Breakfast in the United States is no small deal, with regional varieties stretching from the green chile-laden corners of New Mexico to the bountiful blueberry fields of Maine.
Want to know what kind of signature breakfasts locals are eating in every single state? I researched regional specialties all across the country and pulled together this guide; here are signature breakfast foods from every state in America — plus Washington, D.C., — along with great places to try those dishes.
Alabama: Biscuits and Gravy
Where to try it: The Biscuit King
Biscuits and gravy are synonymous with southern comfort food, but in Alabama, it’s another level. White sauces have been mastered down here, especially the infamous Alabama white sauce, but when you apply those tactics to classic white gravy? Me oh my.
Related: The Best Restaurant Biscuits in Every State
Alaska: Smoked Salmon Benedict
Where to try it: Snow City Cafe
Alaska is known for its seafood, especially salmon. Smoked salmon Bennies are huge in the Last Frontier, especially at Snow City Cafe in Anchorage.
Arizona: Chilaquiles
Where to try it: Original Breakfast House
Chilaquiles are more than just “breakfast nachos,” though the description is understandably appealing. Traditionally, chilaquiles are made out of leftover tortilla chips, often refried and basted with leftover salsas.
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Arkansas: Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy
Where to try it: Bobby’s Cafe
The ultimate sweet and savory breakfast is waiting for you in diners across Arkansas, where chocolate gravy is beloved by locals. It’s a little thing called starting your morning right.
Related: The Best Spot for Comfort Food in Every State
California: Breakfast Burrito
Where to try it: Tacos Villa Corona
California loves breakfast almost as much as it loves burritos, so it makes sense that the two would be in harmony in the state. Beautiful burritos filled with fluffy eggs, salsa, cheese, and restaurant-specific specialties live along every inch of the 840-mile coastline, with thousands more speckled inland throughout the state.
Related: The Best Signature $12 Dish in Every State
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Colorado: Fool’s Gold Loaf
Where to try it: Make your own
This was made famous by a now-closed restaurant called the Colorado Mine Company, and was apparently a favorite of Elvis (one newspaper even suggested it killed him). That guy loved anything with peanut butter, I guess. The Fool’s Gold Loaf is simple: an entire loaf of bread, an entire jar of peanut butter, an entire jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon.
I didn’t know it was acceptable to eat food this way. Seems more like a TikTok challenge than anything else.
Connecticut: Breakfast Grinders
Where to try it: Franklin Giant Grinders
Don’t call it a sub or a hoagie in Connecticut. Here, we’ve got grinders, and it’s not uncommon to jam down on one in the morning with scrambled eggs, cheese, and sausage.
Delaware: Scrapple
Where to try it: Surfside West Diner
Here’s what you do. You take the offal from the pig that didn’t get used up yet, like the head and the liver, and you cook ’em up with the bones. Then you remove the bones and fat, mix it with cornmeal, and make a big loaf. Then you slice that loaf and eat it for breakfast, sometimes alongside eggs, sometimes in a sandwich, sometimes on toast.
I like the cut of your jib, Delaware.
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Florida: Café con Leche and Pan Tostado
Where to try it: Puerto Sagua Restaurant
There’s no Floridian breakfast like the one served at a great Cuban cafe. Grab some proper Cuban coffee, some pastelitos, or just some great toasted bread with butter. That’s a flawless morning.
Georgia: Chicken and Waffles
Where to try it: Atlanta Breakfast Club
Chicken and waffles is a dish revered all over the south (though surprisingly has roots in 1600s Pennsylvania), but in Georgia, things are different. Wings are essential to the state’s culture, and you’ll find them paired with waffles from Savannah to Atlanta.
Hawaii: Loco Moco
Where to try it: Rainbow Drive-In
A great loco moco lies somewhere between breakfast and lunch, but it’s right at home on a brunch menu. Usually, you’ll find it prepared with white rice, brown gravy, a burger patty, and a sunny-side up egg.
Idaho: Hash Browns
Where to try it: Egg Mann and Earl
Idaho is famous for potatoes for a reason. Diners in Idaho take their browns seriously, with heartier local potatoes that feel richer in flavor.
Illinois: Hoppel Poppel
Where to try it: The Bagel Restaurant & Deli
It’s not easy to find this old-school German dish in restaurants, but it’s distinctly Midwestern. The scramble-like breakfast usually contains eggs, hearty potatoes, onions, and some type of breakfast meat. It varies from place to place; hoppel poppel is a canvas waiting to be painted.
Related: Best German Restaurant in (Almost) Every State
Indiana: Hoosier Pie
Where to try it: Gather 22
Sugar cream pie, known as Hoosier pie in the Hoosier state, is an eggless custard pie that finds itself onto breakfast tables just as often as on dessert tables. Gene Hackman not included.
