As a Chicago native, I can tell you that midwestern food is hearty, and yes good. It’s not as spicy as some other regions, but it’s meant to warm you and fill you up especially in the colder months which can run from October through March/ early April. Chicago style deep dish is great and of this same caliber of being hearty and filling. Also keep in mind that the Midwest has a very heavy Germanic and Dutch influence. In Chicago itself, you can find foods from every region of the world. Exploring the different neighborhoods will give you those authentic dishes.
@@jayeharrison4533 A lot of Midwestern food developed with the mindset of using what you had, especially in places that were/are spread out from each other. There are obviously a lot of variations, but when you get into ports and shipping and storage, sometimes you have to look at what keeps well that will keep you from starving, and then find ways to mix it together to keep it from getting repetitive.
@@GeminieCricket I'm surprised the whole video wasn't about all the great things you can with soy. That seems to be the only thing he would eat. SO diverse. The little d-bag.
I’m not sure where the Narrator learned his American History, but a great deal of his information is incorrect. 😂 Some of it is seriously, laughably WRONG! 😂
Right?!? I was so thrown about some of the mix ups like hush puppies, and how he said we took Texas from Mexico!😂 That was laughable. U.S. helped Texas gain independence and convinced them they were safer being another American state. He flubbed up a lot of the facts, with opinions or just found this info on Wiki…😭😭😭
Yeah. Animal fats. Includes butter, bacon grease, among others. America. Where deep fried butter is a thing. Essentially animal fat fried in animal fat.
@@sgtsempersquid531 I was just pointing out animal fats are not off putting as a group. And that they include things like bacon (lard), and cream. I wasn't trying to imply the Alaskan berry and fat was using dairy fats. Cheers.
This dude is wrong about midwest food. You got Italian, Greek, Polish, Scandinavian and Cornish food influences. Dude is a complete nutter. You find some of the best food in the midwest.
He's a Native American who clearly didn't do any research to see how the Native tribes of the Midwest influenced our food, so he doesn't care. Typical bigot.
Not a fan of the Skyline chili or Cincinnati chili but there are so many other great foods from the midwest. The hotdish is iconic and is often made here in the deep south also, we just renamed it to hashbrown casserole. The pork tenderloin sandwich, the juicy lucy, cheese curds, all of those are awesome. I will agree with him on Chicago deep dish and Chicago style dogs, meh. I do like the Chicago tavern style pizza and I like Detroit style pizza. As for pizza and hot dogs, I got to go with NY style for both of those.
everyone commenting on how wrong he was about the Midwest food and the Chicago hotdog is 100% correct he has no idea what he's talking about in those regards
Fun fact about Texas being it's own country. There's still a place in London where you can find a plaque stating that it was the site of the embassy of the Republic of Texas.
Native corn is MANY colors. Yellow and white corn is the result of commercial breeding. FYI, in Mexico, there is a special type of tortilla made with BLUE corn. Look it up.
He tried to stay with origin food from days gone by. But Then he got to NY 🗽 & turned into a Travel Guide, Places To Eat, a Love Eat Pray NY Guru😮! He lost the plot of the video! I really hope he doesn't expect new subscribers from this crossover😂! Every section of America has people from somewhere else & they all brought recipes from their homeland then adjusted as ingredients warranted. Recipes passed down generations. I don't think he gets out much😂
I mean, if you want to bag on Guy Fieri for promoting low-brow food with a ton of bacon, cheese and ranch on everything, fine--but there's a reason that kind of stuff is on the menu of chain restaurants around the country. It's fucking good, but the shit you get at a chain restaurant doesn't compare to the real Midwestern food that inspired it. What's funny, is that I've known plenty of people who've moved to Michigan from other states, and literally none of them miss the local foods from where they're originally from. There might be an occasional brand of condiment or something that isn't sold outside of their region, but we always have something as good or better than what they had. Everyone I know who's moved away has at least a couple of things they cannot get anywhere else. It might be Faygo's Rock N' Rye, Vernor's Ginger Ale, Coney Dogs, Buddy's Pizza (or proper Detroit style pizza, because Chicago eats round lasagna they call pizza and NYC thinks pizza needs to be so wafer thin that a single slice is 1/4 of a single pizza). Then there's the Mediterranean food, Greek, Polish... There's great Mexican and Soul food as well. We have everything. There are even hipster fusion joints and ramen shops popping up. The auto industry brought some of the most diverse groups of working class people here to work and they brought all their amazing food and culture to the city and if you're interested in enjoying lots of good food while you travel, Detroit probably has a better variety and more unique foods than any of the other large Midwestern cities. Chicago does pizza and hot dogs differently, but they didn't invent corned beef eggrolls. I've lived here my entire life, and it wasn't until I did some traveling here and there that I've come to appreciate what we've got around here. Even if I didn't have family here and could live anywhere in the country, I don't know that I would--at least not unless someone wanted to pay me a ton of cash. ...but I still have lots of family around here and probably won't ever move.
The U.S did NOT take anything from Mexico. Texas wanted it’s independence from Mexico and enlisted the allied help of America. After gaining independence, it would take about a decade for the U.S to convince Texas of its need of American protection, which is really how we make most of our allies. Japan has no military because of this same type of dictation… they retrieved help from a country they did not want to be a part of, and in part, we’re forced to refrain from having any military, while the U.S fights their battles…
Lewis, cornbread is made from dried corn that is ground into, essentially, corn flour. Hush puppies are cornbread batter, dropped in dollops, fried. Adding fresh corn, cheese, jalapeños, etc are common yummy additions!
That whole part about the midwest was total BS, and toasted ravioli is delicious. Also, someone else already pointed this out. But animal fat and animal meat isn't the same thing. You can use animal fats in recipies without changing the flavor too too much.
I'm not a Midwesterner but I feel the need to defend my neighbors to the west. This area is the freaking breadbasket of the US!! Not to mention that they have just as many diverse cultures as any other area in the states too. This guy has it out for the Midwest for some reason, or maybe he needs to hit some small towns if he doesn't like Chicago food. Chicago and KC don't define the entire Midwest. Good grief. 🙄
Considering some of the historical topics covered in the video, I can't help but wonder if there was a "lack of diversity(of a specific type)" given who primarily populated the mid-west US. Hate to go there about a food video... but I don't know why else he's just blatantly ignoring the history of mid-western food(like the actual food we actually eat in the mid-west; I haven't had any of the crap he referenced and I've lived here my whole life) when that's kinda a significant part of the country too. Just pretending like there isn't traditional food in the mid-west that comes out of hundreds of years of ancestry and that it's just random stuff thrown together... I guess? I don't know, that was pretty odd though.
The midwest is not just white cuisine so you are wrong. He just doesn't like the midwest from a wealth/culture standpoint, not a race one @@Mr._Anderpson
@@GranolaBars11 Sure. He doesn't like the Midwest, but it couldn't possibly be a race thing. After all, the only people who are ever racially motivated are the saltines. Every good coastal urbanite knows this. The fact he could praise practically everything except the Midwest is just a happy coincidence. Than again, maybe he's just adhering to tradition. You'll be hard-pressed to find people more xenophobic & racist than Asians in their native lands. Before the blusters & gaslighting begins, remind me why Disney decided to shrink Jon Boyega's image on movie posters in China.
Wouldn’t ice cream made from seal blubber taste rather fishy? They also make ice cream from squid ink in Japan (it’s black). I’d taste it out of curiosity but I’ll just stick to the commercial cartons available at the supermarket or Dairy Queen for “soft serve.” “Meat ice cream” sounds like some “Soilent Green” conspiracy bullsh*t! 😂
Never lived in the Midwest, but have had dinner at a handful of homes while traveling - and it was some of the best food ever. And the table groaned under the variety of dishes.
The thing about midwestern food is that it is a combination of many, many cultures that came to America and wanted to be American while at the same time they wanted to share their culture and food. So much of it is a mix of them all. Here in Michigan, you have soul food, Germanic, Polish, French, Greek, Italian, Scandinavian, Middle eastern, and Native American. Top that all off with the great locally grown, hunted and fished. There are many classically trained chefs from Europe that have come to America and made Michigan their home just because of the quality of the produce that is available.
As someone who grew up in Iowa and now lives in Kansas, I would say I agree with everyone who said he did a major disservice to the midwestern cuisine. We have so many diverse foods and cultures in Kansas City. We even have grocery stores that are dedicated to European and Asian food. And fried ravioli is really good if you get it from the right places! Cornbread is also one of my favorite sides to have with bbq!
Ope! Well, isn't that's cute. You think you're part of the Midwest! LOL Drive up north where we have real winters and we'll tell you all about the Midwest over a pop.
When I was growing up in New England, every 4th of July, my aunt & uncle hosted a New England Clambake with around 100 relatives attending, with a few kegs of beer, lobster & hot lobster rolls (with butter), NE clam chowder, corn on the cob, steamers, muscles, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and quahogs, salad, hot dogs & hamburgers, coleslaw and potato salad, watermelon and more. The concrete swimming pool was nice too :) Wonderful childhood memories!
You should not open your pie hole when you have no idea what you are talking about. Have you ever had a BBQ brisket with potato salad and buttered corn bread?
He's a New Yorker, so he tends to look at the heart of the country as just fly-over country. The best cheese curds I have ever had cam from Eau Galle Cheese in Durand, Wisconsin.
