Our 10 Best Classic American Dishes and Where To Find Them in NYC

By Robert Sietsema Fri., Jul. 1 2011 at 8:00 AM

Some of the country's finest New England clam chowder is found at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

America can be justifiably proud of its national menu, reflecting contributions that began with the Native Americans, expanding and intertwining with the favorite foods of successive waves of immigrants. And our cuisine will continue to evolve as new dishes are introduced and we modify them for American terroir. And at some future Fourth of July picnic, it might become customary to sit down to a meal of chicken tandoori, or Senegalese cheb, or turkey mole poblano.

Looking at our list of American culinary commonplaces, you'll see contributions from West Africans, Chinese, and Sicilians, with each dish budged in one direction or another by other groups, once it was introduced to the cuisine and had a chance to flourish. And the land's bounty enriched and diversified even the simplest recipe from abroad. No country on earth -- except perhaps China -- has food as varied and delicious as our own, and July Fourth weekend always ends up being a celebration of that food.

Here, without further ado, are Our 10 Best Classic American Dishes -- plus a suggestion as to where you can get a great rendition of each.

We Recommend

Fishy

I usually agree with everything Sietsema says, but the Catfish at Pies & Thighs is just adequate. There's no spice in the seasoning, and they fry up small pieces of filet, so you get more fry than fish. Piece of Chicken did a version for $2 that was a helluva lot better. I'm too young to settle.

How

FWIW, Mark Twain felt that succotash should be our national dish.

Odh202

I'm second-generation Indian. In an attempt to copy some of the dishes made by my mother, I've come up with something uniquely American. Kind of like Christopher Columbus finding the West Indies accidentally. Almost.

Dan Aronoff

Great list but I would include Little Owl for hamburgers and the Smith for macaroni and cheese. There also seem to be a predominance of restaurants in Brooklyn, in that case how about Difara's for pizza. I am a blind food critic, here is my blog:www.blindtastetest.net

gargupie

Oh, one more for Chinese...something you would NEVER find in China - beef with broccoli.

gargupie

Great list, but too short to do Americana food justice, right? :) Along with pizza, I would also throw in spaghetti red sauce with meatball.Chinese: egg rolls (yes, sound like an appetizer, but could definitely make them into an entree when they come 3 in a 'roll'). Grilled American cheese sandwich with WHITE bread (preferably the defunct Wonder Bread)Sloppy joe (my elementary school cafeteria memories)APPLE PIE! How American could you get with this dessert? :)

Happy 4th of July!