The Regional Foods Americans Hype Up More Than They Deliver

I wouldn't eat them either. If you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about, just read on. I do love to taste signature dishes from areas outside of our region, but sometimes when I her all the hype and then try it for myself, I do ask “what's the big deal?” I mean, who doesn't go to Alaska and not try the salmon? Oh wait...

Every region of America has that one food locals insist you simply have to try. Usually, they'll say it with the confidence of someone recommending a life-changing religious experience. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes...well, let's just say the nearest drive-thru would have been a better investment.

That's the premise behind a new Cheapism ranking what it considers the most overrated regional foods in America. Naturally, the list is guaranteed to start arguments from Maine to California because criticizing someone's hometown delicacy ranks somewhere between insulting their favorite football team and questioning Grandma's pie recipe.

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The regional specialty closest to southern Utah to make the list is Rocky Mountain oysters. This, of course is the hard pass for me.

These "Oysters" Don't Come From The Ocean

For anyone unfamiliar with the delicacy, let's just say no fisherman was involved. Despite the seafood-sounding name, they're actually sliced, breaded and fried bull testicles. The article argues they're more about shocking unsuspecting tourists than delivering unforgettable flavor. Fair enough. If the best part of your meal is watching your friend discover what he just ate after he's finished chewing, perhaps it's more of a practical joke than fine dining. Thankfully, I don't see them on the menus of McDonalds in Wyoming and Colorado.

Then there's biscuits and gravy, representing the South.

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Really?

This may be where the listing is at its most controversial. Cheapism suggests the heavy breakfast can be more nap than nourishment (that's a problem?). I know, we here in the Mountain West don't have the same tradition with biscuits and gravy that our friends in the deep south have, but still they are delicious and are becoming more of a staple at our local diners.

Other foods earning the "overrated" label include Chicago deep-dish pizza, lobster rolls, Nashville hot chicken, South Dakota chislic and Cincinnati chili. Most aren't criticized because they taste bad. Instead, the complaint is that years of hype have created expectations that reality can't always match, especially when visitors pay premium prices for a meal they could have enjoyed just as much somewhere else.

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Utah, meanwhile, escaped the list entirely. Perhaps that's because our signature foods don't pretend to be sophisticated. We happily embrace fry sauce, funeral potatoes, pastrami burgers, raspberry shakes, scones slathered in honey butter and enough green Jell-O to keep gelatin manufacturers in business. We know they're quirky. We don't care.

Read More: So, What Is Utah's Comfort Food?

Of course, food is one of the most subjective things on earth. One person's overrated specialty is another person's reason to plan a road trip. If someone wants to stand in line for an expensive lobster roll or order Rocky Mountain oysters just to say they did, that's their business. Just don't expect everyone at the table to ask for seconds. Or in the case of Rocky Mountain Oysters, for me, firsts.

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Keep scrolling to see the places where I won't be stopping on my next visit to Colorado