He said "Chicago is an amazing food city". You talked over it. Chicago is completely different from the rest of the country when it comes to food, and is not "Midwestern" in food variety or style. He also did drop the ball on the whole region and doesn't know what he's talking about. Wisconsin beer, bratwurst and cheese is incredible, for example. Chicago has some of the best and most diverse food in the world, much more than unique pizza and hot dogs (which are great anyway). He didn't even know to mention Italian beef, Maxwell Street Polish sausage, Greek Saganaki, and the vast amount of high quality Mexican food that people not from here know nothing about. Chicago barbeque (ribs as opposed to brisket as in Texas, or pulled meat as in the Carolinas) is top grade, as are St, Louis and Kansas City barbeque. Detroit pizza is excellent. The fact that he even put the word "food" in quotation marks is incredibly ignorant and insulting.
I think i agree with his point on how many of us see midwestern food. For me, I've always associated it with really over the top creations that just question why anyone would eat it to stereotypical "this is why American's are fat" food. The ballpark or fair foods. However, I don't agree with it being bad at all, the fact that almost every fast food chain adopted the same foods just shows everyone really likes it even if its mad unhealthy for them.
St. Louis style pizza is a hit or miss with people, but no one can disagree that St. Louis' toasted ravioli is a good food, especially dipped in marinara and served with pizza.
@@mikeg.4211 I think he was purposely being a dick, he being from NY (typical food rivalry), just so that he could start a 'food war' in his comments section. Kinda like here. LOL Food is so different from one place to another, especially in the US. If you grew up eating a certain style of "pizza" then go somewhere else and they make it different, you either be open minded about it, or be honest and it just isn't for you. That's fine. I like Detroit style pizza better than Chicago style, but there is nothing wrong with Chicago style pizza. I prefer thin crust, but also prefer west coast style toppings. But that's just me and I've lived all over the US including the east coast (I have family in NY). But he dogged the midwest unfairly.
I agree. He also missed on the German style brats and beer. The midwest is also filled with great bbq and baked beans. Some of the best breweries and distilleries are in the midwest.
Trotters (pigs’ feet) are still eaten in some areas of the country. Every once in a while, you’ll run into a place that has pickled pigs feet in a five gallon glass jar. But we also, pickle hard boiled eggs too. Sometimes they’re even pickled in beet juice. 😂 Remember, there’s areas of the country that still maintain the foods brought over from their ancestors’ homelands.
16:50 Spam (potted ground meat) is EXTREAMLY popular in Hawaii. it was one of the few (non fish) meat sources for native Hawaiians during the years leading up to and right after WW2. there are MANY restaurants and even homes that use Spam as a main meat source for meals. In this instance, fried Spam is used instead of fish to make the sushi. The black thing is dried seaweed. for the years that I lived in Hawaii, even though I don't like Spam, I did try some of the popular dishes at various restaurants. most of them were good.
I am on the East Coast, and I believe he has done the Mid West wrong. There are states that have food that some people may just not like. That doesnt mean everyone will not lke it. Like I always say 'Taste it first before taking someone elses judgement on it'. Also don't judge food on it's looks. Now, I know he lives in N.Y and yes, they have some really good food. But there are things in N.Y Restaurants I do not like. Everyone should make their own minds up AFTER you have had food from other states. Not just one place. Try and go to several differant places in that state.
Also…I’m a Missourian, right in that “midwestern food void”. I’m thinking of the St. Louis and Chicago World Fair’s that had such iconic and innovative foods that they spread across the country and the world! You like hotdogs, peanut butter, ice cream cones, jello, iced tea, or cotton candy? Midwest. Enjoy it in your town today! Chickasaw Delaware Illini Kanza Ioway Otoe-Missouria Osage Quapaw Sac & Fox Shawnee Native tribes that are indigenous to Missouri. Guess they didn’t make his list?
The "Wet Burrito" (a beef and/or bean burrito smothered in a spicy red sauce, and topped with lettuce, onions, chopped tomatoes, melted cheese, and peppers) was invented at The Beltline Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1976. Midwest food is ANYTHING but bland. Edit: Yeah, ignore the New Yorker, he's got the typical New York disdain for "flyover country."
Another fun fact as a Louisiana Creole…what’s called Cajun food is just Creole food. If you look up the type of food cooked in the Maritime provinces of Canada, where Cajuns come from, is nothing like the food in Louisiana. Why am I saying this? Because all those foods that were cooked in colonial Louisiana were already in existence before the arrival of the Cajuns. Before the Cajuns there were French Canadians from Quebec & Mainland France, the Spanish, Natives, & Africans. The Cajuns from the Maritime provinces arrived relatively late to colonial Louisiana.
I have to agree! Chicago has some delicious food! Palermo's pizza is the BEST! Pizza rolls...out of this world! Real pizza rolls not the frozen tiny Tostino ones😂. A real Chicago hot dog. Yummy!
@@tammytregoning5675 the original creator is either lactose intolerant and is holding a grudge or truly doesn't understand the unique mix of Scandinavian, polish, Italian, German, Greek, and African American (and the unique pockets of more recent immigration) l culture that makes up Midwestern food that sticks to your ribs and holds you through the winter.
@@alboyer6, At the end of the video he says he is from NYC or lives in NYC. That says it all. They think their pizza and food is better. So, this video is biased.
7:00 cornbread can be very dry if prepared wrong. You may want to try "cornbread cakes" or "cornbread muffins", something with enough moisture. Traditional cornbread prepared in a cast-iron skillet can be too dry. Lots of Southerners would dip it in milk at dinner when it was too dry.
There are different ways to make corn bread - traditional (regular) it's dry and crumbly, sweet with added sugar and/or dipped in honey, etc. I personally mix in a can of creamed corn (adds sweetness) then drizzle it with honey. Other twists are to add various herbs and spices or add in finely chopped jalapenos. Just remember that corn bread has a totally different texture than bread - do not expected smoothness bread has
Same for lobster, it was fish bait/fertilizer or jail food, oysters, white salmon, brisket was sold to the poor on the roadside, caviar used to be given away free.
Europeans originally thought potatoes were only an animal food, however between years when other corps did not grow well and efforts from German and Russian monarchs people started eating potatoes.
Fry Bread can be eaten multiple ways. As a kid, I would eat it sweet or savory, for instance, the sweet way is with honey and powdered sugar. Or you might throw beans and cheese on it, etc. It is so good!
Bro killed me everytime he mispronounced Hawaiians! Lol! And obviously he's biased against Midwestern food and he couldn't be more wrong about that. The pizzas are excellent as are the desserts! And yes, toasted ravioli is delightful! But definitely, you need to go to Texas first. They have the best Mexican food and BBQ. You may just fall in love with seafood there for the first time if you go to the right seafood restaurants. Cheers mate 🤠👍!!
To just dismiss Midwestern food out of hand made me go back and rewatch his video. And it made me see the elitism ( and racism ) lurking in his attitudes.
I'm from Portland and I love our food trucks. There's a guy that makes an amazing sandwich with Italian sausage, cheese, onions, and peppers and wraps it up in flatbread and tops it with a fork. It's so good.
It cracks me up that the international community assumes that the US is all about fast food and forget that the US is made up of people from everywhere else in the world so of course, they brought their cultural influences/food with them. You don't just stop being who you are when you arrive in a new country, especially one that wasn't already established. Yes, pig feet (my late father's fav), pig ears, etc. are still eaten today. You didn't waste any part of any livestock in those days. The territories in the US were either bought or won through war so the US didn't TAKE. There was a war with Mexico over what would become TX and Mexico lost. The Spam sushi is rice, a cooked slice of SPAM and wrapped in seaweed.
Yes it gets on my nerves when they immediately try to insult our food by saying we only eat fast food. Which is funny because even that is diverse with options depending on where you live.
I live in Michigan and I never eat pigs feet or spam but I cook at home every day and manage to do just fine. For many of us fast food or hot dogs are just for when we're about and very hungry or in a big hurry at home.
@@garycamara9955 For no particular reason, your reply prompted me to go find out more, from ChatGPT. The animal fat is a bit more savory, but whipped cream is whipped fat, as well. just dairy fat.
And German elders! The last time I saw Grandpa he lectured us on the evil of pork, he was very religious. Then he took my wife and I to a German restaurant where he ordered Pigs Feet. ;-)
8:14 pig's feet (pickled or cooked), ox tail, chicken's feet, gizzards, tongue (cow, ox, pig), 'head' cheese (ground brain mixed with other things), and MANY other parts of animals are STILL being sold and cooked. Some are even sold in nation wide stores like Walmart
I'm in the Midwest, about an hour south of Kansas City, Missouri. We don't have a density of diverse restaurants, but trust me, we have some INCREDIBLE food. Cafes, diners, church socials, cookouts, or just home cooked. Anywhere we gather, there's going to be great food. Last night, I made a beef roast with potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, and mushrooms. It had a variety of seasonings as well as onion and mushroom gravy base. Fell apart easily and packed full of flavor. It's common to see this, BBQ, fried chicken, chicken fried steak and the like as a matter of routine. I also routinely make biscuits, "Johnny cakes", homemade pies (including the crust), baked cabbage as well as farm fresh produce dishes from ingredients purchased from our local Amish community. I guess we don't have sushi or foie gras so people assume we're just cave people and rubes.
Talks about American Chinese Food, shows Fortune Cookies, but doesn't know the history of Fortune Cookies, which were actually brought to the US by Japanese, but taken over by American Chinese during WW2 when the west coast Japanese were sent to "relocation centers"(internment camps)
Well, a guy form Japan introduced them in L.A. at the turn of the 20th century. They were certainly around before then. They were more like a cracker than a cookie in Japan...less sweet. But you aren't wrong. They are Japanese and came over from there.
