The 25 Greatest American Foods

In my daily meanderings through the blog-o-sphere, I've found several blogs which I read on a daily, or at least weekly basis. Among them is Venus in the Kitchen. Venus is a personal chef and has used her knowledge of food to offer a couple of recent entertaining food lists, including "10 Foods I Never Want to See Again" and "Top 10 Kansas City Foods". Inspired by these, I thought I'd try my own hand at a list, using my dual loves of travel and food. I thought the best thing for me to cover would be a rundown of American food.

American food, like our country itself, is about taking foreign things and making them our own, something I have strived to emphasize with this list. Thus, without further ado, I present you with the 25 Greatest American Foods:

25. Poutine - Usually associated with our great neighbor to the north, America Jr., or Canada, as some people call it, poutine has also made its way to many Northern states. Consisting of French fries topped with cheese and a brown gravy, it's heart attack-inducing goodness.

24. Wisconsin Kielbasa - In an area primarily settled by German and Polish immigrants, is it any wonder that it's known for its sausage? Those Northern Europeans taught their descendants a thing or two about encased meats.

23. Southern Fried Chicken - My grandmother was from Arkansas. She grew up on a farm in the depression and knew how to take a chicken from the yard and turn it into a crispy, golden masterpiece. Pair with a side of mashed potatoes, cole slaw and sweet tea, and you've got a southern feast. Just don't forget the biscuits...

22. Tex-Mex Platter - Take two tacos, add a cheese enchilada, a chile relleno, and rice and beans, and you've got what passes for Mexican food in most of the country. While I love real Mexican food, there's definitely something to be said for Tex-Mex as well. How else do you explain the popularity of Taco Bell?

21. Cuban Sandwich - Originating in either Cuba or South Florida, depending on who you ask, this sandwich is made of ham, roasted pork, cheese, mustard and pickles on Cuban bread. Lightly toasted, this sandwich is not for anyone trying to keep kosher.

20. Lobster Roll - Made of lobster meat and mayo on a hot dog bun, this delicious sandwich is usually associated with Maine. Damn coastal people with their fresh and inexpensive seafood...(sorry, I let my jealousy brought on by love of seafood out for a moment there.)

19. The Garbage Plate - An upstate New York favorite, the garbage plate started at Hots and Potatoes in Rochester. A combination of hamburger, fish, red hots, Italian sausage, eggs or ham, it's mixed with home fries, baked beans, and/or macaroni salad, then topped with mustard, onions, ketchup and hot sauce.

18. Cinncinnati Chilli - Made famous by Cinncinnati institution Skyline, Cinncinnati Chilli is meat and bean chilli on top of spaghetti. This is then topped with cheese and diced onions. It's also known as Chilli 5-way.

17. New York Cheesecake - Using heavy cream, cream cheese and eggs to make a rich and creamy consistency, New York Cheesecake was made famous by Junior's Deli.

16. Kalua Pork - A traditional Hawaiian dish made with an imu, or underground oven, this is pork shoulder rubbed with salt and slow smoked in palm leaves. You shouldn't have a lua without it...

15. Chuckwagon Dinner - A hearty cowboy meal made of easy-to-preserve items for the trail, chuckwagon dinners are made by a cookie, and usually consist of smoked meats, beans, biscuits and coffee. If you head west, there are still a few places where you can find a chuckwagon dinner, usually with a cowboy-themed show.

14. American-style Chinese - Though I've often lambasted egg rolls, crab rangoons and fortune cookies in the past, there is something to be said for the food that opened up a world of cuisine to a generation of Americans. My favorite? Beef with broccoli, stewed mussels, chop suey, and of course, General Tso's chicken.

13. Soul Food - A style of cooking that originated out of slavery in the south, soul food is made with items that were considered undesirable by plantation owners. As a result, they were passed on to the slaves, and a rich, flavorful style of cuisine arose, including things like chitterlings, black-eyed peas, greens and pig's feet.

12. Fried Ravioli - Famous in St. Louis, and little known outside the Midwest, fried ravioli is exactly what it sounds like, raviolis breaded and then deep-fried, served with a side of marinara.

11. Apple Pie ala Mode - The epitome of American dessert, and something found from coast-to-coast, who doesn't love a fresh slice of apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? It's as American as apple pie...

10. California Sushi - The Japanese may have invented sushi, but Californians perfected it. Mmm... spicy tuna rolls....

9. Maryland Crab Cakes - Crab meat, breaded and then deep-fried, a Maryland Crab Cake is usually served on a hamburger bun, sometimes with a spicy aioli.

8. Chicago Hot Dogs - All beef wieners topped with fluorescent green relish, chopped onions, mustard, tomato, pickle, hot pepper and celery salt, all on a poppy seed bun, it's simply the best recipe for hot dogs ever.

7. New York Pastrami - One of the best sandwiches ever, a New York Pastrami sandwich is usually served hot on toasted rye with spicy brown mustard and a deli pickle on the side. A real New York deli will give you a mountain of meat, but it's so tasty you'll find yourself eating more than you thought you could.

6. Philly Cheesesteak - The City of Brotherly Love is known for three things, 1. Being the birthplace of our nation; 2. Rocky Balboa; and 3. Philly Cheesesteaks. If you want to start a fight among a group of Philadelphians, ask which place makes the better cheesesteak, Pat's or Geno's, which are located across the street from each other. These sandwiches are made of thinly-sliced beef topped with cheese. Made in a variety of ways around the country, a real Philly is top round steak, topped with Cheese Whiz.

5. Buffalo Wings - Chicken wings deep-fried, then tossed in a vinegar, Frank's Red Hot and butter mixture, Buffalo wings allegedly were invented at the Anchor Bar in 1964. They've gone on to become an American institution, the perfect food for beer and football.

4. The Reuben - The Reuben is a grilled sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye or pumpernickel bread. Invented by an Omaha grocer to feed his poker buddies, the Reuben is truly a prince amongst sandwiches.

3. Barbeque - There are as many ways of barbequeing as there are men in this country. With the only real requirements being meat and a fire, some of the most famous types of barbeque are Kansas City-style, with its variety of sauces, North Carolina-style dry rubs, Memphis-style vinegar and tomato sauces, and hickory-smoked Texas-style. The best type depends on your personal preference, but really they're all delicious.

2. Pizza - Much like barbeque, there are literally thousands of pizza styles in the U.S. There's deep dish, sauce-on-top Chicago-style, cracker crust and provel-topped St. Louis-style, puffy outer crust and thin inner crust crust New York-style, and of course, gourmet California-style. Add this to the traditional Italian-style, the countless American pizza parlors and the almost infinite number of toppings used, and you'll never run out of pizzas to try.

1. Hamburgers - You knew I wasn't going to forget this most American of foods, didn't you? Contrary to what its name might suggest, the original burgers didn't originate in Hamburg, Germany, but rather in Russia. Russian soldiers in Napoleonic times brought raw balls of spiced meat (either beef or horse), called Tartare, with them into Germany where the locals decided cooking them was a healthier alternative. Waves of German immigrants soon brought the dish to American soil, where we adopted it as our own. We've come a long way since those days of raw horseflesh, with the hamburger becoming not only available universally, but indeed, a cultural icon representing the U.S. itself.