Rediscovering American Cuisine

Inclusion of Nashville hot chicken wings on U.S. fast food and midscale restaurant menus last year shot up by 451%, according to Datassential. McDonald’s added Mambo Sauce packets, a Washington, D.C. regional favorite, to its U.S. menu. Panda Express introduced its first-ever dessert, an American apple pie/Chinese wonton fusion treat. As all of the preceding examples illustrate, American regional foods, flavors, and fusions are prominently featured on foodservice menus. They’re also playing a significant role in CPG product development.

Southern, Creole/Cajun, and Tex-Mex are now on par with Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines, according to Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle analysis. Hawaiian foods are gaining popularity in trendy restaurants and specialty grocers. Native American and Appalachian influences are turning up in fine dining eateries. More targeted regional descriptors like “low country” or “Floribbean” are on the rise on menus.

Moreover, Americans are on the move, and they’re driving less familiar regional cuisines, flavors, and food customs into the national spotlight. Nine of the 15 fastest-growing U.S. cities are in the South, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Florida, Texas, and North Carolina had the largest population gains in 2022.

Regional Tastes

Coastal states have more than double the number of frequent seafood eaters than noncoastal states (52% versus 20%). Those living in the South consume the most fruits/vegetables by far. Midwesterners are most likely to eat pastries/sweet rolls for breakfast, according to reports from FMI, The Food Industry Association.

Salmon, Alaskan pollock, cod, crab, catfish, and clams are among Americans’ most consumed seafood, per the National Fisheries Institute. Walleye, trout, Hawaiian poke, crawfish, mahi-mahi, and grouper are fast-growing regional favorites. Prime Shrimp introduced New Orleans Style BBQ shrimp. Handy Seafood offers Maryland-style Crab Cake Minis with Old Bay seasoning.

Minnesota’s iconic Juicy Lucy beef patties stuffed with cheese, Oklahoma onion burgers, and Miami’s Frita Cubana Cuban-style burgers are among the popular U.S. regional burger options. The new CurderBurger from Culver’s features a “Wisconsin cheese curd crown” topping a Deluxe ButterBurger.

Grilled cheese, Philly cheesesteak, sloppy joes, and po’boys are among the top 20 most popular American foods, according to YouGov. Brooklyn Cured’s new Grass-Fed Beef New York Style Hot Dogs are pork free and made with beef fed a vegetarian diet.

Nebraska’s cheese frenchees (deep-fried grilled cheese sandwiches), Maine lobster rolls, New Orleans muffuletta, Midwest loose meat sandwiches (akin to sloppy joes but without the tomato sauce), and Cajun pistolette (stuffed and fried bread rolls) are other regional sandwich favorites. Runza is a popular handheld in Nebraska, pasty meat hand pies are Michigan favorites, and fruit-filled kolaches are a big thing in Texas.

T.G.I. Fridays’ Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls and the Cheesecake Factory’s Hawaiian Style Ahi Poke Nachos are fun American fusion menu items. The St. Paul sandwich, a Saint Louis specialty, combines egg foo young with dill pickles, onion, mayonnaise, and lettuce on white bread.

In the Midwest, favorite appetizers include finger steaks with fry sauce, fried ravioli, cheese curds, and fried pickles. Rich’s USA teamed with Budweiser to create Beer Battered Pickles and Beer Battered Cheese Curds.

City Slickers

From Buffalo sauce to Detroit-style coney dogs topped with Cincinnati chili, the signature flavors of American cities have long been an American culinary inspiration. Mintel reports that between the fourth quarter of 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2021, the use of Philly-style descriptors on U.S. menus grew by 275%.

Pizza from Chicago, Detroit, New Haven, St. Louis, and Long Island are among the regional pizza attention-getters, according to TasteAtlas. Rhode Island bakery pizza served on a crust similar to focaccia, Pennsylvania’s stromboli, and Southern tomato cheese pie are other regional classics worth watching.

In descending order, the barbecue sauces U.S. consumers are most interested in come from Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama, according to data from flavor company T. Hasegawa. Williams Sonoma’s American barbecue seasoning rubs come in Carolina, Kansas City, Memphis, and Texas flavors.

Hawaiian huli huli, Mississippi comeback, pimento cheese, and Southern Jezebel sauces are poised to get national attention. Sabra Hummus now comes in Buffalo, Barbecue, and Southwest varieties.

San Francisco sourdough, cornbread, kaiser rolls, and buttermilk biscuits gained share on U.S. restaurant menus last year, according to Datassential. Cappello’s Almond Flour Buttermilk Biscuits are gluten-free. Watch for New Mexico’s pueblo bread, Texas pan de campo (cowboy bread), Rhode Island johnny cakes, and Boston’s Parker House rolls to get more attention.

Cured hams, smoked brisket, broasted chicken, country fried steaks, and planked salmon are among the regionally inspired protein products moving into the spotlight. San Francisco Cioppino seafood stew, Southwestern Frito pie, Brunswick stew, and Hoppin John are among the one-dish meals perfectly suited for today’s bowl meal culture. Southern hush puppies, fried green tomatoes, and chowchow (a sweet and spicy relish) have potential to make inroads on mainstream menus.

West Virginia’s haystacks, New Mexico’s bizcochitos, and Maine’s whoopie pies are official state cookies. Hummingbird, chantilly, and lane cakes are celebratory regional cakes poised for mainstream attention. Ohio’s buckeye cookies, Kentucky Modjeska confections, and Hawaiian shaved ice are up-and-coming treats.

Skippy P.B. Bites Girl Scout Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are reminiscent of Ohio buckeyes. Orleans Foods Global offers consumers a chance to bake up a taste of Louisiana with its Authentic Beignet Mix from Louisiana.

Dynamic Descriptors

With consumers most often defining local as “grown or raised within a specific state,” state descriptors and certifications are increasingly impacting product choice. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute reports that seven in 10 consumers are more likely to choose Alaskan salmon over Atlantic salmon.

Regional superfoods like Oregon marionberries, Idaho huckleberries, or Michigan Montmorency tart cherries can add appeal to menu items or CPG brands. Alexia Foods uses the Yukon Select varietal descriptor on its potato puff packaging to add home-grown regional excitement. Bush Brothers offers a lineup of Blue Zone soups and bowl toppers, capitalizing on the connection between longevity and adhering to a diet common among residents of parts of the world described as “Blue zones” by author Dan Buettner.ft