If you're even aware of it happening, I'd guess you already know, but for others reading I feel it's worth mentioning that it wasn't "the west coast Japanese" sent to "relocation centers" - they were AMERICAN CITIZENS of Japanese descent sent to prison camps.
The narrator mentioned that akutaq (Alaskan "ice cream") is whipped animal fat with seasonal berries (not with animal meat); & on the other hand, pemmican is commonly made using animal meat, fat, & berries - although it can also be made without berries - & it lasts for a very long time. Fry bread is easy to make & filling.
My Mother growing up in the south was enamored with the NE. She loved all things Pennsylvania Dutch, Moravian, Amish, Shaker, etc. My maternal grandmother was raised a Quaker. So molasses and gingerbread was a staple. The closest thing I can get to gingerbread is the pig 🐖 shaped gingerbread cookies "marranitos" in the Mexican supermarket. So, good.
The narrator has his opinions for sure which should have been left out of an informative video or should have been "I don't like them" instead of just saying "it's not good". Pigs feet are sold in jars in stores. But the most iconic NY food, Chicken Wings were invented almost 400 miles away from NYC on the other side of the state. New York is beautiful, New York City is not.
Not trying to defend what he said, but as a Southerner I can list the foods we're known for. What are your claims to fame? I'm at a loss to know of anything that is special in the Midwest. I'm being genuine and really want to know.
@@kebonhawk1081 Bratwurst, beer cheese, potato salad, potato casserole, green bean casserole, cheese curds, Mac and cheese, fried ravioli, St Louis and KC style barbeque, sauerkraut and kielbasa, goulashes, horseshoes, gooey butter cakes. And many more
@@BTinSF I'm a New Yorker, and yikes, definitely don't consider the Midwest as 'flyover country". I certainly think that Matthew has some sort of wokey wokey grudge to the heartland of America - to say the least.
Pemmican is like jerky somewhat. Our cornbread originated from them also. I'm a mixed-race person, Native American and Irish for the most part. Have you never heard of the Trail of Tears? It's when the government forced all of the Eastern Band native to vacate and they had to walk from the East coast to what is now Oklahoma which was known as Indian Territory then. It's where I grew up.
The US has a lot of food, but when there is a large in-flow of immigrants from somewhere it is common that they can't find all the precise ingredients, so they "fudge it" by using what they can get ahold of. Thus, (American) Chinese food is food inspired from immigrants, but is nothing like (Chinese) Chinese food. How this flows with other groups varies highly, but most are distinctly different from their parent population.
@@boo2564 Yeah, probably why most of the people in the midwest do not eat that stuff. Kinda odd to make a video saying we do, I have lived out here for 25 years and the only things on that list that I have had is cheese curds and Cinci chili, and not everyone likes the chili lol
Cornbread varies in the amount of sweetness. And slaves were captured and sold into slavery by other African tribes. It was a worldwide problem not just confined to North America
Slavery unfortunately is not just was, it still exists in many forms. Many uniformed americans seem to falsly believe the only slavery to ever exist was by white (and black) southerners of black slaves. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Irish sold themselves into multiple years of indentured bondage during the potato famine to come to America. Slavery has existed from the earliest tribes of man. Even today It explains the hundreds of thousands of missing children in modern America, explains what happened to many of the unescorted minors that were so prevalent since the current regime reopened the US southern border. Evil exists in this world
Yeah, the video definitely has an oppressor/oppressed narrative. Really bored with neo-marxists shaming modern people. The STUPID statement about the Midwest is ignorance. I'm from Chicago area originally and I WISH we had more Greek and Italian food in Houston. I'm spoiled by TexMex and Louisiana Cajun but if y'all come down with your family recipes I wouldn't complain.
Yes indeed. Several of our Founders wanted to outlaw it but the south threatened to not declare independence if they did. Btw, there's still slavery in parts of Africa, sex slavery all over the world, slave labor in China. It was vile then and it still is.
Of course someone in the comments have to defend their white ancestors atrocities 🙄 Take the blame off them and on black folk. Trying to justify the evils done in this country. Africans were coerced into selling their POW by Europeans who for hundreds of years beat, whipped r word us etc. Even after, fought and died to keep it still alive in some states and after that , segregation, Jim crow, and a heap of other horrible r word things. Stop putting the blame on others and look at yourselves.
Here goes another person defending their yt ancestors atrocities , trying to lessen the wrong that was done 🙄 my grandmother always said, a hit dog will holler
Yes, pigs feet are a staple of soul food. Our elders eat. The neck bones of the pig are eaten as well. The meat that is known as ham hock is used to seasoned collard greens, turnip salad, and cabbage.
I understand if it's not your preference, but what is wrong with toasted ravioli, fried cheese curds, cookie salad, watergate salad and hot dishes? Those things are amazing, albeit not the healthiest thing. I kept telling myself he's either from LA or NYC and I wasn't wrong lol.
Fried Ravioli are amazing. A lot of the 'ambrosia-style' dessert salads are also really good and get a bad wrap. I'm not super hype about chili on spaghetti but, like I assume is true of the presenter, I haven't actually tried it yet. Ahh, the guy is from NYC. That explains a lot, actually.
A lot of inaccuracies in this video. I understand how lumping states into regions makes sense but it doesn’t make it accurate. For instance, southern regions of the Midwest have more in common with the south culturally than the the northern regions. The panhandle in Florida has a lot of Cajun & Creole influence vs south Florida with more Cuban influence. I haven’t been to every state but I’m sure each state has these variations that divide them. You’ll even find pockets in small town America that had an influx of Italian/Mexican/Chinese immigrants & how that impacts the food culture.
I make my hush puppies with chopped onions and jalapeno. Can add cut up crawfish, shrimp or crab to them. All a few drops of crab boil for some great flavor. Look up hush puppies recipe online. All these recipes are online. Start cooking!
He sounds like he literally hasn't been anywhere in the mid-west besides Chicago. And "ha ha ha" NYC guy isn't impressed by Chicago pizza/hotdogs "har har har". That was such a weird segment, literally ignoring a significant chunk of American history.
@@jayeharrison4533 No one in the mid-west makes that shit. I haven't had anything he mentioned besides cheese curds, and that's just because Dairy Queen offers them as a side.
Cornbread can be dry or sweet, white or yellow, fried or baked. So not all cornbread is the same. Often the restaurant's cornbread is sweet and yellow. I grew up eating white/dry cornbread fried or baked in cast iron. The cornbread I grew up with was meant to be eaten either with pinto/soup beans or you crumbled it hot into cold mild--and eat it like cereal. I am not a fan of yellow sweet corn bread---but a lot of people like it. Cornbread has a lot of variations.
Fun fact: Diners are sometimes referred to as a "greasy spoon". Due to all the greasy food, you can order. There are some good diners around the country, and on Route 66, if you happen to visit to try the food. It's better than any fast-food burger and captures that "rock and roll" spirit of 50s America. While route 66 was abandoned by most drivers for today's modern highways, some will take a road trip down 66 for to cross it off the bucket list.
I supposed it’s what a person is raised eating. I’ve tried SPAM various ways (fried, etc) and it’s the consistency and “mouth feel” I don’t like, for a similar reason I can’t eat large curd cottage or pot cheese. There is a whipped cottage cheese that’s more the consistency of whipped cream cheese which I like.
I think you got some jiffy corn meal in one of your food boxes. You can make hushpuppies, johnny cakes, and corn bread with that same mix. I believe there are recipes on the box for each of them also.
If you think walking 300 Miles is long/bad... take a look or do a video on "The Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee were forced to walk. At its very longest, it's around 5000 miles!
Dude BRUSHED over the midwest with descendants from hungry Poland Germany. dudes never had Chicken Paprikas, stuffed cabbage? guy can't even pronounce his "T"s
Dude lost all credibility when glossed over the mid-west and said its stereotypical. The midwest has influences from both the south, Dutch, German, and Irish foods along with eastern european foods. If you want to see food you would recognize as being similar to European foods with an American twist you go here. If you want deserts you go here, the area still produces the best pies made the traditional way,
As a Native Alaskan, Ive had Akutaq. Its animal fat and berries. Some add sugar as well as meat, fish, etc. The kind i tried was made with fish and i believe Crisco, berries and sugar. It was fishy tasting, and not to my liking. Now I AM Native Alaskan, but my dad was Air Force so I wasnt raised traditionally. I was raised with more of a white palate. Now that im an adult Id like to try it again. But as a kid, I expected "ice cream" to be vanilla or chocolate, not fish and crisco
It’s my understanding that fresh fish isn’t supposed to taste fishy so if it did perhaps the fish wasn’t as fresh as it could’ve been & might’ve affected the taste? Just speculation, I’ve never had it but it sounds interesting. 😊
Corn bread :consider that it is a the grain maze or Corn, imagine some hard dry popcorn seeds grounded into a flour or meal, usually mixed with a little wheat flour, sometimes sugar, plus eggs, baking powder for lift and a little oil and water or milk to form a batter. Pour into a greased pan. Bake, cornbread eaten as a muffin or a side similar to bun with the meal or broken in a bowl with milk as a breakfast cereal. In your gift packages you recieved "Jiffy corn muffin mix". Thats cornbread mix, Its easy to prepare. Make in a 6 cup cake/ muffin pan
CORNBREAD RECIPE 2 cups flour 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup sugar 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter - melted ½ cup oil 1 ¼ cups milk 3 large eggs honey and extra butter for serving, optional Mix dry and wet separately, then mix together until combined. Bake at 350° F or 177°C in greased 9×13 inch or 23 x 33 cm pan. I look forward to the baking show
1 thing you have to try if you come to the Southwest is Nopales Tacos. Different meats can been added (or no meats if you want vegetarian food) in the Nopales Tacos but why not kill two birds with one stone and have some Nopales con Chorizo Tacos!! Side note, love some honey cornbread and my mom would make succotash at least 3 times a month when i was growing up and lived at home (she still does but i dont live at home anymore so sadly dont get to eat it as much now)
A New York snob. Who would've guessed? I'm a farmer in Indiana. I guess I'll just go back to producing my beef and poultry for him and his elitist pals who couldn't raise squat in that post-modern concrete hellscape while I feed my family another bland Midwestern meal. What a treat it was though to be mentioned by someone so apparently endlessly fascinated with himself.
