A USA Culinary Journey

The culinary landscape of the USA is varied, vibrant and delicious – drawing inspiration and ingredients from the country’s diverse heritage, gorgeous landscapes and abundant agriculture. Take in hip neighborhoods paired with street-food trends, visit a long-standing craft brewery or distillery, try regional specialties you won’t find anywhere else or sample fresh flavors right on the farm. When you take these bites, you’re not just tasting flavors – you’re tasting tradition, creativity and innovation. 

UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy

The USA has two UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy: Tucson, Arizona, and San Antonio, Texas. In Tucson, culinary traditions link Mexican and Native American cultures and fresh ingredients. Try menus featuring creative cuisine made from local staples like chiltepin pepper, cacti, squash, beans and corn. San Antonio’s food heritage includes a fusion of Indigenous, European and Mexican cooking, with cuisine as colorful as the natural landscape. Look for enchiladas, tacos and fajitas that incorporate traditional and authentic ingredients such as red chili peppers, chorizo, wild game, prickly pear, maiz (corn), salsa verde, cotija cheese or citrusy tajin.

Multicultural Neighborhoods

Authentic cuisine abounds in international neighborhoods in cities all around the country, making it easy to sample a variety of local and global cuisine in just one trip. Explore Chinatowns in San Francisco, California, New York City, New York; and Boston, Massachusetts; Little Havana, in Miami, Florida; Little Africa in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Little India in Chicago, Illinois. In all these places and similar neighborhoods around the USA, you’ll find generations of families who share their food culture with visitors and locals. During your visit, let the vibrant music and languages wash over you, embrace the joyous spirit of a festival and connect with the soul of the art that shapes these special enclaves.

Barbecue Traditions

Barbecue is served across the USA, with many delicious regional varieties to explore. The basic definition – meat smoked slowly over fire – is generally accepted, but in areas of the Southeast and Southwest (namely Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama), the type of meat and method of cooking spark friendly debate and competitions. From saucy to dry-rubbed, there are plenty of varieties to savor. Regions also often align with a specific sauce profile, from tangy, peppery and vinegary to sweet or mustardy. The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and Guam also have rich barbecue traditions with unique island spins. Wherever you travel, ask locals for their personal favorite restaurant or let sensory cues guide you: a column of smoke, soot-stained walls, a line around the block and, oh – that delicious aroma.

Soul Food

Soul food is a type of Southern cuisine that originated with enslaved people and their knowledge of West African culinary traditions. Recipes, passed down across generations of African Americans, use staple ingredients historically available in the rural Southeast, such as beans, greens, cornmeal, okra, pork and sweet potatoes. Often represented as a “plate lunch” or “meat and three” on menus today, soul food invokes sustenance, resilience and community. Look for Black-owned restaurants in across the South – especially in Atlanta, Georgia; Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; St. Louis, Missouri; the South Carolina Lowcountry; and Houston, Texas – to savor the distinct flavor profiles that characterize techniques developed over centuries.

Craft Beverages

Small-batch, independently produced craft beverages are a quintessential pairing for food in the USA – with independent makers gaining popularity in every corner of the nation. Distilleries, breweries and cideries flourish in every state – from bourbon in Kentucky and rum in Puerto Rico to craft beer capitals like Colorado, New York and North Carolina. Vineyards and wineries abound in California, Oregon, Michigan and Virginia. No matter where you visit, you can take distillery and brewery tours, attend tastings and connect with artisans. It’s easy to find a bar or restaurant where mixologists are inventing original craft cocktails and putting their own twists on the classics using locally made ingredients. Craft beverages aren’t limited to alcohol: Craft coffee, teas, sodas and more are available at coffee shops, roasteries, cafes, juice bars, markets and restaurants.

 Food Trucks & Food Halls

More than just a convenient way to grab a meal, the USA’s food trucks and food halls are the domain of creative chefs serving inventive food experiences in bustling, hyper-local settings. Food truck menus vary from street fare like tacos, kebabs or sandwiches to innovators redefining the genre with fusion concepts. Food halls are fast-casual marketplaces featuring traditional restaurants, grab-and-go specialties, coffee shops, bakeries, bars and more, often in renovated former warehouses and historic buildings. Top food-truck destinations include Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; and Honolulu, Hawai’i. Visit food halls in cities like Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; New York City, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; and Atlanta, Georgia.

Farm Fresh Fare

At farm-to-table restaurants across the USA, experience seasonal menus crafted with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The farm-to-table dining movement has been embraced by award-winning chefs whose connections with local suppliers ensure ingredients originate on nearby farms and are harvested at peak season. Their menus are ever-changing to highlight what they’re getting from farms and ranches at any given time. For a hands-on experience, visit a u-pick farm to gather your own produce or a farmers market to shop local offerings and enjoy prepared food and drinks, live music, and arts and crafts.

Classic Diners

For an authentic taste of Americana, look no further than classic diners, which offer casual, comfort cuisine that is highly individualized by location. You’ll find diners across the country, especially in the Southeast, Northeast and along historic byways like Route 66. On menus, find staples like hamburgers, French fries, onion rings, club sandwiches, meatloaf, pancakes, omelets, milkshakes and pies. Some diners serve breakfast all day, which makes them particularly dear to the local population. Many are drenched in nostalgia, with retro-style booths and decor that invite you to sit awhile. Some still operate in prefabricated buildings that call to mind freestanding dining cars, while others are found inside drug stores at soda fountains with lunch counters. 

Food Festivals & State Fairs

Explore local culinary traditions and offerings at annual food festivals and state fairs. At state fairs, try hand-held eats and sweets like candy apples, corndogs and all-things-deep-fried, from pies to pickles. Events like the Lobster Festival in Rockland, Maine; the Hatch Valley Chili Festival in Hatch, New Mexico; and the Slugburger Festival in Corinth, Mississippi, celebrate the regional or unusual. Other cities like Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; St. Paul, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Charleston, South Carolina host multi-day annual festivals featuring major culinary events and celebrity chefs, concerts, agricultural competitions and more.

Award-Winning Dining

Each year, the James Beard Foundation and MICHELIN guide recognize the best chefs and restaurants in each region of the USA. Either honor is considered one of the food world’s most prestigious honors. Building an itinerary around restaurants that have received a nod from one or both foundations is a delicious and excellent way to discover the outstanding dishes, cocktails, baked goods and chefs that make the USA’s dining scene memorable. Many of the chefs at these restaurants become celebrities in their own right and develop loyal diners who follow them to each new culinary project they open.