The absolute best thing to eat in every state

Pinpointing a single dish, at a single restaurant, as the absolute best bite in a state is no easy task. These highlighted dishes aren’t just universally beloved by just about everyone who’s tried them (in fact, many of them have put the restaurants at which they’re served on the map), they say something about their home state, its foodways and its residents.

Even though there are plenty of phenomenal desserts out there, we stuck with savory dishes for these purposes, with an eye toward the casual and inexpensive. (Sure, that dry-aged wagyu rib-eye might be ridiculously good, but we wanted our featured dishes to be accessible to all.) These dishes aren’t just delicious, they’re iconic, and in many cases are nothing short of legendary.