Ohioan here and my husband is second generation Croatian who's granny would have slapped his mouth with a pan of perogies That she made from MY families 200 acre potato farm, for sayin the things he said😂 Not realizing that the Midwest is totally why he gets to eat the food he does, so disrespectful 🙄
This guy only went to fast food in the Midwest because he's never had a real hot dish before made by the working class of America the Midwest. This is food made by families who live together, work together and cook together. If the Midwest were to disappear most of America would go hungry
To be fair, I grew up in Michigan, so pretty solidly Midwestern as you can get--and I only learned about a "hotdish" or "hot dish" very recently. Turns out we just called them casseroles. Also, we've got a decent number of Italian folks around here and if you're feeding a ton of people out of a square serving dish, and it's not Detroit style pizza--it's probably gonna be lasagna before we go to casserole style dishes. If we want an all-in-one meal we've also got the U.P. where they make some badass Pasties, and those are like meat-pie sandwiches.
Fry bread is delicious! Spam is....like a compressed meat product. It was invented in WW2 (?) because it is canned, and will keep forever. Its eaten a bit on the mainland, but for some reason, they love it in Hawaii. What he didnt say was that you can get any type of food in any part of America, as long as the city is decent sized. I live in the Pacific NW, and within 20 miles I can have TexMex, Mexican, Southern, Japanese, Korean, Italian, NY or Chicago style pizza, you name it!
Fry bread is so amazing. My best friend in high school was Crow native and her mom used to make me "Indian tacos" whenever I came over. Imagine a taco with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, shredded cheese (the usual tex-mex fair), but it's all piled onto a big, delicious, decadent, pillowy fried tortilla. Ugh, now I'm hungry!
@@TacoSallustWell technically some of Texas (and New Mexico and Arizona) was lost to the US in a war. There's also a sliver of Arizona that was purchased after the war.
Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and almost 2/3 of California was part of Mexico at one time. Studied California history went from Los Angeles to Eureka and Chico then south back down to Los Angeles 😊
@@tychay A sliver of Arizona? Try about a third, and part of New Mexico. 30,000 square miles of land that was already ours was paid for later anyways to keep them quiet while we built a railway during the Gadsden Purchase. 😂
This guy is completely wrong about the Midwest. Where I’m from, there are very large Hispanic and middle eastern populations, so I eat more tacos and shawarma than casseroles and weird puddings.
I am from the Mid-West and we actually have really good food. The Chicago deep dish and hot dog are OK at best but we are more than Chicago. Some of the staples I grew up with you wont find up in Chicago. We have a STRONG German presence in some of our dishes but they were adapted a long time ago making them something you would only find middle America.
As a southern who travels to the midwest regularly, I demand the midwest gets a review and redo. That was unacceptable. 😤
Why thank you Chris! We eat well here in the Mitten.
@denisetornga1030
YES! I know. I have sampled y'alls fare. It's tasty.
Omg I'm already getting pissed before I even see it...
@@denisetornga1030YES WE DO
As a Chicago native, I can tell you that midwestern food is hearty, and yes good. It’s not as spicy as some other regions, but it’s meant to warm you and fill you up especially in the colder months which can run from October through March/ early April. Chicago style deep dish is great and of this same caliber of being hearty and filling. Also keep in mind that the Midwest has a very heavy Germanic and Dutch influence. In Chicago itself, you can find foods from every region of the world. Exploring the different neighborhoods will give you those authentic dishes.
He's from NYC. They all have disdain for the rest of the country.
I dunno. The tater tot casserole looked pretty bad 😳
It was like apathy topped with lazy.
@@jayeharrison4533 A lot of Midwestern food developed with the mindset of using what you had, especially in places that were/are spread out from each other. There are obviously a lot of variations, but when you get into ports and shipping and storage, sometimes you have to look at what keeps well that will keep you from starving, and then find ways to mix it together to keep it from getting repetitive.
You live in Chicago. Done listening 😂
Why's that? Who would you listen to then? @@kmed29
He really did midwestern food dirty
who is this clown anyway, right ?
@@GeminieCricket I'm surprised the whole video wasn't about all the great things you can with soy. That seems to be the only thing he would eat. SO diverse. The little d-bag.
Agreed 😑
I'm originally from Wisconsin and can't beat a hot dish. Lefse Lutefisk Brauts and what the hell is wrong with cheese curds fresh or deep fried
@@GeminieCricket A New Yorker, no wonder he thinks he knows anything.
I’m not sure where the Narrator learned his American History, but a great deal of his information is incorrect. 😂 Some of it is seriously, laughably WRONG! 😂
Right?!? I was so thrown about some of the mix ups like hush puppies, and how he said we took Texas from Mexico!😂 That was laughable. U.S. helped Texas gain independence and convinced them they were safer being another American state. He flubbed up a lot of the facts, with opinions or just found this info on Wiki…😭😭😭
I was thinking the same thing.
He failed to mention Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. Arguably, some of the most delicious food you'll find anywhere, hands down.
They are responsible for chicken and waffles, not southern soul food.
Not animal meat in the ice cream. It's just the fats.
Yeah. Animal fats. Includes butter, bacon grease, among others. America. Where deep fried butter is a thing. Essentially animal fat fried in animal fat.
Yup, and mixed with wild berries. I'd almost bet. With that mixture, you wouldn't need any exlax.lol
Exactly, cream is the liquid fat of milk
No dairy involved. Just animal fats mixed with berries. I have seen it made with modern vegetable fats instead of animal fats, though.
@@sgtsempersquid531 I was just pointing out animal fats are not off putting as a group.
And that they include things like bacon (lard), and cream.
I wasn't trying to imply the Alaskan berry and fat was using dairy fats.
Cheers.
This dude is wrong about midwest food. You got Italian, Greek, Polish, Scandinavian and Cornish food influences. Dude is a complete nutter. You find some of the best food in the midwest.
From someone who is so into food, he should have tried more than a pizza slice and a hot dog to decide the Midwest had nothing to offer!
He's a Native American who clearly didn't do any research to see how the Native tribes of the Midwest influenced our food, so he doesn't care. Typical bigot.
Midwest here KC barbecue!
midwest is upthere on my chart just for cheese. i love midwest cheese.
This vlogger saying this is a turd. Like you said there are so many different food types, everything listed along with German food.
Dude. This guy is a joke if he thinks Midwest food is "a laughing stock." He's clearly NEVER been to the Midwest, and I'm insulted.
Oh he definitely spent a weekend in Chicago and got a dog at the airport and stopped by Uno.
I've only been to the Midwest once when I was 4, but my mom was from Illinois and I'm insulted on your (and my mom's) behalf.
I grew up in Missouri and I definitely agree
Michigander here, and fr, like we got influences from Polish, German, Hispanic, Asian, Arabic, Greek, etc so much good food
Not a fan of the Skyline chili or Cincinnati chili but there are so many other great foods from the midwest. The hotdish is iconic and is often made here in the deep south also, we just renamed it to hashbrown casserole. The pork tenderloin sandwich, the juicy lucy, cheese curds, all of those are awesome. I will agree with him on Chicago deep dish and Chicago style dogs, meh. I do like the Chicago tavern style pizza and I like Detroit style pizza. As for pizza and hot dogs, I got to go with NY style for both of those.
everyone commenting on how wrong he was about the Midwest food and the Chicago hotdog is 100% correct he has no idea what he's talking about in those regards
Fun fact about Texas being it's own country. There's still a place in London where you can find a plaque stating that it was the site of the embassy of the Republic of Texas.
he totally got Midwest wrong
The guy is your typical "enlightened" urban bubble-dweller. Gotta hate on the Heartland.
Yeah.. completely missed the mark on the Midwest.. didn't do justice to the south either
Sure did
He got a lot of things wrong.
Skims it and doesn’t even mention green bean casserole smh
Native corn is MANY colors. Yellow and white corn is the result of commercial breeding. FYI, in Mexico, there is a special type of tortilla made with BLUE corn. Look it up.
Lmao he was mad disrespectful with the Midwest
This so called video food expert is the typical east coast deprecating anything Mid-western.
He tried to stay with origin food from days gone by. But Then he got to NY 🗽 & turned into a Travel Guide, Places To Eat, a Love Eat Pray NY Guru😮! He lost the plot of the video! I really hope he doesn't expect new subscribers from this crossover😂!
