U.S. food

I don't think you'll find anything called "California cuisine" outside of California, although I could be wrong. It sounds like what was called New American cooking thirty years ago. I've eaten at Chez Panisse and liked it, but the menu looked like a restaurant menu. Things were better prepared than in 99% of the places I've eaten, but the things themselves (that is, their names on the menu) were not distinct the way "carne adovada" is. It may be that some of the thinking behind "California cuisine" has become universal.

There's at least one restaurant in New York that offers a New Mexican, one in San Francisco, and a couple in the DC area. And of course hundreds in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, as the Wikipedia article suggests.

If you've never had it, you should try it.

Many thanks for all replies.

Special thanks to Nutrax and Midwesterner for the links.

I very much appreciated your post at No. 4, Vinny.

nrclibn's political process point (5) was an eye-opener.

I won't join the 'debate' since I wouldn't know what I was talking about - but I'm following it with interest.

Interesting. I wonder if every state really does have an official dish? Some states are obvioius, like Maine, but Delaware, I can't imagine what it would be? Crab?

Manch, see my posts #1 and #3. Wikipedia's list of state foods

The state food of Maine (as given by Wikipedia) is NOT lobster, if that is what you are thinking. However, it appears that Maine actually has no official state food. It does have a state herb (wintergreen), fish (landlocked salmon), and berry (wild blueberry).

Delaware has a state beverage (milk) and a state dessert (peach pie).

New Hampshire has one official edible symbol--the state fruit. I'll leave it to you to figure that one out (it's not at all obvious). The state animal is the white tailed deer; I guess that counts as edible.

Lol....Pumpkin is the state fruit. I never would have guessed that in a million years because I never knew they were a fruit. I think MacIntosh Apples would be a better choice.

I think MacIntosh Apples would be a better choice.

It's Apple Macintoshes and I think that would be a terrible choice. You could, however, choose McIntosh apples.

Of course, there are those who shun PCs and swear by Apple Macs.

If Delaware were to name a state food, it ought to be scrapple. You can find scrapple on menus from Southern New Jersey to Baltimore, but a lot of it seems to be made in Delaware and even small markets will have a choice of three or four or five brands. The only other state that might consider scrapple a state food would be Pennsylvania, and I don't think it's known in western PA.

I own volume 1 and 2 of The American Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook which features a few recipes from each state, and is organized by state. Excellent recipes, mostly for breakfasts and a few for other meals

I got Vol. 1 of that set, and after trying some of the recipes, I concluded that the collected recipes were often redundant, usually or never untested by the editors, often overly rich, too reliant on convenience foods, eg, condensed soups; and overall, unreliable. Granted, there may be a gem or two hidden in that morass of excess.
I never got to Vol. 2.

Anonimo - I have the 1995 edition, which was updated a bit 8 years after the original. Like a community cookbook, these recipes were not tested by the editors, but rather "as submitted" by the various B&B's. Editors also make it clear that the recipes range from "everyday family" cooking to ambitiously experimental. I'd be interested to hear what you tried -- I've had good results for the baked goods (muffins, cookies, coffeecakes) and a couple of breakfast casseroles I tried.