Queso On Everything
Most popular cuisine in Texas is way more predictable than other states
If you live in Texas, you’re likely to throw out hot dogs and lasagna in favor of enchiladas and gumbo, according to a new study examining the most disproportionately popular cuisines in each state. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we love Tex-Mex and Cajun food a whole lot more than the other 49 taste-bud-challenged states.
For its map, Huffington Post worked with Yelp, which determined the most common cuisines in each state by looking at restaurant listings. It calculated the percentage of total restaurants each cuisine represented in a given state, then compared that to the cuisine’s representation in dining establishment nationwide. The results show which cuisines are disproportionately popular in each state.
The study found that Tex-Mex in Texas was 174 percent higher than the national average. Cajun food was 171 percent higher, making those our two most popular cuisines. Barbecue was third at 89 percent, followed by Mexican (85 percent) and chicken wings (64 percent), because chicken wings are a cuisine.
It’s Yelp’s world, and we’re all living in it.
Oklahoma, for maybe the first time in its history, had enough common sense to make Tex-Mex its No. 1 as well; it was the only other state to do so. Of course, buffets and fast food came in at Nos. 4 and No. 5, so perhaps we should just chalk it up to lack of imagination.
Although BBQ is a Texas tradition, Missouri and Kansas both claim it as their most disproportionately popular cuisine; however, both states have lower percentages, at 65 and 48, respectively.
Now for the weird states. Playing to stereotype, Pennsylvania’s top cuisine is cheesesteaks, at an astounding 260 percent higher than the national average, presumably because everyone outside of Philadelphia who has tried a cheesesteak said, “Well, I think that’s enough of that for my life.”
West Virginia’s top five were hot dogs, pizza, buffets, fast food and chicken wings because West Virginians all have a 5-year-old’s palate.
Colorado’s top cuisine is gluten-free, and if you would just give them, like, five minutes to explain how much better they feel since they’ve cut gluten out of their lives, you would totally see why you should do it too. No, seriously. Just listen for a second.
Utah’s top cuisine is Hawaiian, because everyone in Utah is secretly freaky. Hawaii’s top cuisine is also Hawaiian, though it is 5,028 percent higher than the national average, which, yeah, makes sense.
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