Every section of America has people from somewhere else & they all brought recipes from their homeland then adjusted as ingredients warranted. Recipes passed down generations. I don't think he gets out much😂
I mean, if you want to bag on Guy Fieri for promoting low-brow food with a ton of bacon, cheese and ranch on everything, fine--but there's a reason that kind of stuff is on the menu of chain restaurants around the country. It's fucking good, but the shit you get at a chain restaurant doesn't compare to the real Midwestern food that inspired it.
What's funny, is that I've known plenty of people who've moved to Michigan from other states, and literally none of them miss the local foods from where they're originally from. There might be an occasional brand of condiment or something that isn't sold outside of their region, but we always have something as good or better than what they had. Everyone I know who's moved away has at least a couple of things they cannot get anywhere else. It might be Faygo's Rock N' Rye, Vernor's Ginger Ale, Coney Dogs, Buddy's Pizza (or proper Detroit style pizza, because Chicago eats round lasagna they call pizza and NYC thinks pizza needs to be so wafer thin that a single slice is 1/4 of a single pizza). Then there's the Mediterranean food, Greek, Polish... There's great Mexican and Soul food as well. We have everything. There are even hipster fusion joints and ramen shops popping up.
The auto industry brought some of the most diverse groups of working class people here to work and they brought all their amazing food and culture to the city and if you're interested in enjoying lots of good food while you travel, Detroit probably has a better variety and more unique foods than any of the other large Midwestern cities. Chicago does pizza and hot dogs differently, but they didn't invent corned beef eggrolls. I've lived here my entire life, and it wasn't until I did some traveling here and there that I've come to appreciate what we've got around here. Even if I didn't have family here and could live anywhere in the country, I don't know that I would--at least not unless someone wanted to pay me a ton of cash. ...but I still have lots of family around here and probably won't ever move.
The U.S did NOT take anything from Mexico. Texas wanted it’s independence from Mexico and enlisted the allied help of America. After gaining independence, it would take about a decade for the U.S to convince Texas of its need of American protection, which is really how we make most of our allies. Japan has no military because of this same type of dictation… they retrieved help from a country they did not want to be a part of, and in part, we’re forced to refrain from having any military, while the U.S fights their battles…
Lewis, cornbread is made from dried corn that is ground into, essentially, corn flour. Hush puppies are cornbread batter, dropped in dollops, fried. Adding fresh corn, cheese, jalapeños, etc are common yummy additions!
That whole part about the midwest was total BS, and toasted ravioli is delicious.
Also, someone else already pointed this out. But animal fat and animal meat isn't the same thing. You can use animal fats in recipies without changing the flavor too too much.
As a former Chicagoan for sixty years, this guys full of it!! Great pizza and world class hotdog choices!! What a maroon!!🤣🤣🤣
OH... you mean the poor copies of everything better?
Dnt forget the beefs, dipped of course 😁
I'm not a Midwesterner but I feel the need to defend my neighbors to the west. This area is the freaking breadbasket of the US!! Not to mention that they have just as many diverse cultures as any other area in the states too. This guy has it out for the Midwest for some reason, or maybe he needs to hit some small towns if he doesn't like Chicago food. Chicago and KC don't define the entire Midwest. Good grief. 🙄
Considering some of the historical topics covered in the video, I can't help but wonder if there was a "lack of diversity(of a specific type)" given who primarily populated the mid-west US. Hate to go there about a food video... but I don't know why else he's just blatantly ignoring the history of mid-western food(like the actual food we actually eat in the mid-west; I haven't had any of the crap he referenced and I've lived here my whole life) when that's kinda a significant part of the country too. Just pretending like there isn't traditional food in the mid-west that comes out of hundreds of years of ancestry and that it's just random stuff thrown together... I guess? I don't know, that was pretty odd though.
@@RyTrapp0 I could pick up the DEI vibes on that video early on.
Not to mention the fact that he over inflated New York food. Also Chicago Pizza > NY Pizza
@@tristanmeade The punk is from NYC, so he is letting his ignorance and bias show.
Thus has nothing to do with DEI what are you smoking?
This dude sounded like he had some grudge against the Midwest
His subtle, backhanded bigotry tells me if his DEI professor told him Midwesterners fucked children as a hobby, he'd take it at face value.
He's a New Yorker & very "progressive". That's why the only praise he can give are to the non-white cultures of the US.
The midwest is not just white cuisine so you are wrong. He just doesn't like the midwest from a wealth/culture standpoint, not a race one @@Mr._Anderpson
@@Mr._Anderpson Well for one he's asian two, New York i s famous for it's pizza, and street hot dogs. How is that not white?
@@GranolaBars11 Sure. He doesn't like the Midwest, but it couldn't possibly be a race thing. After all, the only people who are ever racially motivated are the saltines.
Every good coastal urbanite knows this. The fact he could praise practically everything except the Midwest is just a happy coincidence. Than again, maybe he's just adhering to tradition. You'll be hard-pressed to find people more xenophobic & racist than Asians in their native lands.
Before the blusters & gaslighting begins, remind me why Disney decided to shrink Jon Boyega's image on movie posters in China.
"Animal meat in ice cream?!" No one tell him where milk comes from, lol
Wouldn’t ice cream made from seal blubber taste rather fishy? They also make ice cream from squid ink in Japan (it’s black). I’d taste it out of curiosity but I’ll just stick to the commercial cartons available at the supermarket or Dairy Queen for “soft serve.” “Meat ice cream” sounds like some “Soilent Green” conspiracy bullsh*t! 😂
I wonder if he means Beaver extract for vanilla flavoring?
Never lived in the Midwest, but have had dinner at a handful of homes while traveling - and it was some of the best food ever. And the table groaned under the variety of dishes.
The thing about midwestern food is that it is a combination of many, many cultures that came to America and wanted to be American while at the same time they wanted to share their culture and food. So much of it is a mix of them all.
Here in Michigan, you have soul food, Germanic, Polish, French, Greek, Italian, Scandinavian, Middle eastern, and Native American. Top that all off with the great locally grown, hunted and fished. There are many classically trained chefs from Europe that have come to America and made Michigan their home just because of the quality of the produce that is available.
As someone who grew up in Iowa and now lives in Kansas, I would say I agree with everyone who said he did a major disservice to the midwestern cuisine. We have so many diverse foods and cultures in Kansas City. We even have grocery stores that are dedicated to European and Asian food. And fried ravioli is really good if you get it from the right places! Cornbread is also one of my favorite sides to have with bbq!
Ope! Well, isn't that's cute. You think you're part of the Midwest! LOL Drive up north where we have real winters and we'll tell you all about the Midwest over a pop.
Hush Puppy Warning: Your life will never be the same if you eat those fried balls of corn.
AMEN 😂😂❤❤
❤ with honey butter
Alaskan is the best. Or at least it was, till the restaurant closed down.
This is true. Eat more than 3 or 4 and it feels like you've got a small lead weight in your stomach for the next 6 hours or so. 😂
Southern fried catfish and hush puppies. Oh my goodness.
When I was growing up in New England, every 4th of July, my aunt & uncle hosted a New England Clambake with around 100 relatives attending, with a few kegs of beer, lobster & hot lobster rolls (with butter), NE clam chowder, corn on the cob, steamers, muscles, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and quahogs, salad, hot dogs & hamburgers, coleslaw and potato salad, watermelon and more. The concrete swimming pool was nice too :) Wonderful childhood memories!
Sounds like a feast!!
Random person in Europe: "American food is terrible". Then they sit down and eat their Christmas meal with Turkey, Corn and Potatoes.
You should not open your pie hole when you have no idea what you are talking about.
Have you ever had a BBQ brisket with potato salad and buttered corn bread?
🙃
Why did he shit on the Midwest like that? All of the foods he listed are awesome. Cheese curds are one of the best things known to man!
Cheese curds, really?
@@garycamara9955 YES, really!
When they're just right and squeak when you bite them
As long as they're actually fresh..so good.
He's a New Yorker, so he tends to look at the heart of the country as just fly-over country. The best cheese curds I have ever had cam from Eau Galle Cheese in Durand, Wisconsin.
He said "Chicago is an amazing food city". You talked over it. Chicago is completely different from the rest of the country when it comes to food, and is not "Midwestern" in food variety or style. He also did drop the ball on the whole region and doesn't know what he's talking about. Wisconsin beer, bratwurst and cheese is incredible, for example. Chicago has some of the best and most diverse food in the world, much more than unique pizza and hot dogs (which are great anyway). He didn't even know to mention Italian beef, Maxwell Street Polish sausage, Greek Saganaki, and the vast amount of high quality Mexican food that people not from here know nothing about. Chicago barbeque (ribs as opposed to brisket as in Texas, or pulled meat as in the Carolinas) is top grade, as are St, Louis and Kansas City barbeque. Detroit pizza is excellent. The fact that he even put the word "food" in quotation marks is incredibly ignorant and insulting.
I think i agree with his point on how many of us see midwestern food. For me, I've always associated it with really over the top creations that just question why anyone would eat it to stereotypical "this is why American's are fat" food. The ballpark or fair foods. However, I don't agree with it being bad at all, the fact that almost every fast food chain adopted the same foods just shows everyone really likes it even if its mad unhealthy for them.
St. Louis style pizza is a hit or miss with people, but no one can disagree that St. Louis' toasted ravioli is a good food, especially dipped in marinara and served with pizza.
@@TheBaldr yes this pretentious ass was WAY off on the Midwest. And he even put “food” in quotation marks.
