50 States of Food: Where to Eat Across America This Summer

What would summer be without a lobster roll? Roadside standby Bob’s Clam Hut has been serving a down-home version of Maine’s quintessential dish on Kittery’s Route One for more than 60 years (and a sister location will open in Portland this summer!) For a more haute version, we love downtown Portland’s critically acclaimed Eventide, whose brown butter and fluffy, house-made steamed buns give the roll an extra kick. Yum. 

Cheesesteaks are Philadelphia’s most famous export but, for many locals, roast pork sandwiches reign supreme--even in summer. John’s Roast Pork, founded in an unassuming corner lot on East Snyder Ave in 1930, serves a meltingly delicious, classic take. High Street on Market, Eli Kulp’s award-winning restaurant in Philly’s Old City, goes the cheffy route with homemade semolina rolls, fermented broccoli rabe, and brine-cured pork. It's the perfect splurge when you're not watching your waistline. 

Boardwalk favorite salt water taffy was reportedly born after a coastal storm soaked the Jersey Shore in the 1880s. It's been padding dentists' incomes ever since. Shriver's Salt Water Taffy, launched in 1898 in Ocean City, NJ, and Atlantic City's James Candy Company both offer classic, old-school taffy that tastes like long weekends and summer break. In Brick, the gourmet candy shop Van Holton's has more than 35 flavors of taffy, including chocolate-covered varieties. Fill up a bag and bring some summer back home with you.  

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Milk sweetened with a coffee concentrate resembling chocolate or strawberry syrup is Rhode Island’s signature drink and in summer it's a refreshing antidote for the sweltering heat. Olneyville NY System, the 1946 Providence hot dog counter named an American Classic by James Beard in 2014, serves it in paper cups alongside chili-topped, celery-salted links. Dave’s Coffee, a craft coffee shop also in Providence, offers craft, cold-brewed coffee syrup made with house-roasted beans and pure cane sugar.

New Haven takes its blistered, Neapolitan-accented pizzas seriously. Frank Pepe’s is a 1925 institution for tomato-sauced pies with just a sprinkling of grated cheese, and is credited with inventing the now-iconic white clam pie in the 1960s. Over on Chapel Street, near the Yale campus, the sleek Kitchen ZINC  will appeal to travelers who love a modern pizza experience:  go for a gravlax-topped slice alongside a craft cocktail.

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Buffalo may not be on your summer travel list, but it's worth a stop to sample Teressa Bellissimo's iconic buffalo wings.  As legend has it, her Buffalo’s Anchor Bar was the first place to combine butter and hot sauce with chicken wings in 1964. In Brooklyn, Emily, a hip new destination for pizza and more, serves its mod, Korean-accented cousin: fiery wings made with gochujang, butter, garlic, and rice wine vinegar, and served with homemade buttermilk ranch on the side. Eat up. 

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Happen to be visiting the Green Mountain State this summer? Shelburne Orchards, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is known for their all-American apple pies and cider; both make a star appearance at the orchard's annual Cider House Run & Pie Fest, which features live music and a baking contest. Afterwards, treat yourself to a full meal at Barkeaters, also in town, which uses strictly Northeast ingredients for its "Adirondacks-inspired" plates like their beet and chèvre salad (made with Vermont goat cheese and maple walnuts) the locally raised Laplatte beef burger.

Long before Christina Tosi debuted cereal milk soft serve at Momofuku Milk Bar, New Englanders were swirling Grape Nuts into summer ice creams and baked custards. Grape Nuts is a popular ice cream flavor at Bishop's, an unassuming parlor in Littleton, NH that's a must-try if you happen to be in the neighborhood. The chef at the Manor at Golden Pond, a Holderness bed and breakfast, created an elegant grape nuts pudding flan with a crunchy cereal crust and caramel top, served on a cinnamon-blueberry compote that's seriously worth a detour. 

Crab cakes are serious business on the banks of the Chesapeake. Purists convene at Faidley’s Seafood, an institution in the 18th-century Lexington Market on Baltimore’s no-frills Westside, for fist-sized crab cakes eaten standing up at communal tables. For a more elevated version, head to Baltimore’s James Beard Award-winning Woodberry Kitchen.  Here, they're made with lump meat caught at nearby Tilghman Island, and bound with oil, eggs, mid-Atlantic fish peppers, and nothing else. Summer doesn't taste better than this. 

Like cutting off a sluggish motorist on the Mass Pike, eating whole-belly fried clams is something every Massachusetts traveler has to try at least once. J.T. Farnham’s, a seafood shack in Essex, sells them by the cardboard box and overlooks a sweeping marshland. In Boston’s Back Bay, Atlantic Fish Co. offers lightly battered whole-belly Ipswich clams as an appetizer in its white-tablecloth dining room.