Iowa: Chili and Cinnamon Rolls
Where to try it: Select diners
It may sound strange, but the combo of chili and cinnamon rolls is a thing. It’s suggested the pairing came out of early 1900s logging camps, but it can be traced back through the Midwest as far back as the 60s.
Kansas: Burnt Ends Hash
Where to try it: The Bar Prairie Village
Kansas City-style barbecue would be nothing without its love of burnt ends, which caramelize magically when doused in the highly sweet barbecue sauce that makes the style famous. And like all great meats, they pair just beautifully with eggs in the morning.
Kentucky: Hot Brown
Where to try it: The Brown Hotel
In the mid 20s, two chefs at the Brown Hotel created an alternative way to cook ham and eggs, playing off a classic Welsh rarebit. The open-faced sandwich is served with turkey breast, ham, bacon, and creamy Mornay sauce, and there’s no better place to get one then the hotel it was created.
Louisiana: Beignets
Where to try it: Café du Monde
You may have been looking for more of a deep cut than the pillowy, deep-fried French treat that’s become synonymous with New Orleans. There’s no reason for deep cuts here. Coffee, a bag of beignets, and a swimming pool’s worth of powdered sugar from Café du Monde is as signature as it gets.
Maine: Blueberry Pancakes
Where to try it: Timber Kitchen and Bar
Maine’s soil and climate are very agreeable for blueberries, so despite the fact that the state is far from the largest producer, it can still boast some of the tastiest berries. Naturally, that means blueberry pancakes are a special around these parts.
Maryland: Crab Cake Benedicts
Where to try it: Miss Shirley’s Cafe
Crab cakes and football. That’s what Maryland does.
Massachusetts: Boston Cream Donuts
Where to try it: Back Door Donuts
Inspired by Boston Cream Pie (which was invented in Boston at the Parker House Hotel in the 1850s), the classic treat is a glazed, chocolate donut stuffed with Bavarian cream.
Michigan: Cherry Donuts
Where to try it: Apple Fritter Donut Shop
Michigan loves donuts. Michigan loves cherries. This one ain’t rocket surgery.
Minnesota: Breakfast Hotdish
Where to try it: The Buttered Tin
Hotdish is a Midwestern classic a lot like a casserole, and often seen made with tater tots as the star. Get some eggs, cheese, and breakfast meat involved, and you’ve got a nostalgic Minnesota breakfast.
Mississippi: Biscuits and Tomato Gravy
Where to try it: Rooster’s Restaurant
There’s a lot more in the world of gravy than just brown, white, and chocolate. There’s tomato gravy, for instance, which in Mississippi is made from fried meat drippings, flour, and juicy tomatoes.
Missouri: Slingers
Where to try it: Southwest Diner
There are hangover cures, and then there is a Missouri slinger. The St. Louis-born dish usually includes meat, hash browns, and chili. Then it’s topped with an egg and served with something like a burger patty, hamsteak, or bacon. Sometimes it’s even served with an entire T-bone. Whoever came up with this should be sent to prison. But, with a Nobel prize in hand.
Montana: Bison Sausage
Where to try it: Meat Palace
Bison production is huge in Big Sky Country, and it’s easy enough to see it served breakfast-style next to some eggs. Ranch breakfast, baby. I’ll betcha $100 Kevin Costner eats bison sausage.
Nebraska: Kolaches
Where to try it: The Omaha Bakery
The doughy, flaky, fruity pastries come from Czech and Slavic baking, but are a staple in Nebraska. Fruity fillings of all kinds are common, but most often you’ll see them made with apricots, blueberries, or cherries.
Nevada: Buffet Breakfast
Where to try it: Any casino
It sounds like I’m dunking on Nevada, but I’m not. Casino buffets can be legendary. This is a place of indulgence, so go big or go home.
New Hampshire: Cider Donuts
Where to try it: Cider Bellies Doughnuts
We all know just how hard apples are popping off in the fall up in the magical woodlands of the northeast. That means the cider is the best in the country, and that also means the cider donuts match up.
New Jersey: Pork Roll
Where to try it: Beckman’s Deli & Grill
It’ll be hard to find a New Jerseyite who doesn’t had a pork roll sandwich for breakfast in some way. Served commonly with eggs and cheese, this is the Jersey answer to New York’s iconic BEC.
New Mexico: Enchiladas Montadas
Where to try it: Lindo Mexico Grill & Seafood
Fry some tortillas flat until they soften, and stack them with salsa, onion, and cheese. The stacks, rather than the classic rolled shape, separate this dish from traditional enchiladas, alongside a little help from the fried egg the dish often gets topped with.
New York: Bagels
Where to try it: Barney Greengrass
Though we no longer live in a time where New York is the only place to find good bagels, we do live in a time where no city does them better. This part of our country is where bagels have been perfected, and no state can attempt to overthrow them.
North Carolina: Livermush
Where to try it: Moose Cafe
Common especially in western North Carolina, livermush is similar to Delaware’s scrapple: a loaf-like patty of griddled liver and cornmeal. You’ll find it served next to eggs and grits for breakfast.