I forgot about the Creek /Mediterranean influence. I love the Americanized versions of food from all over the world.
@@mikeg.4211 I think he was purposely being a dick, he being from NY (typical food rivalry), just so that he could start a 'food war' in his comments section. Kinda like here. LOL Food is so different from one place to another, especially in the US. If you grew up eating a certain style of "pizza" then go somewhere else and they make it different, you either be open minded about it, or be honest and it just isn't for you. That's fine. I like Detroit style pizza better than Chicago style, but there is nothing wrong with Chicago style pizza. I prefer thin crust, but also prefer west coast style toppings. But that's just me and I've lived all over the US including the east coast (I have family in NY).
But he dogged the midwest unfairly.
Detroit style pizza is the best. Cheese curds are great. This guy seems like he has not spent much time in the Midwest.
I agree. He also missed on the German style brats and beer. The midwest is also filled with great bbq and baked beans. Some of the best breweries and distilleries are in the midwest.
@@bluflaam777LSAright I grew up in Minnesota and found out about corned beef and sauerkraut from my friends
Trotters (pigs’ feet) are still eaten in some areas of the country. Every once in a while, you’ll run into a place that has pickled pigs feet in a five gallon glass jar. But we also, pickle hard boiled eggs too. Sometimes they’re even pickled in beet juice. 😂 Remember, there’s areas of the country that still maintain the foods brought over from their ancestors’ homelands.
16:50
Spam (potted ground meat) is EXTREAMLY popular in Hawaii. it was one of the few (non fish) meat sources for native Hawaiians during the years leading up to and right after WW2. there are MANY restaurants and even homes that use Spam as a main meat source for meals. In this instance, fried Spam is used instead of fish to make the sushi. The black thing is dried seaweed.
for the years that I lived in Hawaii, even though I don't like Spam, I did try some of the popular dishes at various restaurants. most of them were good.
I am on the East Coast, and I believe he has done the Mid West wrong. There are states that have food that some people may just not like. That doesnt mean everyone will not lke it. Like I always say 'Taste it first before taking someone elses judgement on it'. Also don't judge food on it's looks. Now, I know he lives in N.Y and yes, they have some really good food. But there are things in N.Y Restaurants I do not like. Everyone should make their own minds up AFTER you have had food from other states. Not just one place. Try and go to several differant places in that state.
Noooooooooooo I wish he was, but he is NOT wrong. There is nothing redeaming of the majority of the midwest. No culture, no geography, no accents....
@@AushojMahargyou are as clownish as this guy was! One word, get a life!
He has a limited view of the food. You can go anywhere in the US and find great food! I live in Kansas City and our bbq is fantastic!
KC, St. Louis and Chicago all have outstanding and unique BBQ; this is an arrogant New Yorker, as usual.
Everyone has a right to their opinion & I think that his opinion on Midwest food, is crap! Signed by an Ohio native of 67 years❤
It is not just Cajun food but also Creole which is West African,French and Spanish and Native American in Louisiana.
Yes, Creole food was first then Cajuns came and adopted most of the dishes.
Also…I’m a Missourian, right in that “midwestern food void”. I’m thinking of the St. Louis and Chicago World Fair’s that had such iconic and innovative foods that they spread across the country and the world! You like hotdogs, peanut butter, ice cream cones, jello, iced tea, or cotton candy? Midwest. Enjoy it in your town today!
Chickasaw
Delaware
Illini
Kanza
Ioway
Otoe-Missouria
Osage
Quapaw
Sac & Fox
Shawnee
Native tribes that are indigenous to Missouri. Guess they didn’t make his list?
The "Wet Burrito" (a beef and/or bean burrito smothered in a spicy red sauce, and topped with lettuce, onions, chopped tomatoes, melted cheese, and peppers) was invented at The Beltline Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1976.
Midwest food is ANYTHING but bland.
Edit: Yeah, ignore the New Yorker, he's got the typical New York disdain for "flyover country."
I live in New Mexico and the Native American people use fry bread to make Indian Tacos. BRO, they're soooo good. 💯
Agree!!!
We can't call them Indian tacos anymore. So stupid. I agree! Explosion of flavor! So yummy!
@@tammytregoning5675 I don't succumb to leftist virtue signaling so therefore I do call them Indian tacos.
@@mikeywestside8509 Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I don't buy into any party....period
New Mexican food is awesome and in it's own category.
Fun Fact: Louisiana also has Creole food 🍲
Mentioned in the video.
Another fun fact as a Louisiana Creole…what’s called Cajun food is just Creole food. If you look up the type of food cooked in the Maritime provinces of Canada, where Cajuns come from, is nothing like the food in Louisiana. Why am I saying this? Because all those foods that were cooked in colonial Louisiana were already in existence before the arrival of the Cajuns. Before the Cajuns there were French Canadians from Quebec & Mainland France, the Spanish, Natives, & Africans. The Cajuns from the Maritime provinces arrived relatively late to colonial Louisiana.
He knows NOTHING about the midwest.
I have to agree! Chicago has some delicious food! Palermo's pizza is the BEST! Pizza rolls...out of this world! Real pizza rolls not the frozen tiny Tostino ones😂. A real Chicago hot dog. Yummy!
@@tammytregoning5675 the original creator is either lactose intolerant and is holding a grudge or truly doesn't understand the unique mix of Scandinavian, polish, Italian, German, Greek, and African American (and the unique pockets of more recent immigration) l culture that makes up Midwestern food that sticks to your ribs and holds you through the winter.
@@alboyer6, At the end of the video he says he is from NYC or lives in NYC. That says it all. They think their pizza and food is better. So, this video is biased.
@@tammytregoning5675 oh, I noticed that but was trying not to play into stereotypes but... Many times a spade is a spade.
@@alboyer6when it comes to a New Yorker elite, they always throw our working class heritage at us
7:00 cornbread can be very dry if prepared wrong. You may want to try "cornbread cakes" or "cornbread muffins", something with enough moisture. Traditional cornbread prepared in a cast-iron skillet can be too dry. Lots of Southerners would dip it in milk at dinner when it was too dry.
There are different ways to make corn bread - traditional (regular) it's dry and crumbly, sweet with added sugar and/or dipped in honey, etc. I personally mix in a can of creamed corn (adds sweetness) then drizzle it with honey. Other twists are to add various herbs and spices or add in finely chopped jalapenos.
Just remember that corn bread has a totally different texture than bread - do not expected smoothness bread has
The British back in the 17 hundreds thought corn was an animal food and scoffed at the Americans for eating it.
Same for lobster, it was fish bait/fertilizer or jail food, oysters, white salmon, brisket was sold to the poor on the roadside, caviar used to be given away free.
Europeans originally thought potatoes were only an animal food, however between years when other corps did not grow well and efforts from German and Russian monarchs people started eating potatoes.
Yeah they were not really good about trying new local foods
in response, we yanks referred to porridge as horse feed.
Who's scoffing now? 😂
Fry Bread can be eaten multiple ways. As a kid, I would eat it sweet or savory, for instance, the sweet way is with honey and powdered sugar. Or you might throw beans and cheese on it, etc. It is so good!
That's how my family eats it.
Fry bread is awesome
Try a Native American Indian Taco. Basically frybread with taco meat and all the taco toppings 😋
Bro killed me everytime he mispronounced Hawaiians! Lol! And obviously he's biased against Midwestern food and he couldn't be more wrong about that. The pizzas are excellent as are the desserts! And yes, toasted ravioli is delightful! But definitely, you need to go to Texas first. They have the best Mexican food and BBQ. You may just fall in love with seafood there for the first time if you go to the right seafood restaurants. Cheers mate 🤠👍!!
He can't pronounce Chicago but he's a pro....
To just dismiss Midwestern food out of hand made me go back and rewatch his video. And it made me see the elitism ( and racism ) lurking in his attitudes.
I'm from Portland and I love our food trucks. There's a guy that makes an amazing sandwich with Italian sausage, cheese, onions, and peppers and wraps it up in flatbread and tops it with a fork.
It's so good.
It cracks me up that the international community assumes that the US is all about fast food and forget that the US is made up of people from everywhere else in the world so of course, they brought their cultural influences/food with them. You don't just stop being who you are when you arrive in a new country, especially one that wasn't already established.
Yes, pig feet (my late father's fav), pig ears, etc. are still eaten today. You didn't waste any part of any livestock in those days.
The territories in the US were either bought or won through war so the US didn't TAKE. There was a war with Mexico over what would become TX and Mexico lost.
The Spam sushi is rice, a cooked slice of SPAM and wrapped in seaweed.
I have never liked seaweed, and I ate it in Japan.
It depends on where they're from - Brits are typically well aware of how good American food is lol
Eat every part but the squeal
Yes it gets on my nerves when they immediately try to insult our food by saying we only eat fast food. Which is funny because even that is diverse with options depending on where you live.
I live in Michigan and I never eat pigs feet or spam but I cook at home every day and manage to do just fine. For many of us fast food or hot dogs are just for when we're about and very hungry or in a big hurry at home.
Whipped animal fat is a long way from animal meat.
Whipped cream?
@@garycamara9955 For no particular reason, your reply prompted me to go find out more, from ChatGPT. The animal fat is a bit more savory, but whipped cream is whipped fat, as well. just dairy fat.
Yes Pigs feet are still cooked as soul food. Its among many elders' favorites in the black community.
