Boston brown bread is a dense, slightly sweet steamed bread made with molasses, rye flour, cornmeal, and whole wheat flour.

Boston cream pie is actually a cake: two layers of sponge filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate glaze.

Boudin is a Cajun sausage made with pork, rice, onions, peppers, and seasonings stuffed into a casing. It is smoky, savory, soft, and perfectly acceptable to eat in a gas station parking lot.

A Kentucky Bourbon Ball is a bite-sized chocolate candy with a bourbon-spiked creamy center, usually topped with a pecan.

The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is Indiana’s proud oversized classic: a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried until crisp, then served on a bun that looks almost comically too small. It is crunchy, juicy, and very Hoosier.

A New Mexico breakfast burrito wraps eggs, potatoes, cheese, meat, and chile in a warm flour tortilla.

Texas brisket is beef brisket smoked low and slow until the bark is dark, the fat is silky, and the slices bend without falling apart.

Virginia Brunswick stew is a thick, hearty tomato-based stew made with chicken or other meats, vegetables, and seasonings cooked down until everything becomes rich and spoonable.

Buckeyes are peanut butter candies dipped in chocolate, leaving a little circle of peanut butter showing so they resemble the nut of Ohio’s buckeye tree.

Buffalo wings are fried chicken wings tossed in buttery hot sauce and served with celery and blue cheese.

Burgoo is Kentucky’s thick, slow-simmered stew made with a mix of meats, vegetables, and deep savory flavor.

Burnt ends are smoky, bark-covered cubes cut from the point of a beef brisket, then sauced or re-smoked until they are rich, sticky, and deeply caramelized. They are Kansas City barbecue’s crispy-edged little treasures.

A custard-style pie made with simple pantry ingredients: buttermilk, sugar, eggs, butter, flour, and vanilla, all baked in a pie crust until the filling sets into a smooth, creamy texture with a lightly caramelized top.

Calas are Creole rice fritters fried until crisp outside and tender inside, then served sweet with powdered sugar or savory with dipping sauce.

Mississippi caramel cake is a soft yellow layer cake covered in cooked caramel icing that sets into a fudgy, sugary shell. It is sweet, old-fashioned, and absolutely not something you rush.

A Carolina-style hot dog is a hot dog topped with chili, slaw, onions, and mustard.

Cat head biscuits are giant Southern biscuits roughly the size of a cat’s head.

Central Texas style BBQ is meat-market barbecue: smoked beef, sausage, ribs, and pork served simply with pickles, onions, white bread, and sauce on the side if at all.

Charleston Red Rice is a smoky, tomato-rich Lowcountry rice dish made with long-grain rice, onions, peppers, and often bacon or sausage. In Georgia, you will often see it as Savannah red rice or simply red rice: fluffy, savory, a little sweet, and perfect beside fried chicken, seafood, or ribs.