Akin to meatloaf-shaped pȃté, scrapple is so loved in the mid-Atlantic that both Pennsylvania and Delaware claim to have invented the stuff (Delaware usually wins this argument). Stop in Newport Family Restaurant on your way to or from a Rehoboth beach trip, and you’ll find it as a breakfast meat alongside eggs and toast. For a slightly more elegant version, consider the scrapple side at Drip Cafe, a stylish coffee shop in Hokessian.

If you're planning to be anywhere near Mississippi this summer, Comeback Sauce is must-try. An influx of Greek immigrants to Mississippi in the 1920s resulted in continent-hopping culinary developments like this garlicky, creamy condiment likened to Bayou remoulade. Jackson’s Mayflower Cafe, opened in 1935 and self-purported originator of the sauce, continues to serve it with Greek-accented seafood and steaks. The Manship, a modern stop for wood-fired Mediterranean fare in Jackson’s Belhaven neighborhood, uses the comeback sauce as a dressing on a Greek-inspired salad with feta.

Born of necessity by 1930s Italian immigrant miners in need of portable sustenance, these snacks enrobe spears of cured meat in fluffy, yeasted bread that cures any summer hangover. Country Club Bakery, opened in 1937 and widely considered the first commercial outpost for pepperoni rolls, still reportedly dishes out up to 900 dozen rolls daily. Morgantown’s Terra Cafe bakes its pepperoni rolls fresh daily, and serves them alongside quinoa salads, espresso, and craft beers.

She-crab soup in summer? Yup, at least in South Carolina. The meat and roe of female crabs give this bisque its pink hue (hence the name), and a splash of sherry gives it kick. Roadside Kitchen, a brick-and-mortar offshoot of a Charleston food truck, offers a homemade version for just $4 a cup. Velvety bowls are served on china and white tablecloths for lunch at Palmetto Cafe, the swish dining room in Charleston’s luxe Belmond Cafe.

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From 1920s Louisville comes this all-American answer to France’s croque monsieur, made by broiling sliced turkey, Mornay sauce, bacon, and tomatoes on Texas toast. The Brown Hotel originated the dish, and still turns out the gold-standard sandwich against which all others are measured. A stellar contender is the Kelsey KY Brown sandwich at breakfast spot Wild Eggs, which swaps the toast for sourdough, and tops the whole affair with a fried egg and smoked paprika.

Exported from Mexico to the Keys in the 1830s, the sweet, tangy taste of key limes is now inextricably tied to South Florida. Joe’s Stone Crab, a 1913 Miami Beach fixture, is rightly famous for its rich, creamy Key lime pies. Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe is a down-home favorite, offering classic versions as well as frozen pie-slice popsicles dipped in dark Belgian chocolate.

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Born in a town called Vidalia during the Great Depression, these sweet alliums appear in sour-cream-and-mayo dips at summer backyard barbecues and picnics throughout the state. The gorgeous Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle serves a classic version on its seasonal menu that's loved by locals. Mod Atlanta soul food destination Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours reimagines the dish as onion soup, topped with local goat cheese and served with a fried biscuit.

You can't go to Nashville without trying this city staple. Fiery fried chicken is a Nashville birthright. We love Prince’s, a legendary hole-in-the-wall on the city’s north side, has been keeping things spicy for more than 70 years. Those flavors (if not the fowl) inspire vegan chef Laura Gillway, who serves a vegetarian “hot chicken hummus” made with chickpeas, garlic, honey, and spices, at hip East Nashville hangout Fox Bar & Cocktail Club.

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Who knew the famous doughnut chain launched in Old Salem in 1937? Eighty one years later, the illuminated sign still reads “Hot Now” and continues to makes locals proud. (And hungry.) Raleigh’s Stanbury, an innovative New American restaurant with national acclaim, honors that tradition with Krispy Kreme bread pudding. The dessert makes use of day-old doughnuts by combining them with creme anglaise, a vanilla-scented custard, and smoky chocolate ice cream.

Pork-and-beef sausages topped with chili, cheese, and chopped onions sustain our nation’s capital. In the Shaw neighborhood, Ben’s Chili Bowl is a fluorescent-lit landmark for half-smokes, serving neighborhood residents, late-night revelers, and student of nearby Howard University since 1958. Bloomingdale gastropub The Pub & The People riffs on the tradition by serving kolaches, or savory Czech-Texan pastries, stuffed with chopped links, cheese, and jalapenos.

