Flavors of the United States

The cuisine

Traditional food of the United States

American cuisine was made by those who arrived in the country. Italian immigrants, Jews from Eastern Europe, Germans, Cubans and Mexicans brought recipes that changed with local ingredients and the pace of American cities. Many of the country’s best-known foods were born this way—in a neighborhood, at a port or in a tavern—and became tied to a place.

In California, cioppino is the seafood stew of San Francisco’s Genoese fishermen, and the Mission burrito is the large burrito from the taquerías of the Mission neighborhood. In Los Angeles, the French dip is the roast beef sandwich dipped in the pan juices. San Diego has the California burrito, with french fries inside, and the Santa Maria valley barbecue is cooked over coast live oak coals.

In Florida, Key lime pie is associated with Key West and the small island lime, the Cuban sandwich took shape in the cafes of Tampa’s cigar workers, and the cafecito is the Cuban coffee sold at Miami’s walk-up windows.

In New York, pizza by the slice, cheesecake and the pastrami sandwich tell the story of Italian and Jewish immigration. Buffalo, in the western part of the state, is known for spicy chicken wings and beef on weck. In Washington, D.C., the half-smoke is the city’s sausage, and in Virginia the Brunswick stew is cooked for hours in iron kettles.

Linking each specialty to a place is an editorial choice: almost all are eaten elsewhere in the country, and several have disputed origins claimed by families, restaurants and cities.