North Dakota: Sour Cream Pancakes
Where to try it: Select diners
They might as well stick sour cream on the North Dakota flag; locals can’t get enough of the stuff. That said, it kicks pancakes into gear beautifully, making them oh-so light and fluffy.
Ohio: Goetta
Where to try it: Otto’s
The German-inspired sausage can often take a patty-like form, similar to scrapple and livermush, though usually isn’t made from offal. Popular especially in Cincinnati, goetta is usually served as a sandwich or as a meat choice on a breakfast plate.
Oklahoma: Fried Okra and Eggs
Where to try it: Georgia’s Country Kitchen
Okra slime is no concern to the people of Oklahoma, who often eat it at diners with eggs and grits.
Oregon: Marionberry Pancakes
Where to try it: Mo’s Egg House
Marionberries are unique to Oregon, and you’ll see them used in every way they can be. That means pie, that means ice cream, and that especially means pancakes and French toast.
Pennsylvania: Shoofly Pie
Where to try it: Beiler’s Bakery
Brown sugar and molasses are at the center of this Amish/Pennsylvania dutch treat. Sounds to me like the inspiration for Milk Bar’s infamous pie.
Rhode Island: Johnnycakes
Where to try it: Waterman Grille
Johnnycakes are similar to pancakes, but made with cornmeal. These things are somewhere between cornbread and classic pancakes, and have roots in Rhode Island.
South Carolina: Shrimp and Grits
Where to try it: Page’s Okra Grill
Shrimp and grits is just about one of the first things you think of when it comes to low country cooking. This is where it began, based in Gullah cooking; it’s South Carolina on a plate.
South Dakota: Chislic and Eggs
Where to try it: Fernson Downtown
Whether it’s deep-fried or grilled, you’re getting your chislic cubed, skewered, and probably served with a dipping sauce. Lamb and mutton are common, but beef and goat are common too. Next to some fried eggs, it’s quite a hangover cure.
Tennessee: Biscuits and Red-Eye Gravy
Where to try it: The Loveless Cafe
Named for its distinct color (and the fact that legend spoke of truck drivers who ordered it to stay awake at night), red-eye gravy is made from ham drippings and black coffee. The bold flavors are made even more glorious when they seep into a fresh biscuit, too.
Texas: Breakfast Tacos
Where to try it: Flavia’s Kitchen
Leftover barbecue from the night before doesn’t need to wait until lunch or dinner. Scramble that meat up with some eggs, layer it into fluffy flour tortillas, and top it with cheese and salsa. Now you’re eating breakfast like a Texan.
Utah: Fried Scones
Where to try it: Penny Ann’s Cafe
Scones are fine on their own for most of us, but in Utah, they’re frying them up, oftentimes with a healthy drizzle of honey. I can’t say that doesn’t sound 10 times more delicious.
Vermont: Maple Syrup
Where to try it: Sugarbush Farm Maple Syrup & Cheese
I’m pretty sure you can just walk up to any tree and stick a spout into it in Vermont. It’s the signature condiment of breakfast up there.
Virginia: Spoonbread
Where to try it: Mrs. Rowe’s Family Restaurant
Often considered to be a Native American dish, spoonbread isn’t too much different from cornbread. The texture is smoother, more like cake or a soufflé, in such a way that you can eat with a spoon. It’s incredibly delicious.
Washington: Coffee
Where to try it: Storyville Coffee Company
Seattle lays an obvious claim to the coffee titan of the planet, but that’s not where the city stops. Today, coffee is still an art in that rainy, green corner of the country, with shops dedicated to artisanal coffee across every inch of the state.
Washington, D.C.: Half-Smoke and Eggs
Where to try it: Ben’s Chili Bowl
Named for its half-beef-half-pork makeup, a half-smoke is a sausage that really helps define D.C.’s food culture. Though it’s usually eaten as a hot dog, it’s a breakfast meat in its own right. Eat it at the most famous place there is to eat one: Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Related: These 20 Restaurants Serve the Best Chili in America
West Virginia: Country Ham and Eggs
Where to try it: Tudor’s Biscuit World
You need to like salt to like country ham, which is a dry-cured ham that tastes significantly saltier than your typical cut. Regardless, it’s an enormous part of southern cuisine, particularly in the Virginias.
Wisconsin: Bloody Marys
Where to try it: The Wicked Hop
You already know that Midwesterners can drink, so it only makes sense Wisconsin would claim bloody Marys as its signature breakfast. The garnish game is huge around here, with bars and restaurants offering them with everything from barbecue shrimp, to cheese sticks, to sliders.
Wyoming: Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs
Where to try it: Luxury Diner
It’s not just chicken that gets the fried chicken batter treatment. A country breakfast classic, Wyoming loves to fry up a burger patty a la chicken, and locals know how good that is with eggs and biscuits.