Arkansas’ signature sweet is extra sweet in the warmer months.  The dessert gets its name from the term “playin’ possum,” or concealing something. In this case, it’s a layer of chocolate custard beneath cheesecake-like sour cream, whipped cream, and chopped pecans. Stoby’s, a beloved Russellville cafe, sells a superlative version by the slice. For an alternate take, try the chocolate torte at Barr’s Junction, a slab-pie rendition that is easily the best thing you’ll pick up at a combination restaurant-hardware store.

Among New Orleans’ many contributions to the culinary world is gumbo, a Creole stew featuring seafood, pork, chicken, or all of the above. Mother’s, in the Central Business District, has a fervent following, and offers seafood and chicken varieties with varying degrees of spice. And of course, there's always the popular Commander’s Palace, where a daily rotating menu always includes a crowd-pleasing gumbo. 

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If you happen to find yourself in Virginia this summer, you don't want to miss a cup of Peanut Soup. A savory liquid with African origins, this delicacy features Virginia’s buttery legumes and is available in haute and humble iterations across the commonwealth. Try straightforward, oniony bowls at Southern Kitchen, a casual cafe in Richmond. Or head to TJ’s, an elevated bistro in an 1895 landmark hotel, where elegant peanut soup sprinkled with fresh herbs and country ham.

There's nothing quite like a fresh summer salad. Amirite? Despite its name, this dish made with fresh crab, vinegar, and chopped onion hails from Mobile. The original is still served daily at Bayley’s Seafood Restaurant, the roadside Theodore establishment whose owner Bill Bayley, invented the dish in 1947. At Jubilee, in Montgomery, you can go for a still excellent yet pricier take: an appetizer portion will set you back $20.

Modeled after Old Western “chuck wagon buffets,” Las Vegas’ all-you-can-eat breakfasts are nearly as ubiquitous as its cash-destroying slot machines. Get a classic taste for around $20 at Feast Buffet, a no-frills joint off of the Strip en route to Red Rock Canyon. High rollers should consider Caesar Palace’s Bacchanal Buffet, an embarrassment of riches with more than 500 daily items prepared at nine separate kitchens on site.

A Santa Fe vacay isn't a Santa Fe vacay without Green Chile Sauce. Hatch chiles give fiery kick to everything from eggy breakfasts to juicy burgers in New Mexico. Horseman’s Haven, an old-fashioned stop in a refurbished gas station, ladles it over hangover-busting enchiladas. The classier Radish & Rye, where craft cocktails and New American small plates are the draw, infuses its corn chowder with bone marrow and delicately piquant ribbons of the green stuff.

Yes, Cali has its Avocado. But on your next trip to the Golden State, we recommend you try Cioppino. As legend has it, Italian-American fishermen in San Francisco invented this seafood stew by dropping leftover bits of that day’s catch into a stew with tomato sauce and wine. The iconic Tadich Grill reportedly serves over 22,000 orders of its old-fashioned cioppino each year. At Bar Agricole, in SoMa, it's all about the saffron-scented mayonnaise and Dungeness crabs (when available). We recommend you book a table on the breezy patio. 

Tucson’s El Charro Cafe and Macayo’s restaurant in Phoenix both lay claim to the invention of the deep-fried burrito.  Locals rave about the straightforward “chimis” at Mi Casa, a humble, sunny cafe set back from the highway in Benson. Meanwhile, award-winning Valle Luna restaurant has three locations in Phoenix and Chandler, and serves its beef and chicken chimichangas beneath housemade Sonoran sauce.

Oklahoma City’s signature burger is named for 1950s OU sorority sisters who preferred their charcoal-grilled burgers with mayonnaise, chopped pickles, cheese, and hickory sauce, a local spin on barbecue sauce. Taste a classic version at Johnnie’s, the spiritual descendant of Theta burger originator Split T’s. Or sample a thicker, more modern iteration with crisp lettuce and tomato at OKC’s Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery.

Swinging by Utah this summer? Unlike baked English scones, with their dense crumb, Utah scones are deep-fried (yum!) and made from yeasted bread dough. Sill’s Cafe, a homey diner in Layton, serves theirs piping hot with honey butter. You can also find the scones alongside matcha lattes and almond milk-spiked pour-overs at Salt Lake City favorite coffee house Three Pines.

Whether you're going hiking in Boulder, white-water rafting in Durango or boating in Grand Lake, leave time to sample Colorado's Slopper. The knife-and-fork cheeseburger covered in chili sauce and optional french fries, if you please Crave Real Burgers, a Colorado Springs-based, gourmet fast-casual chain, makes its version with locally sourced, certified Colorado Proud beef, and serves it atop a grilled cheese sandwich smothered in green chili sauce, onions, poblanos, and avocados. But Puebla is the Slopper’s home, and Gray’s Coors Tavern dishes out a no-frills option that has reached epic status with fans statewide. 

