Food & Drink
American BBQ Guide: Regional Styles Explained
Texas brisket, Kansas City ribs, Carolina pulled pork, Memphis dry rub — a complete guide to America's four major BBQ styles and where to eat each.
American Cuisine
Food in the USA: A Guide to American Regional Cuisine
American food is far more diverse than most visitors expect. The country contains at least six distinct regional food cultures — New England seafood, Southern soul food and BBQ, Cajun and Creole in Louisiana, Tex-Mex along the border, California cuisine, and the immigrant-driven food scenes of New York and Chicago. Each is genuinely different from the others and from anything you'll find elsewhere.
The best American food is rarely found in tourist-facing restaurants. Street food trucks, neighbourhood diners, and regional BBQ joints are where the real eating happens. We have written food guides for every major city on this site, covering where to eat without overpaying or being directed at the wrong restaurants.
Food by City
City-by-city guides to where to eat, what to order, and which areas to focus on.
Albuquerque
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Anchorage
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Asheville
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Atlanta
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Austin
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Baltimore
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Bend
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Big Island
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Boise
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Boston
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Charleston
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Charlotte
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Chicago
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Cincinnati
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Cleveland
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Dallas
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Denver
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Detroit
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Honolulu
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Houston
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Indianapolis
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Jackson Hole
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Juneau
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Kansas City
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Kauai
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Las Vegas
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Los Angeles
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Louisville
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Maui
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Memphis
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Miami
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Milwaukee
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Minneapolis
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Moab
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Monterey
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Nashville
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New Orleans
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New York City
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Orlando
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Palm Springs
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Philadelphia
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Phoenix
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Pittsburgh
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Portland
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Salt Lake City
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San Antonio
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San Diego
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San Francisco
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Santa Barbara
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Santa Fe
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Savannah
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Seattle
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Sedona
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St. Louis
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Tampa
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Washington DC
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Regional Dishes to Know
Eight dishes that represent the genuine breadth of American regional cooking.
Texas BBQ
Beef brisket, ribs, and sausage cooked low and slow over post oak wood. Central Texas BBQ (Austin, Lockhart, Luling) is the benchmark — brisket served on butcher paper with white bread and pickles, no sauce required. Franklin Barbecue in Austin consistently draws a four-hour queue. Budget $25–45 per person for a full plate.
New England Clam Chowder
A thick, creamy soup of clams, potatoes, onions, and cream — the quintessential dish of coastal New England. Boston and Cape Cod are the heartland. Legal Sea Foods and the Barking Crab in Boston are reliable standards. Clam chowder bread bowls run $14–20 at most seafood restaurants.
New York Pizza
Large, hand-tossed slices with thin, foldable crust — the New York style. Eaten while walking. Cheese slices run $3–5. Classic institutions include Joe's Pizza in Greenwich Village and Di Fara in Midwood (Brooklyn). Chicago deep-dish is a separate category — thick, casserole-style, knife-and-fork pizza.
Cajun and Creole
New Orleans is the centre of American Creole and Cajun cooking — gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish étouffée, and po'boys. Dooky Chase's, Galatoire's, and Commander's Palace represent the fine-dining tradition. For po'boys, Parkway Bakery and Café Maspero are the standards.
The Burger
A genuine American cultural institution, not a tourist novelty. Regional variations are significant: the smash burger (thin patty, crispy edges), the California-style (avocado, fresh toppings), and the classic diner burger all differ considerably. Shake Shack, In-N-Out, and Five Guys are the reliable national chains. Budget $10–18 for a quality burger and fries.
Tacos (Mexican-American)
The US-Mexico border states (Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico) have Mexican-American food traditions entirely distinct from Mexico City cuisine. In Los Angeles, the taco truck scene runs around the clock — al pastor, carne asada, and birria tacos from $2–4 each. San Antonio's Mission-style cooking is a separate regional tradition.
Soul Food
The cooking tradition of the American South with roots in African American culture — fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, black-eyed peas, and macaroni and cheese. Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville all have strong soul food traditions. Paschal's in Atlanta and Arnold's Country Kitchen in Nashville are landmarks.
Lobster Roll
A New England specialty — chilled lobster meat dressed in mayonnaise (Connecticut style: warm, with butter) stuffed into a hot dog bun. Maine and Massachusetts are the centres. Luke's Lobster operates in multiple cities; seafood shacks along the Maine coast charge $22–35 for a classic roll in season.
Best Food Cities
New Orleans
Consistently ranked the best food city in the country. Gumbo, po\'boys, beignets, crawfish, and a restaurant tradition that goes back 200 years. Commander\'s Palace, Cochon, and the French Market are all essential.
Food guide to New Orleans →New York City
The most diverse food city in the world — every cuisine imaginable, from Michelin three-stars to $1 pizza slices and Flushing dim sum. The outer boroughs (Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx) are where the best neighbourhood eating happens.
Food guide to New York City →Los Angeles
LA\'s taco truck and Korean BBQ scenes are world-class. The Grand Central Market and Smorgasburg LA bring together dozens of independent food vendors. Farmers\' markets operate year-round across the city.
Food guide to Los Angeles →Food Guides
Food & Drink
American Diner Guide: What to Expect, How to Order, What to Eat
American diner culture explained for international visitors — how to order, what to eat, tipping rules, and chains from Waffle House to In-N-Out.
Food & Drink
Best Food Cities in the USA: Top 10 for Serious Eaters
The top 10 food cities in America ranked by cuisine depth, restaurant diversity — New York, New Orleans, Houston, San Francisco, and more.
Food & Drink
Seafood in the USA: Best Regions and Where to Eat It
Maine lobster, Pacific salmon, Gulf shrimp and crawfish, Chesapeake blue crab, Alaskan king crab — best seafood regions in America with named restaurants.
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Food tours, cooking classes, market visits, and tasting experiences across America's best food cities.
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