Since I was born and grew up here I’m not going to deal with the best restaurants but regional iconic food. That means the pedestrian food I grew up with and love.
First of all, farmer’s markets, especially organic. Use them, join co-ops. It’ll broaden your culinary horizons (see my cookbook selections).
I’m going to go around the country now, notice I miss Kansas City BBQ because I’ve not gotten the chance to go there as yet. Only foods and places I’ve visited/frequented.
Here are some of my favorite foods:
Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese and celery sticks (no boneless wings, please)
Corned beef and cabbage sandwiches (Albany NY) with deli mustard
Sesame bagel with very little cream cheese, Nova lox, capers, onions and lemon optional
Cranberry-Orange muffin with Tazo Wild Orange tea
Steak at Peter Luger’s in NYC
Maryland blue crabs, cracked on a friend’s table with butcher paper and mallets
Fresh clams on a grill, with clarified butter ready to dip
The best burger I ever had in the world, in Bonham TX, place is now closed. Father-in-law thought $4.50 was a lot to ask for a burger. Jim and I knew otherwise.
Mussels, in moules mariniere (no tomatoes or cream for me)
Chanterelle mushrooms
Salmon caught off the Mendocino coast
True smoked brisket and Texas (Germanic) sausages
Baby back ribs
Great coleslaw (not sweet) and baked beans
and Buffalo’s wonderful Beef on ‘Weck, a northeastern treat.
Hope that does it for now. Dee
Cooking with Dee 
We’d like to do a trip to TX BBQ places near Austin. Have ordered FedEx to NY from Salt Lick but aside from the terrific Louis Mueller’s in Taylor we’re neophytes. Ok Jim’s been to Seal (fight scene in Secondhand Lions) but we’ve many more to conquer including the places near New Braunfels and Gruene. Remember the movie Michael with John Travolta? Gruene Hall is where he had the dance scene, the oldest dance hall in TX.
And Luling City BBQ is fantastic – eat in or take out whole catering orders.