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Every trip to Texas involves consumption of decadent foods--with most dishes topped in cheese. Descended from Mexico’s queso fundido, this velvety Tex-Mex dip is considered a culinary rite for many Texans. Taco Cabana and Torchy’s, chains based in San Antonio and Austin, respectively, offer fast-casual takes on the favorite. The longstanding Houston restaurant, Picos, helmed by Monterrey native Arnaldo Richards, turns out three fancier varieties that are all worth the splurge (and extra calories). 

Hawaii takes its Poke seriously. Bowls heaped with bells and whistles are increasingly abundant on the mainland, but the simple Hawaiian dish shines at old-school spots like Maguro Brothers in Honolulu’s Chinatown, where the lightly seasoned ahi and limu is exceedingly fresh. In Maui, James Beard Award-nominated chef Sheldon Simeon opened Tin Roof, a casual counter, to immediate popular and critical acclaim. Tin Roof serves spicy ahi with house-made mayonnaise, plus oyster sauce-seasoned salmon and cooked octopus poke with kimchi.

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The state pastry of Wisconsin is a kringle, or a Danish-American glazed confection that, in the summertime, is stuffed with cream cheese and seasonal Door County cherries. Racine's O&H Danish Pastry has been baking up the sweet stuff since 1949. (In 2010, President Obama stopped in for a bite.) Up near Green Bay, Uncle Mike's Bake Shoppe regularly sweeps the local Best of the Bay Awards for its creative kringles, including this summer's red, white, and blue version made with Door County cherries and blueberries.

Two down-home spots in Minneapolis, Matt’s and 5-8 Club, claim to have invented Minnesota’s iconic Jucy Lucy, or cheese-stuffed hamburger, in the 1950s. Today both serve excellently messy versions. For a slightly more upscale take, try one of the “Blucy Lucy” specialty burgers made with Angus beef and bleu cheese at one of The Blue Door’s four locations in Minneapolis/St.Paul.

Hot dog origin stories abound, but Chicagoans believe franks got their start at their city’s 1893 World’s Fair. Fat Johnnie’s, a decades-old staple, offers traditional Chicago-style dogs comprised of David Berg premium beef links, peppers, tomato, pickles, celery salt, and mustard. The Chicago Tribune calls them, “nostalgia on a bun.” Allium Restaurant, a swish spot in the Gold Coast Four Seasons, offers an elegant take featuring all house-made ingredients. It’s available for $19 on the lunch menu only.

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Also called Hoosier Pie and Sugar Cream Pie, Indiana’s signature dessert comprises just flour, cream, milk, and sugar in a flaky crust. It’s among the 35-plus pies made fresh daily at Mrs. Wick’s, a cafe operating out of Winchester since 1944. In Indianapolis, Locally Grown Gardens, a breezy, Hamptons-esque market and cafe in an elegantly converted garage, upgrades its farm-to-table pie with a beautifully bruleed crust.

Breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches are so popular in the Hawkeye State, the local pork producers association created an Iowa Tenderloin Trail. Smitty’s, a 1967 Des Moines diner, serves a classic version — pounded thin, fried until golden, and served on a small bun. St. Burch Tavern, a newly opened, bi-level Iowa City spot with al fresco dining and a raw bar, offers a “Blue Ribbon” version with dill pickles and shaved white onions.  

As the story goes, a line cook at St. Louis’ Charlie Gitto’s restaurant mistakenly dropped handmade ravioli in bubbling in oil instead of boiling water, and unknowingly birthed a citywide legend. The Hill restaurant still serves “t-ravs” to sold-out crowds today. Trattoria Marcella, an upscale venue in Lindenwood Park, serves what some critics consider the city’s best version, served with chunky veal, beef, and pork Bolognese.

To the chagrin of many New Yorkers, the reuben sandwich originated in a hotel in Omaha, not a Brooklyn delicatessen. Omaha’s Crescent Moon is a corner tavern serving up what many believe to be the original recipe from its neighbor, the now-shuttered Fern Room in the Blackstone Hotel. Marks Bistro, a breezy Omaha spot with a patio in a historic building, turns out a tempeh version of a traditional reuben that we love.

