The Best Local Sandwich in Every State

The hallmark of Alabama-style barbecue is its white barbecue sauce, a tangy blend of mayonnaise, vinegar and black pepper. Big Bob’s serves up an amazing sandwich with white sauce and smoked chicken.

Alaska: Reindeer dog

You probably won’t find this sandwich in many places, but if you’re in Alaska, why not indulge in a local favorite – the reindeer dog.

Arizona: Torta del Rey

In Arizona, Mexican restaurants feature the torta, a sandwich served on a round roll filled with meats, cheese, and toppings like tomato, onion and avocado. An exemplary version of this is the Torta Del Ray, loaded up with ham, pork, breaded beef, a sausage-chorizo omelette, tomato, caramelized onions, fresh avocado, and chipotle sauce.

Arkansas: Fried catfish

The French dip was allegedly invented by accident in 1918 at Philippe’s when a roll was accidentally dropped into a jus-filled roasting pan. Their version is a must-try.

The New Star makes a cheeseburger on a grilled bun soaked in red or green chile sauce and topped with sliced avocado, fries, and chopped onion that gets rave reviews. Some say you have to use a knife and fork to eat it.

Connecticut: Hot lobster roll

In Maine, the lobster rolls are served cold with mayo, but in Connecticut they’re served warm with a drizzle of melted butter. It’s heaven on a bun.

Delaware: Crab cake

The hot and melty Cuban sandwich is a Florida staple. Typically prepared with ham, pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, The Floridian adds a tasty twist with the addition of salami.

Georgia: Pimento cheese

Pimento cheese is a Georgia favorite. The homemade pimento cheese sandwich at Fox Bros. can be served cold or grilled on potato bread.

Hawaii: Spam

The legendary canned meat was introduced to Hawaii during World War II, and the locals fell in love with it and have since claimed it as their own, in sandwiches and just about every other form imaginable.

Idaho: Basque chorizo

The Italian beef is the quintessential Chicago sandwich. Sliced, slow-roasted beef, on an Italian roll, dipped in savory cooking juices, and topped with giardiniera, a spicy pickled vegetable relish.

Indiana: Pork tenderloin

A heafty patty of breaded and fried “pork tenderloin” served on a burger bun with pickles, onions, lettuce, mustard, ketchup, and mayo is a Hoosier State staple.

Iowa: Taylor’s Maid-Rite

The Maid-Rite is similar to a sloppy Joe but without the sauce. It’s an old-school sandwich served on a burger bun and usually topped with mustard, onion, and pickles. It was popularized at Taylor’s Maid-Rite, a Marshalltown institution since 1928, and is now popular throughout Iowa.

Kansas: The Rocket Pig

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que is a beloved Kansas City, Kansas, BBQ joint, and its signature sandwich is wildly popular. The Rocket Pig is loaded with saucy pulled pork, bacon, pepper Jack cheese, BBQ mayo, and fried jalapeños.

Kentucky: The Hot Brown

When visiting Louisville, indulging in a Hot Brown is a must! This iconic sandwich was invented at the city’s Brown Hotel in 1926 and it’s an open-faced sandwich of white toast topped with turkey breast, bacon, tomato, and creamy Mornay sauce, baked until golden brown.

Maine: Cold lobster roll

Whether it’s steamed or boiled, chilled, tossed with a little mayo, and served on a split-top bun, there’s nothing better than Maine lobster and this cold lobster roll is a classic.

Maryland: Pit beef

Pit beef is a Baltimore-area staple, but it’s uncommon in most areas. Chaps Pit Beef offers the definitive sandwich version with huge slabs of top round grilled over charcoal, thin-sliced rare to order, piled onto a Kaiser roll, and traditionally topped with tangy horseradish “tiger sauce.”

While it’s not exactly a sandwich, it is meat inside bread. The traditional Cornish pasty, or hand pie, is very popular in Michigan, where it was popularized by immigrant miners in the 1800s. The most traditional versions are filled with ground beef and vegetables.

Minnesota: Walleye

Walleye is Minnesota’s state fish – even though what’s served in the state often comes from Canada, across the border. At Dolsie’s, the filet is beer-battered and fried, served on a roll with shredded lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce.

Mississippi: Pig ear and smokes

Their two specialties at Big Apple Inn are “smokes” (ground smoked hot sausage on a bun) and pig ears pressure-cooked until they’re as tender as ham and served on a bun with mustard, slaw, and chili sauce.

Missouri: St. Paul

The St. Paul sandwich is truly a regional delicacy. Most Chinese restaurants in the St. Louis area serve a version of this local specialty that features an egg foo young patty topped with dill pickles, white onion, mayo, and lettuce on white bread.

Montana: Elk burger

Elk meat is high in protein, low in cholesterol, and has less fat than beef. In Montana, where elk are abundant, there’s no shortage of places like The Corral serving up delicious elk burgers.

Nebraska: Reuben

The Reuben is a deli sandwich loaded up with hot corned beef, melty Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian or Thousand Island dressing on toasted rye. It is a popular New York classic, but it’s widely believed that it was invented at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha. It’s now a quintessential Nebraska sandwich, and March 14 is Reuben Sandwich Day in Omaha.

