Tastes of the Midwest

The east coast is famous for seafood, and when I think of food from the south, fried chicken is where it’s at. However, the cuisine of the Midwest is much more diverse. With its strong German and Italian influences and its rich agriculture, food in the Midwest takes on many forms.

Photo from: http://www.frontiersoups.com/images2/products/cincinnati-chili.jpg

Head to Cincinnati, Oh. and taste their Skyline Chili. This is not your typical spicy Texas Chili though. Here it is made with ground beef and features different seasonings including cinnamon, and it is often served over spaghetti with cheese and onions. Skyline Chili was invented by a Greek immigrant in 1922.

Other Midwest favorites include sandwiches. In Indiana breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches are prized. They are served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and mustard. The Midwestern state of Nebraska is also home to a treasured sandwich. The Runza sandwich, brought to Nebraska by German-speaking immigrants from Russia, is made from baked yeast dough that completely encases a filling of beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, with onions. A final famous sandwich in the Midwest is the Chicago style hotdog. These are usually beef based hotdogs that are never served with ketchup. They are often sold from stands around the city’s many streets.

Photo from: http://www.cvent.com/destination-guide/chicago/images/chicago-deep-dish-pizza.jpg

Also in Chicago is the deep dish pizza. Unlike the St. Louis style thin crust pizza, deep dish pizza features a thick, doughy crust that can be up to three inches tall. It is filled with massive amounts of cheese, sauce and all your other favorite pizza toppings. This pizza, however, is no finger food. A fork is practically required.

A final Midwest delicacy is barbeque. Kansas City, Mo. claims to have more barbeque restaurants per capita than any other city in the country. Granted many southern regions offer excellent barbeque, nothing can compare to the delicate balance of the smoky and sweet barbeque of Kansas City.

So next time you are hungry, which is probably now after reading about all these great foods, try a bowl of skyline chili, or indulge in the gigantic deep dish pizza. If that’s still not feeding your appetite, go out and taste all the other local food favorites throughout the Midwest.