And German elders! The last time I saw Grandpa he lectured us on the evil of pork, he was very religious. Then he took my wife and I to a German restaurant where he ordered Pigs Feet. ;-)
Eastern European countries were eating pigs feet LONG before the black community tried it. Try again, killer 👍🏼
My dad cooked pigs feet. He's white.
In the deep south, we eat EVERY PART of the pig from the rooter (snout/head) to the tooter (testicles/hindparts).
Also, in Italian food 😊😋
Once he said he was from New York, the shade he was throwing at the Midwest makes sense.
8:14
pig's feet (pickled or cooked), ox tail, chicken's feet, gizzards, tongue (cow, ox, pig), 'head' cheese (ground brain mixed with other things), and MANY other parts of animals are STILL being sold and cooked. Some are even sold in nation wide stores like Walmart
I'm in the Midwest, about an hour south of Kansas City, Missouri. We don't have a density of diverse restaurants, but trust me, we have some INCREDIBLE food. Cafes, diners, church socials, cookouts, or just home cooked. Anywhere we gather, there's going to be great food.
Last night, I made a beef roast with potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, and mushrooms. It had a variety of seasonings as well as onion and mushroom gravy base. Fell apart easily and packed full of flavor. It's common to see this, BBQ, fried chicken, chicken fried steak and the like as a matter of routine.
I also routinely make biscuits, "Johnny cakes", homemade pies (including the crust), baked cabbage as well as farm fresh produce dishes from ingredients purchased from our local Amish community.
I guess we don't have sushi or foie gras so people assume we're just cave people and rubes.
I'm from California, I haven't had sushi since I had it in Japan. Actually there is a sushi restaurant in Sebastopol. I haven't been there.
I'm from the south. And I love fried Ravioli. I don't agree with everything he is saying. But I enjoyed this video. Thank you.
Talks about American Chinese Food, shows Fortune Cookies, but doesn't know the history of Fortune Cookies, which were actually brought to the US by Japanese, but taken over by American Chinese during WW2 when the west coast Japanese were sent to "relocation centers"(internment camps)
Well, a guy form Japan introduced them in L.A. at the turn of the 20th century. They were certainly around before then. They were more like a cracker than a cookie in Japan...less sweet. But you aren't wrong. They are Japanese and came over from there.
If you're even aware of it happening, I'd guess you already know, but for others reading I feel it's worth mentioning that it wasn't "the west coast Japanese" sent to "relocation centers" - they were AMERICAN CITIZENS of Japanese descent sent to prison camps.
The narrator mentioned that akutaq (Alaskan "ice cream") is whipped animal fat with seasonal berries (not with animal meat); & on the other hand, pemmican is commonly made using animal meat, fat, & berries - although it can also be made without berries - & it lasts for a very long time.
Fry bread is easy to make & filling.
My Mother growing up in the south was enamored with the NE. She loved all things Pennsylvania Dutch, Moravian, Amish, Shaker, etc. My maternal grandmother was raised a Quaker. So molasses and gingerbread was a staple. The closest thing I can get to gingerbread is the pig 🐖 shaped gingerbread cookies "marranitos" in the Mexican supermarket. So, good.
I as an American, I rarely eat fast food. You can order good food from a restaurant at the same price as most fast food. It’s way better too
But you have to tip in a restaurant.
Not if you get it to go.
The narrator has his opinions for sure which should have been left out of an informative video or should have been "I don't like them" instead of just saying "it's not good".
Pigs feet are sold in jars in stores.
But the most iconic NY food, Chicken Wings were invented almost 400 miles away from NYC on the other side of the state.
New York is beautiful, New York City is not.
Totally agree. NY state (especially upstate) is gorgeous. NYC is a rat-infested cesspool of a travesty of a dump.
Miswest has great food. This guy just has a bias against it and looks down on it as flyover country. I doubt hes even tried good midwestern staples.
Not trying to defend what he said, but as a Southerner I can list the foods we're known for. What are your claims to fame? I'm at a loss to know of anything that is special in the Midwest. I'm being genuine and really want to know.
@@kebonhawk1081 Bratwurst, beer cheese, potato salad, potato casserole, green bean casserole, cheese curds, Mac and cheese, fried ravioli, St Louis and KC style barbeque, sauerkraut and kielbasa, goulashes, horseshoes, gooey butter cakes. And many more
@@briankirchhoefer Chicken fried steak was missing from the list so I figured i'd tack it on there.
And Wild Rice soup.
@@aaronburdon221 yes and breaded pork tenderloins also.
His precious NYC has changed a lot!
Toasted ravoli and cheese curds are top tier food
Dude...the Midwest has all kinds of good food.
Given him a break. He's a New Yorker. They think it's all "fly-over country".
@@BTinSF It is.
@@BTinSF I'm a New Yorker, and yikes, definitely don't consider the Midwest as 'flyover country". I certainly think that Matthew has some sort of wokey wokey grudge to the heartland of America - to say the least.
Pemmican is like jerky somewhat. Our cornbread originated from them also. I'm a mixed-race person, Native American and Irish for the most part.
Have you never heard of the Trail of Tears? It's when the government forced all of the Eastern Band native to vacate and they had to walk from the East coast to what is now Oklahoma which was known as Indian Territory then. It's where I grew up.
The US has a lot of food, but when there is a large in-flow of immigrants from somewhere it is common that they can't find all the precise ingredients, so they "fudge it" by using what they can get ahold of. Thus, (American) Chinese food is food inspired from immigrants, but is nothing like (Chinese) Chinese food. How this flows with other groups varies highly, but most are distinctly different from their parent population.
This dude definitely has the New York City attitude of being better than anyone else. Come to KC MO. You will not leave hungry.
New York named a lot of beef cuts because the Catskills has one of the largest cattle ranches on the planet.
He is making stuff up about the midwest
Nah, that shit is nasty
Elitist. And yes, he is wrong.
No... no he's not..... he very much is not
@@boo2564 Yeah, probably why most of the people in the midwest do not eat that stuff. Kinda odd to make a video saying we do, I have lived out here for 25 years and the only things on that list that I have had is cheese curds and Cinci chili, and not everyone likes the chili lol
Cornbread varies in the amount of sweetness.
And slaves were captured and sold into slavery by other African tribes. It was a worldwide problem not just confined to North America
Slavery unfortunately is not just was, it still exists in many forms. Many uniformed americans seem to falsly believe the only slavery to ever exist was by white (and black) southerners of black slaves. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Irish sold themselves into multiple years of indentured bondage during the potato famine to come to America. Slavery has existed from the earliest tribes of man. Even today It explains the hundreds of thousands of missing children in modern America, explains what happened to many of the unescorted minors that were so prevalent since the current regime reopened the US southern border. Evil exists in this world
Yeah, the video definitely has an oppressor/oppressed narrative. Really bored with neo-marxists shaming modern people. The STUPID statement about the Midwest is ignorance. I'm from Chicago area originally and I WISH we had more Greek and Italian food in Houston. I'm spoiled by TexMex and Louisiana Cajun but if y'all come down with your family recipes I wouldn't complain.
Yes indeed. Several of our Founders wanted to outlaw it but the south threatened to not declare independence if they did. Btw, there's still slavery in parts of Africa, sex slavery all over the world, slave labor in China. It was vile then and it still is.
Of course someone in the comments have to defend their white ancestors atrocities 🙄 Take the blame off them and on black folk. Trying to justify the evils done in this country. Africans were coerced into selling their POW by Europeans who for hundreds of years beat, whipped r word us etc. Even after, fought and died to keep it still alive in some states and after that , segregation, Jim crow, and a heap of other horrible r word things. Stop putting the blame on others and look at yourselves.
Here goes another person defending their yt ancestors atrocities , trying to lessen the wrong that was done 🙄 my grandmother always said, a hit dog will holler
He be dissing us midwesterners, I ain't gonna lie!
Midwestern food: Best pizza in the country, chili dogs, and we have the best French fries in the country.
Lewis, I am a 70’s child! Born in 1967! Diners were everywhere, back then. Full of “comfort food”. They were awesome.
That colorful corn is native to Mexico. My grandma use to make me blue and purple tortillas.
The Americas
Yes, pigs feet are a staple of soul food. Our elders eat. The neck bones of the pig are eaten as well. The meat that is known as ham hock is used to seasoned collard greens, turnip salad, and cabbage.
My family have, also, used ham hocks in all kinds of soups and stews.
American food is every ethnicity around the world/animal fat not meat and berries.
FACTS!!!!! :)
I understand if it's not your preference, but what is wrong with toasted ravioli, fried cheese curds, cookie salad, watergate salad and hot dishes? Those things are amazing, albeit not the healthiest thing. I kept telling myself he's either from LA or NYC and I wasn't wrong lol.
Fried Ravioli are amazing. A lot of the 'ambrosia-style' dessert salads are also really good and get a bad wrap. I'm not super hype about chili on spaghetti but, like I assume is true of the presenter, I haven't actually tried it yet.
Ahh, the guy is from NYC. That explains a lot, actually.
A lot of inaccuracies in this video. I understand how lumping states into regions makes sense but it doesn’t make it accurate. For instance, southern regions of the Midwest have more in common with the south culturally than the the northern regions. The panhandle in Florida has a lot of Cajun & Creole influence vs south Florida with more Cuban influence. I haven’t been to every state but I’m sure each state has these variations that divide them. You’ll even find pockets in small town America that had an influx of Italian/Mexican/Chinese immigrants & how that impacts the food culture.
