Iconic Dishes In America

We were doing fusion food before it was cool, when the city was getting settled by the French and Spanish. Then we threw in American Indian, African and, in the later days, Greek, Italian, Chinese and Vietnamese – that’s the face of new Creole food, the foundation of which is called the holy trinity: onion, celery and green bell pepper.”

Other characteristics of the cuisine include heavy seasoning (paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic and onion powder), salt (a means for preservation before refrigeration), hardy pig and an abundance of seafood – meaning dishes like gumbo (a spicy stew built from a rich, dark roux that cooks for hours) and etouffee (shellfish in a light roux smothered over rice) reign supreme. “Blackened red fish started here in the 1970s, and now it’s on every chain restaurant menu in America,” adds Tory.

Where to get it

• Don’t miss the chicken and sausage gumbo – an exemplary Louisiana Creole dish – at New Orleans’ bustling Cochon Butcher. Bon Ton Cafe also make a shrimp and crab okra gumbo that will blow your mind.
• Mother’s Restaurant is famous for po’ boys (baguettes stuffed with meat or seafood – or both). Tory likes his with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, ketchup and Creole mustard.
• No trip to New Orleans is complete without a stop at Café Du Monde, where beignets (deep-fried pastries covered in powdered sugar) and chicory coffee steal the show. Tory puts a modern twist on the classic at Commander’s Palace with his black skillet-seared foie gras over a foie gras and candied pecan beignet.

Jamie Bissonnette, chef and owner of Boston’s beloved Coppa and Toro restaurants, lists his favourites as salty cured fatback with fresh churned butter, velvety clam chowder, lobster salad rolls and fried clams with pickle-infused dipping sauce.

“It’s the balance of land and sea – you can smell it,” Jamie says, before waxing poetic about clambakes, a festive tradition involving a profusion of seafood and melted butter. “Growing up, we’d take a net and mix in all the seafood with potatoes, onions and corn, and my dad would dig a hole in the ground, add seaweed and limestone, build a fire, get the rocks wicked hot, and we’d put all the food on top, sometimes  pour beer over everything, and cover it with tarps. When it’s done, you just dump everything onto a table covered in newspapers and grab whatever you want.”

Where to get it

• Want to experience a classic clambake? Check out Straight Wharf Restaurant on the island of Nantucket, where buttered lobster, sweet corn, spicy chorizo, potatoes and littleneck clams take centre-stage.
• Trying to name the region’s best clam chowder is like asking an Italian where to find the best bolognaise. But the notorious Chatham Squire at Cape Cod puts up a strong fight – plump clams comingle with smoky potatoes, making this creamy soup one for the books.
• Lobster seekers needn’t look further than James Hook + Co in Boston. The third-generation seafood shack brings their daily lobster catch from Maine and Canada down to Boston’s historic waterfront.

“Jewish food is all technique-based: smoking, curing, pickling,” explains Nick Wiseman, co-owner of Washington DC’s popular DGS Delicatessen, where all meats and fish are cured in-house. “These preservation methods were born out of necessity, but now they’re in vogue here, a way to intensify flavours and tenderise meat.”

Where to get it

• When you’re craving zesty pastrami or corned beef, make a beeline to Brooklyn’s Mile End, where the Reuben sandwich comes on pumpernickel bread stuffed with salt-cured beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and creamy Russian dressing.
• Try the chopped liver at DGS Delicatessen, best spread on rye crackers with red-onion marmalade and chicken-skin cracklings.
• You’ll find authentic handmade bagels boiled with malt and sugar and dusted in seeds and garlic, piled high with house- cured wild salmon, pickled onions and capers at Kenny & Zuke’s Bagelworks at Portland, Oregon.

Expect stacks of warm tortillas, plenty of spice (cumin, oregano, cilantro) and a wide array of chillies (jalapenos, guajillo, ancho and chipotle, to name a few). Unlike true Mexican food, Tex-Mex has a heavy hand for melted cheese and sour cream and is almost always served with beans and rice. A Tex-Mex meal looks like this: “You’re going to get tortilla chips slapped down in front of you with a red salsa, first thing,” explains Stephan.

“Complete the chip experience with chile con queso (a rich, creamy cheese dip) and then expect to be baffled by a long list of plates with every combination conceivable, usually numbered or named after someone.” These combos usually contain some amalgamation of enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas and fajitas. “It’s a communal style of eating, best done over margaritas on a patio on a warm summer day,” says Bryan.

Where to get it

• Order the San Antonio Puffy Taco Plate – complete with BBQ pork, smoked chicken and picadillo beef – at El Real Tex-Mex, Houston.
• In Dallas, there’s no better place for tacos than Mia’s Tex-Mex Restaurant, where warm tortillas are stuffed with tender brisket, Monterey Jack cheese, grilled onions and poblano peppers.
• One of Texas’s most authentic Tex-Mex restaurants can be found in San Antonio. Mi Tierra Cafe has been serving some of the best chilaquiles (eggs scrambled with corn tortilla strips and topped with spicy tomato sauce and cheese) since 1941.

Where to get it

• Head to the unassuming G&M Restaurant & Lounge for ultra-moist broiled crab cakes teeming with jumbo lump crabmeat and Old Bay Seasoning (sandwich optional). They’re so popular, you can even order by mail.

• Tilghman Island gets the local and seasonal treatment at Woodberry Kitchen in succulent patties served with tartar sauce and veggies such as wood-roasted spring onion, romaine, celery, cucumber, potatoes and zucchini.

• Though bivalves take centre-stage, the behemoth crab cakes at Thames Street Oyster House are equally earth-shattering. Presented in a cast-iron skillet, these cakes are chock-full of blue crab and served with spicy remoulade.