Nevada: Pastrami

You can find good pastrami sandwiches all over Las Vegas, but if you want a great one, head on over to the popular Sammy’s LA Pastrami & Burgers.

New Hampshire: Steak grinder

Throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts, sandwiches on long rolls are referred to as grinders. The most popular grinders in Vermont are loaded up with steak and cheese. When you include salami or pepperoni, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, they’re known as “steakbombs.”

New Jersey: Taylor ham/pork roll

Taylor ham is a fatty, salty processed breakfast meat that’s called pork roll in South Jersey. When partnered with egg and American cheese on a round roll, the delicious concoction is referred to as the “Jersey Sandwich.”

Green Hatch chiles are so popular in New Mexico that they’re served with just about every food, from burritos to eggs to apple pie. But when the chopped roasted green chiles come on top of your cheeseburger, you have found a winner.

New York: Beef on weck

The beef on weck is a masterpiece of thin-sliced roast beef, topped with grated horseradish and piled onto a roll topped with salt and caraway seeds that’s called a kummelweck.

North Carolina: Pulled pork

In North Carolina, pork BBQ king. Usually it’s topped with a tangy vinegar-based sauce in the east and a tomato-based red sauce in the west. It’s great on its own, but just about perfect when eaten in a sandwich at Skyline Inn.

North Dakota: Hot roast beef

North Dakota winters can be cold, but one way to warm up is with the state’s signature hot roast beef open-faced sandwich, on white bread with mashed potatoes and beef gravy. Some places even melt cheese over the top and add peppers and onions.

Ohio: Goetta

Goetta is a Cincinnati specialty, and you may not have heard of it if you’re not from Ohio. It’s a breakfast sausage patty made with ground pork, oats, and spices, and while there are countless ways to eat it, one of the most popular is just to fry it up and serve as a sandwich.

Chicken-fried steak is extremely popular in Oklahoma, but it’s not actually chicken. The dish gets its name from the way that thinly-pounded steak is breaded and fried, in the style of fried chicken. It’s at its most delicious when covered in cream gravy and served with a roll or biscuit.

Oregon: Dungeness crab

Dungeness crab has a sweet and mild flavor. When mixed with a little mayo and piled into a buttered and toasted roll, it gives even the best lobster roll a run for its money.

Pennsylvania: Cheesesteak

John’s Roast Pork gets cheesesteak right. The signature sandwich of Philly starts with thin-sliced beef, which gets seared on a griddle before being wedged into a long roll and topped with your choice of cheese and served with or without chopped onions.

Rhode Island: New York System wiener

In Rhode Island, it’s all about the “hot wieners,” or New York System wieners, served on a steamed bun and topped with a spiced meat sauce and chopped onions. They’re getting harder to come by, but Providence’s Olneyville New York System is the best place to find them.

South Carolina: Fried bologna

Fried bologna sandwiches are mostly a Southern specialty, and especially so in South Carolina. To make the classic fried bologna sandwich, bologna is thick-sliced and griddled until browned, then served on white bread with yellow mustard, Duke’s mayo, American (or pimento) cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

Walleye is a delicious fish that is mild and sweet, and Drifters makes a mean fried Walleye sandwich, topped with lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce.

Tennessee: Hot chicken

Hot chicken may have taken the food world by storm, but it was invented in Nashville. A hot chicken sandwich is truly one of the most delicious sandwiches in existence (as several fast food chains have realized). At Hattie B’s, you can order it mild or VERY hot.

Texas: BBQ brisket

Texans love beef, especially when it comes to barbecue. Smoking brisket is an art form here, where the meat is usually crusted with a peppery spice blend and smoked slowly over post oak. It’s traditionally served with white bread and sauce is optional.

Utah: Pastrami burger

In Utah, countless burger joints serve up this beloved local specialty, in which a juicy burger patty is topped with smoky hot pastrami, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and another Utah specialty called fry sauce, a mix of mayo and ketchup.

Vermont: Grilled cheese

A buttery grilled cheese sandwich is one of the world’s best comfort foods, and Dot’s makes one of the best versions of this American classic.

Virginia: Ham biscuit

Country ham, which is slowly salt-cured and more closely resembles prosciutto than deli ham, is a beloved Virginia specialty. When thin-sliced and sandwiched between two halves of a fresh-baked biscuit, it’s a taste treat.

Washington: Red king salmon

Mike’s makes a mean fried red king salmon sandwich on fresh-baked focaccia bread served with lettuce, onion, pickle and tomato that has been voted one of the best in Washington.

West Virginia: Pepperoni roll

The pepperoni roll is a West Virginia staple, found at everything from bakeries to gas stations. The rolls are baked with pepperoni right inside, sometimes with added cheese. The spicy oil from the pepperoni seeps out into the bread as it’s baking, making it a yummy treat.

Wisconsin: Bratwurst

They may be called oysters, but they’re definitely not shellfish. Rocky Mountain oysters are thinly sliced, breaded, and deep-fried bull testicles, and they’re a very popular local specialty. Some fans like to eat them on grilled toast with American cheese.