I make my hush puppies with chopped onions and jalapeno. Can add cut up crawfish, shrimp or crab to them. All a few drops of crab boil for some great flavor. Look up hush puppies recipe online. All these recipes are online. Start cooking!
Bro probably hasn’t even been to the midwest
He was very bias towards new york since he lives there lol but most likely not
After seeing the tater tot casserole, I’ll probably never see it either. And I’m not even going to mention the green jello thing. You’re welcome.
He sounds like he literally hasn't been anywhere in the mid-west besides Chicago. And "ha ha ha" NYC guy isn't impressed by Chicago pizza/hotdogs "har har har". That was such a weird segment, literally ignoring a significant chunk of American history.
@@jayeharrison4533 No one in the mid-west makes that shit. I haven't had anything he mentioned besides cheese curds, and that's just because Dairy Queen offers them as a side.
@@RyTrapp0 Dairy Queen cheese curds sound pretty sketchy too 🤣
Cornbread can be dry or sweet, white or yellow, fried or baked. So not all cornbread is the same. Often the restaurant's cornbread is sweet and yellow. I grew up eating white/dry cornbread fried or baked in cast iron. The cornbread I grew up with was meant to be eaten either with pinto/soup beans or you crumbled it hot into cold mild--and eat it like cereal. I am not a fan of yellow sweet corn bread---but a lot of people like it. Cornbread has a lot of variations.
Fun fact: Diners are sometimes referred to as a "greasy spoon". Due to all the greasy food, you can order. There are some good diners around the country, and on Route 66, if you happen to visit to try the food. It's better than any fast-food burger and captures that "rock and roll" spirit of 50s America. While route 66 was abandoned by most drivers for today's modern highways, some will take a road trip down 66 for to cross it off the bucket list.
In soul food, people still eat pigs feet. Most people call them trotters.
Spam is produced in Minnesota, USA SPAM stands for.
S = Specially
P = Produced
A = American
M = Meat. Or
Shoulder of Pork And Ham
It's a portmanteau of spiced ham
I supposed it’s what a person is raised eating. I’ve tried SPAM various ways (fried, etc) and it’s the consistency and “mouth feel” I don’t like, for a similar reason I can’t eat large curd cottage or pot cheese. There is a whipped cottage cheese that’s more the consistency of whipped cream cheese which I like.
I think you got some jiffy corn meal in one of your food boxes. You can make hushpuppies, johnny cakes, and corn bread with that same mix. I believe there are recipes on the box for each of them also.
Jiffy is a culinary travesty.🙅🏾♀️👩🏾🍳🇺🇦
If you think walking 300 Miles is long/bad... take a look or do a video on "The Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee were forced to walk. At its very longest, it's around 5000 miles!
Dude BRUSHED over the midwest with descendants from hungry Poland Germany. dudes never had Chicken Paprikas, stuffed cabbage? guy can't even pronounce his "T"s
Dude lost all credibility when glossed over the mid-west and said its stereotypical. The midwest has influences from both the south, Dutch, German, and Irish foods along with eastern european foods. If you want to see food you would recognize as being similar to European foods with an American twist you go here. If you want deserts you go here, the area still produces the best pies made the traditional way,
As a Native Alaskan, Ive had Akutaq. Its animal fat and berries. Some add sugar as well as meat, fish, etc. The kind i tried was made with fish and i believe Crisco, berries and sugar. It was fishy tasting, and not to my liking. Now I AM Native Alaskan, but my dad was Air Force so I wasnt raised traditionally. I was raised with more of a white palate. Now that im an adult Id like to try it again. But as a kid, I expected "ice cream" to be vanilla or chocolate, not fish and crisco
It’s my understanding that fresh fish isn’t supposed to taste fishy so if it did perhaps the fish wasn’t as fresh as it could’ve been & might’ve affected the taste? Just speculation, I’ve never had it but it sounds interesting. 😊
@@GApeach1313 it could depend on the type of fish. But tell me. If it was mid January and -40, where would you get fresh fish?
@@danmanak from ice fishing of course 😂
Corn bread :consider that it is a the grain maze or Corn, imagine some hard dry popcorn seeds grounded into a flour or meal, usually mixed with a little wheat flour, sometimes sugar, plus eggs, baking powder for lift and a little oil and water or milk to form a batter. Pour into a greased pan. Bake, cornbread eaten as a muffin or a side similar to bun with the meal or broken in a bowl with milk as a breakfast cereal. In your gift packages you recieved "Jiffy corn muffin mix". Thats cornbread mix, Its easy to prepare. Make in a 6 cup cake/ muffin pan
CORNBREAD RECIPE 2 cups flour 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup sugar 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter - melted ½ cup oil 1 ¼ cups milk 3 large eggs honey and extra butter for serving, optional
Mix dry and wet separately, then mix together until combined. Bake at 350° F or 177°C in greased 9×13 inch or 23 x 33 cm pan.
I look forward to the baking show
I don’t use flour at all in my cornbread & neither does my mother aunts grandmother. But I’m sure it’s good as well.
@@nancyfried7239
I just copy/pasted the highest rated recipe I could find
@@dustbitten NO ONE in the south puts sugar in cornbread. That’s a yankee recipe😂
@@nancyfried7239
I live in the south... I’ve had sugar in my cornbread many times
1 thing you have to try if you come to the Southwest is Nopales Tacos. Different meats can been added (or no meats if you want vegetarian food) in the Nopales Tacos but why not kill two birds with one stone and have some Nopales con Chorizo Tacos!! Side note, love some honey cornbread and my mom would make succotash at least 3 times a month when i was growing up and lived at home (she still does but i dont live at home anymore so sadly dont get to eat it as much now)
A New York snob. Who would've guessed? I'm a farmer in Indiana. I guess I'll just go back to producing my beef and poultry for him and his elitist pals who couldn't raise squat in that post-modern concrete hellscape while I feed my family another bland Midwestern meal. What a treat it was though to be mentioned by someone so apparently endlessly fascinated with himself.
Ohioan here and my husband is second generation Croatian who's granny would have slapped his mouth with a pan of perogies That she made from MY families 200 acre potato farm, for sayin the things he said😂 Not realizing that the Midwest is totally why he gets to eat the food he does, so disrespectful 🙄
Maybe everything “midwestern” should be taken off his plate? Nothing left to eat? Huh?! Enjoy your ceramic plate and bottled water.
Yes, he's just another New York loudmouth, the more ignorant, the louder and more opinionated.
Amen! And than you for your hard work feeding America!!!
This guy only went to fast food in the Midwest because he's never had a real hot dish before made by the working class of America the Midwest. This is food made by families who live together, work together and cook together. If the Midwest were to disappear most of America would go hungry
To be fair, I grew up in Michigan, so pretty solidly Midwestern as you can get--and I only learned about a "hotdish" or "hot dish" very recently. Turns out we just called them casseroles. Also, we've got a decent number of Italian folks around here and if you're feeding a ton of people out of a square serving dish, and it's not Detroit style pizza--it's probably gonna be lasagna before we go to casserole style dishes.
If we want an all-in-one meal we've also got the U.P. where they make some badass Pasties, and those are like meat-pie sandwiches.
The Midwest peeps gonna pitch a fit. Hi from New England 🤣
Hi from Ohio! 👋🤣
Hey from Michigan! 😊
Fry bread is delicious! Spam is....like a compressed meat product. It was invented in WW2 (?) because it is canned, and will keep forever. Its eaten a bit on the mainland, but for some reason, they love it in Hawaii. What he didnt say was that you can get any type of food in any part of America, as long as the city is decent sized. I live in the Pacific NW, and within 20 miles I can have TexMex, Mexican, Southern, Japanese, Korean, Italian, NY or Chicago style pizza, you name it!
Fry bread is so amazing. My best friend in high school was Crow native and her mom used to make me "Indian tacos" whenever I came over. Imagine a taco with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, shredded cheese (the usual tex-mex fair), but it's all piled onto a big, delicious, decadent, pillowy fried tortilla. Ugh, now I'm hungry!
Correction: Mexico LOST that territory in a war.
In fact, Texas won its independence from Mexico, then joined the US.
Yeah, kinda like eastern Ukraine to Russia today. Mexico was also mistreating their border peoples, They had a war for independence.
@@TacoSallustWell technically some of Texas (and New Mexico and Arizona) was lost to the US in a war. There's also a sliver of Arizona that was purchased after the war.
Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and almost 2/3 of California was part of Mexico at one time. Studied California history went from Los Angeles to Eureka and Chico then south back down to Los Angeles 😊
@@tychay A sliver of Arizona? Try about a third, and part of New Mexico. 30,000 square miles of land that was already ours was paid for later anyways to keep them quiet while we built a railway during the Gadsden Purchase. 😂
Fry bread tacos are amazing.
How can he badmouth Chicago's pizza? I don't trust this kid's taste buds.
He's a fool from NYC. That says it all.
I'd bet that "dog" is on his menu!
The only reason I can think for not wanting more Chicago Deep Dish would be that you were too stuffed from the first slice to have a second one!
Right?
He's from New York so......
This guy is completely wrong about the Midwest. Where I’m from, there are very large Hispanic and middle eastern populations, so I eat more tacos and shawarma than casseroles and weird puddings.
I am from the Mid-West and we actually have really good food. The Chicago deep dish and hot dog are OK at best but we are more than Chicago. Some of the staples I grew up with you wont find up in Chicago. We have a STRONG German presence in some of our dishes but they were adapted a long time ago making them something you would only find middle America.