Nobody is saying anything about that completely cursed gif??

I gotta preface this with the fact that pretty much all American food is based on layers of blending of multiple sources. It’s a lot less distinct than some national or regional cuisines elsewhere in the world, and many expressions of things can be American without having originated inside america.

So, with that in mind, I gotta say pit smoked southern pork BBQ. The history of it is very much american, despite it being a fairly universal cooking method. People have been smoking meats in a contained way for thousands of years all over the world. But the particular expression of it that arose in the south is incredible.

For one thing, it’s delicious. Hot, tender, smoky pork. How can that go wrong?

There’s regional sauces for it too. Mustard based, vinegar based, tomato based, coke/cola based, plus more; and blends of those. I favor a vinegar based sauce personally, but don’t turn my nose up at any of them.

But it can serve as a unifier as well. Even BBQ joints tend to have become a sort of neutral ground that can bridge communities that otherwise don’t interact much. But when someone goes whole hog on their own, that’s a big undertaking, and it takes help to achieve. That help, and the nature of cooking an entire pig, also mean that communities will gather. You don’t pit smoke 200 pounds of meat just for a handful of people. It’s an event.

And that’s what really makes it something indispensable for me. It’s a cultural hallmark shared across religious lines, across neighborhood lines, and even racial lines. That kind of BBQ is a southern thang, and it’s a thang we tend to let go of the bullshit that divides a community at least long enough to fill bellies.

You go to a whole hog party, and you’ll see Methodists and baptists agreeing that, damn this pig is good. You’ll see that old black guy and the old white guy swapping BBQ lore. You can end up with family rifts and neighbor disputes settled, or at least set aside for a night because ain’t nobody got time to fuss until after they’ve had some Q, and after they’ve had it, they ain’t got no energy to argue because the itis done crept up on em.

Long as you keep an eyeball on the beer supply, won’t be fights or much of anything other than bulging bellies and folks wondering how much they can carry home.

I ain’t saying a good smoked pig will fix the world’s ills. I’m just saying that it shifts the bullshit down the priority list for a while.

And holy hell, it is yummy.

Cheesesteak

Texas does a lot of things wrong, but what it does the least wrong is Brisket.

The answer is Mexican Street Tacos though.

Perfectly prepared BBQ ribs

New Mexican green chile

Proper crab cakes. Unfortunately 99.9% of the country doesn’t do it right, so you basically have to travel to very specific parts of Maryland to actually understand the hype.

One of the few places I’m proud to represent my home state: Pepperoni rolls.

Cheesesteak, salt water taffy, apple pie, pumpkin pie, I’m sure there’s others but I like these. I know cheesecake is older, but the type with Philly cream cheese is like slightly more modern??

Thai restaurants.

Texmex

Pizza is pretty good… invented in NYC by Italian immigrants iirc, so technically American, although I gather there is controversy surrounding that take (flatbread was invented in Italy, even with cheese topping, but the whole tomato sauce thing that we recognize today was invented here; this orc entirely ignoring the debate about whether flatbread is “better” or “worse” than American style pizza).

Imagine ordering a food and the lady pulls your order out of her forehead. I would have doubts, if I would eat it or not.

jambalaya

BEC SPK, NY represent. That’s a bacon egg and cheese on a roll with salt pepper ketchup, for the uninitiated.