American food: regional dishes, barbecue, and everyday eating

American food is often reduced to burgers and soda, but the country eats far more variedly than its best-known exports suggest. The United States is a continent-sized nation shaped by successive waves of immigration, so its cooking is regional, layered, and constantly borrowing. This guide covers what people actually eat, region by region and day to day, and what visitors and newcomers should expect.

A regional cuisine

There is no single American cuisine. Climate, local ingredients, and settlement history produced distinct traditions, and a dinner in Louisiana has little in common with one in Maine. For background on how the country divides, see our guide to US geography and regions.

The South and soul food

Southern cooking is probably the most distinctive regional tradition. Soul food, developed by African Americans, turned inexpensive ingredients and long cooking into a cuisine: fried chicken, greens simmered with smoked pork, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, cornbread. Much of what the whole country now considers comfort food passed through these kitchens.

Barbecue

In the American sense, barbecue means meat smoked slowly over low heat, not burgers on a backyard grill. Styles are fiercely local:

• Texas: beef brisket, seasoned mostly with salt and pepper.
• The Carolinas: pork, with vinegar-based sauces in the east and mustard-based sauces in South Carolina.
• Memphis: pork ribs, often "dry" with a spice rub.
• Kansas City: a wide range of meats with a thick, sweet tomato sauce.

Cajun and Creole

Louisiana has two related traditions. Cajun cooking comes from French-speaking Acadians expelled from Canada in the 18th century, and it is rustic and rural. Creole cooking developed in New Orleans from French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean influences, and it uses tomatoes more readily. Crawfish, rice, and a base of onion, celery, and bell pepper are common to both.

What immigrants brought

Much of what Americans think of as their own food arrived from somewhere else and changed along the way. Italian immigrants brought pizza and pasta. Germans brought the sausages that became hot dogs. Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe brought bagels and pastrami. Chinese American restaurants created dishes unfamiliar in China, and the fortune cookie is a California product with Japanese roots.

Mexican food is so established in the Southwest that it counts as everyday local cooking, and Tex-Mex is a distinct American style in its own right, heavy on yellow cheese, flour tortillas, and cumin. More recent arrivals have added Vietnamese pho and banh mi, Korean barbecue, Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, and Salvadoran pupusas. In large metro areas, this variety is one of the best arguments against the fast-food stereotype, and it reflects the mixing described in our guide to American culture.

Meals through the day

Breakfast on weekdays is often quick: cereal, a bagel, coffee to go. On weekends it can be large, with eggs, bacon, pancakes or waffles, and hash browns. Brunch, usually late on Sunday morning, is a social event in most cities.

Lunch tends to be short and often eaten at a desk. Dinner is the main meal and comes early by Southern European standards, typically around 6 or 7 p.m. Restaurants outside big cities may stop serving by 9 p.m.

The diner is a classic American institution: booths, a counter, a long menu from eggs to burgers and milkshakes, and coffee refills at no charge. It remains an affordable fixture across the country.

Eating out: what catches visitors off guard

• Tipping: at sit-down restaurants, about 18 to 20% is the norm, because servers' base pay is often low. Our tip calculator does the math.
• Tax: menu prices usually exclude sales tax, which is added to the bill.
• Portions: usually larger than in Europe, especially at chains. Taking leftovers home in a box is entirely normal. Just ask for a to-go box.
• Water and refills: iced tap water is usually free, and soft drink refills are often included.
• Pace: staff check on you often and may bring the check before you ask. This is meant as good service, not a request to leave.
• Alcohol: the legal drinking age is 21 in every state, and restaurants commonly ask for ID.

Words that differ

For more vocabulary, see American vs. British English.

Big food occasions

Thanksgiving, on the fourth Thursday of November, is the most important family meal of the year for many households. The menu is unusually consistent: roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin or pecan pie. Our page on American holidays and traditions has the details.

In summer, the cookout takes over, especially on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day: grilled burgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw, and watermelon. Super Bowl Sunday has its own menu of wings, dips, and chili.

Grocery shopping

US supermarkets are large, and choice can be overwhelming. The main formats are:

• Regional supermarkets: Kroger, Safeway, Publix, H-E-B.
• Big-box stores: Walmart and Target, which sell nearly everything.
• Warehouse clubs: Costco and Sam's Club, which charge a membership fee and sell in bulk.
• Specialty stores: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Asian, Latin American, or Middle Eastern markets.

Loyalty cards and coupons are widely used. Farmers' markets have become common in most cities. Many states exempt unprepared groceries from sales tax or tax them at a lower rate, while others tax them in full. Food costs vary by region, as our guide to the cost of living in the US explains.

Fast food, fine dining, and the stereotype

The stereotype has some basis. The US built the modern restaurant chain, and fast food and ultra-processed products are a large part of the national diet. A federal health survey found that about 32% of adults ate fast food on a given day in 2021–2023. That figure is high, but it also means most adults did not. Access to healthy food also varies with income and neighborhood, so diet in the US is partly a matter of inequality.

At the other end, American cities have some of the world's most ambitious restaurants, and the farm-to-table movement, closely tied to California, has made seasonal, local cooking widely popular. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are easy to find in cities and on the coasts, and harder in small towns. The honest answer is that the US has both extremes and a lot in between.

Related articles:

• Daily life in the US
• American holidays and traditions
• American culture
• Common misconceptions about the US