UPDATE: "Due to various external circumstances, Flavored Nation is postponing its Oct 28-29 event at St Louis' Dome at America's Center. The Flavored Nation team is currently working on securing a new date, targeting spring 2018, to debut its 50 iconic state dishes and coast-to-coast roster of chefs. Future event updates - as well as food articles, videos and recipes - can be found at www.flavorednation.com."
***
If you love food and history, get excited for Flavored Nation, a new event featuring America's most iconic dishes from chefs and restaurants nationwide.
In addition to eating all the tastiest food America has to offer, other highlights include cooking competitions, special drinks from mixologists, beer masters, sommeliers and live entertainment.
From the unusual and oftentimes overlooked dishes such as South Dakota's chislic or Alaska's reindeer sausage, to the obvious contenders-such as North Carolina's pulled pork or Illinois' deep dish pizza-attendees will have the unique opportunity to taste it all, all under one roof.
Inspired by the first 1904's World's Fair in St. Louis, Flavored Nation seeks to celebrate both the local restaurants and mom and pop shops that represent their state's dishes the best.
The 1904 World's Fair made food history by shining the spotlight on what are now widely considered to be America's most beloved bites, including hot dogs, ice cream cones and cotton candy. It brought delicious, diverse and unheard of foods from all over the country to St. Louis.
For the first time ever, people could taste flavors from around the country without making the trek to that destination.
Though, today it's pretty common to travel around the world to taste the delicacies of Hong Kong or Tokyo, that wasn't the case back in the day.
"Now that we've gathered the 50 iconic state dishes we have a wonderful view of the process, and talking to state officials, local foodies, focus groups and national food writers has led to one inescapable conclusion," writes David Rosengarten, content director for Flavored Nation in a recent article.
"Within our 50 states there are easily identifiable 'groups,' each presenting its own kind of challenge. It's a unique perspective on America's food, and seeing these combos helps us to understand what kind of Flavored Nation we are."
"In a nation of documented culinary diversity, most people's personal food experience is still limited to local geography and some occasional travel. We want to fuel debate about local favorites and at the same time spur discovery," said Richard Gore, executive producer of Flavored Nation and the former president of live events at Food Network.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
