

[holehogg]

Cool. Just watch the video posted in another thread showing the scramble dog. I so want one.

[BruceH]

I think much of the regionality of a type of food depends on what ethnic groups moved to a particular area of the US. That is becoming much less of a thing as these different groups of people then start to move around the country, and people marry people outside of their ethnic group.

The internet has also changed things as through YouTube and TikTok we get exposed to different foods and was of preparing them.