Fry bread is both a regional specialty and symbol of persistence among indigenous communities throughout the Southwest and Great Plains. The unyeasted fritter forms the base of tacos in South Dakota, as in the classic version served at Black Hills lodge Cheyenne Cross, topped with spiced ground beef, shredded cheese and lettuce, olives, and sour cream. It also appears with slow-roasted beef and local vegetables at Brass Kettle, an Aberdeen gastropub with an organic, farm-to-table ethos.

This Dakotan dessert shares its name with the German word for “cake,” and generally consists of a yeasted dough filled with custard and fruit. It can be found across North and South Dakotas, but homey Grandma’s Kuchen in Ashley, a town in south central North Dakota, takes the, er, cake: It churns out more than 50,000 kuchens a year. Fargo’s Wurst Bier Hall, a German-accented beer bar named the state’s best, offers international fare like schnitzel, banh mi, and linguica sausages, plus housemade kuchen in weekly-rotating flavors.

Kansas City has made a serious name for itself on the foodie map. KC-style barbecue, like the city itself, straddles the state divide with Missouri. Burnt ends, a local delicacy, resemble hearty rib tips and are smoked to perfection at Joe’s Kansas City, an old-school favorite in a former gas station. James Beard Award winner Colby Garrelts offers a fancier take at Rye, a farm-to-table restaurant in Leawood. Garrelts uses all of the brisket to create tender, melting cubes served atop thick-cut toast.

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Ohio native and Iron Chef Michael Symon is a vocal proponent of Cleveland’s signature sandwich, which covers a smoked and charred kielbasa sausage with french fries, barbecue or hot sauce, and coleslaw, and captures it all in a bun. He serves a version (appropriately called “Clevelander”) at his eponymous B Spot restaurants. For an old-school version that Symon himself holds dear, try Seti’s, a Cleveland food truck run by a friendly local couple.

Deep-dish squares of crispy-edged Detroit pizzas are a delicacy originated by Buddy’s, a 1946 fixture that now has multiple locations throughout the metropolitan area. We recommend hitting up the original on Conant Street downtown. Those aiming to push the envelope can try Trumbull Avenue’s Pie Sci, which serves creative pizzas with clever names like the Salami Kilpatrick, named for an incarcerated former city mayor and topped with an oil-and-vinegar “embezzlement drizzle.”

Swinging through Seattle? Pronounced gooey-duck, this saltwater clam is native to the Pacific Northwest. It’s sourced directly from the South Puget Sound and served raw at Taylor Shellfish Farms, an 1890 institution with six retail and restaurant locations across greater Seattle. It also gets the crudo treatment in cherry blossom shoyu at Westward, a waterfront Seattle hotspot with sweeping views and firepit seating.

Yes, Idaho potatoes are famous nationwide, but locals’ favorite dish is these battered and fried beef strips. They make appearances on the prix-fixe, market-inspired dinners at State & Lemp, a Boise restaurant helmed by Kris Komori, a two-time James Beard Award nominee, whereas Westside Drive-In, a 1950s throwback, serves a down-home version. We suggest pairing the latter with Westside’s ice cream potato, an edible trompe l’oeil where cocoa-rubbed vanilla ice cream takes the shape of a baked spud.

Cousin to the blueberry, these Big Sky favorites star in the huckleberry bear claws at Polebridge Mercantile, a 1914 general store that attracts visitors from far and wide to a remote corner of the state, near Flathead River. In Whitefish, mod and breezy Loula’s Cafe serves an array of sandwiches and easygoing lunch fare, but the highlight is the housemade huckleberry pie.

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Stellar seafood is ubiquitous in coastal Alaska. The state's preferred chowder resembles creamy New England chowder, but eschews clams for locally caught, buttery Alaskan salmon. Glacier Brewhouse, a stylish gastropub, serves a version with corn and shaved fennel, and tops it with a splash of dry sherry. Humpy's Great Ale House, also in Anchorage, has a more down-home version featuring house-smoked Alaskan red salmon.

Created by scientists at Oregon State University, and introduced to the world in the 1950s, marionberries are a cross between two types of blackberries. It inspires cooks, bakers, and makers across the state. Salem’s Willamette Valley Pie Company reportedly averages 12 million pounds of marionberries a year for its classic fruit pies. In Portland, award-winning Eastside Distilling bottles Marionberry Whiskey, a small-batch spirit it calls “the essence of Oregon.”

Frose, the rose wine slushies trending across America, owes a considerable debt to sloshies, Wyoming’s longstanding frozen boozy concoction. Dornan’s Chuckwagon, a seasonal barbecue and all-you-can-eat pancake eatery in a town called Moose, offers several sloshies each summer. Jackson Hole’s Bodega, a stylish shop near Teton Village, pours craft sloshies on tap.