The Northeast

The cuisine of the Northeast region is one of the most eclectic on our list. This region is home to the wilderness of New England and Upstate New York, as well as large urban centers, including New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In the Philadelphia metro, German settlers and Italian immigrants left the largest mark on the local cuisine. In the NYC metro, influences from Jewish and Italian immigrants made a strong impact on many iconic specialties, while later immigrant groups shaped the NYC food traditions that gained popularity in more recent times . In the DC and Baltimore metro areas, which we will refer to as the Chesapeake Bay area, the cuisine combines southern culinary influences along with local ingredients, most notably crab, rockfish and oysters.The cuisine of New England is very much defined by this region’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and its long history dating back to colonial times. Many popular dishes have origins in the 17th and 18th centuries, and have been influenced by various groups including the early English and Irish settlers, the original Native American inhabitants and later immigrant groups. Local ingredients feature heavily in this regional cuisine, such as various fish and shellfish, dairy, beans, corn and maple syrup. While the Northeast may be geographically small, this region has an overstated impact on the culture of the rest of the country