A nationwide taste test
Are you a Taylor Ham stan? Do you take your cheesesteak wit' or wit'out? Do you argue about brisket bark? Now you can cast your vote to enshrine your favorite regional dish in an official American record.
Voting is underway for the Official State Dish Registry, which aims to be a permanent record of the foods that help define each state's identity, much like state birds and nicknames.
The registry is a part of America250's celebration of the semiquincentennial. The organization named Joe Ariel, Goldbelly cofounder and CEO, as its official food curator.
"My broader hope of the whole project, when all is said and done, is that it becomes a living archive," Ariel told USA TODAY in an interview. "Really the national food registry for American regional food."
The voting period ends on Nov. 1, and results will be announced in the fall.
A closer look at the competition
According to the registry's website, the options were initially developed by referencing regional cookbooks, state historical societies, dishes recognized by state legislators over the years, and foods widely understood as state icons. Voters were then allowed to nominate additional dishes.
Oregon's marionberry pie leads the overall leaderboard, as of Aug. 23, ahead of the California burrito, the New York-style pizza slice, Texas' brisket and the Taylor Ham found in New Jersey.
The races are close. In Nevada, prime rib held a five-vote lead over shrimp cocktail, while in Hawaii, plate lunch led poke bowl by four votes. A battle is shaping up in Missouri as Kansas City burnt ends is edging out St. Louis' toasted ravioli by four votes.
The food curator's perspective
Ariel argued in the interview that America, and by extension its cuisine, is less like a melting pot and more like a gumbo.
"In a great bowl of gumbo, you clearly and decisively can tell the different components of it. It's all merged into one, but everything maintains its uniqueness," Ariel said.
Ariel pointed to the bagel sandwich as an example of how American cuisine blends traditions while keeping their origins identifiable. He also noted that buffalo wings were invented by Italian immigrants in a mom's restaurant, with her son and friends creating it drunk one night. Some viral creations, like the cronut, have not broken through to become iconic, while Nashville hot chicken is "mid-loop" between virality and mainstay.
Ariel emphasized that he doesn't see his role as a critic but as someone documenting how Americans eat, pointing to the West Virginia pepperoni roll as a dish with deep meaning for those from there.