USA Travel Guide

The NYC slice — thin crust that folds perfectly in half — is genuinely different from every pizza elsewhere. Joe's Pizza in the West Village is the standard. The everything bagel with lox at 7am is the city's best breakfast.

Slow-smoked beef brisket (18–20 hours over post oak), pork ribs and jalapeño-cheddar sausage — America's greatest contribution to the global meat canon. Franklin Barbecue in Austin has a multi-hour queue for good reason.

A roux-thickened stew of andouille sausage, chicken or seafood over rice — the soul of Creole cooking. The shrimp po'boy and beignets with chicory coffee at Café Du Monde complete the New Orleans food experience.

Cold-water lobster simply dressed with butter or mayo in a split-top hot dog bun — the East Coast's most perfect summer meal, eaten at a shack on Route 1 overlooking a New England harbour.

California's In-N-Out Burger — Double Double, Animal Style — is the platonic ideal of the American hamburger. Regional burger cultures (Shake Shack in NYC, Whataburger in Texas) are a legitimate travel itinerary in themselves.