Nowadays, you can get pretty much any type of food you like anywhere you like. Food is shipped all over the country, and even the globe, and the internet has spread regional recipes all over the place, so no matter where you are, you can enjoy delightful foods that not too long ago were only available in particular areas of the world. With all that being said, there are some foods that just seem to taste better when they’re where they come from. We don’t know what it is, but Southern cooking just tastes more authentic when it’s eaten in the South. And that goes doubly true for foods that are closely associated with Georgia. Here are a few foods in Georgia that anyone who leaves the state craves upon returning home:
- Brunswick stew
j_lai/Flickr The origins of Brunswick stew are actually hotly-contested, but of course we know it was made in Georgia! If you visit the town of Brunswick, you can see the 25-gallon pot where (allegedly) the first Brunswick stew was cooked back in 1898.
- Shrimp and grits
Joan Nova/Flickr This unique combination can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
- Boiled peanuts
Jason Lam/Flickr Whether you pick them up from a roadside stand or an old-fashioned general store like Sunrise Grocery, there’s no better summer treat than boiled peanuts!
- Fresh Georgia peaches
Alby Headrick/Flickr Georgia is one of the top peach producers in the country and so well-known for its fruit that our official nickname is the Peach State.
- Hot pralines fresh from River Street Sweets
River Street Sweets These delectable little morsels smell as good as they taste. There are actually several River Street Sweets locations now throughout the country, but if you ask us, they taste best from the original spot on River Street.
- Chicken fingers and spuds from Spanky’s in Savannah
Charlotte Quinn/Google Maps The history is surprisingly fuzzy on this dish, but it’s likely that Spanky’s was one of the first restaurants in the country to serve up chicken fingers. Don’t skip out on the spuds, though! These deep-fried potatoes are just as delicious.
- Chicken and waffles
Shelby L. Bell/Flickr This soul food classic is tasty!
- Cornbread
Tristan Ferne/Flickr Cornbread was actually first made by Native Americans, but it’s so heavily entrenched in Southern cuisine now that it’s tough to imagine it as anything other than an a good old-fashioned Southern side.
- Fried green tomatoes from the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette
thewhistlestopcafe_juliette/Instagram Did you know that the Whistle Stop Cafe that was built in small-town Georgia for the filming of the 1991 classic “Fried Green Tomatoes” is still in existence today? You can pick up unripe fried tomatoes there that are just as tasty as you’d imagine.
- Burgers from The Vortex in Atlanta
Vortex Bar & Grill/Google Maps The Vortex is famous for having some of the most delicious (and biggest) burgers in Georgia. You can get a good burger in a lot of places, but their oversized monstrosities are pretty special and definitely unique to our state.
- Fried okra
thebittenword.com/Flickr Okra is such a versatile dish and you’ll find it in a variety of cuisines, including Southern, Middle Eastern, and Indian. We love it deep-fried!
- Pimento cheese
Carol VanHook/Flickr This cheese/mayonnaise/pimento concoction is a beloved cracker dip and sandwich topping.
- Vidalia onions
ryan griffis/Wikimedia Commons Did you know Vidalia onions are the official vegetable of Georgia? By law, only onions grown in the area around the city of Vidalia can be sold with the name. Due to the low sulfur content, they are sweeter than most other onion varieties.
- Collard greens
Nolabob/Wikimedia Commons Collards are often cooked with ham hocks or fatback, and all Georgians know you’ve got to eat them with black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck!
- Biscuits and gravy
jeffreyw/Wikimedia Commons Is there any better breakfast dish?
How many of these iconic foods in Georgia are you a fan of? Any others you think belong on the list? Share your thoughts in the comments!
j_lai/Flickr
The origins of Brunswick stew are actually hotly-contested, but of course we know it was made in Georgia! If you visit the town of Brunswick, you can see the 25-gallon pot where (allegedly) the first Brunswick stew was cooked back in 1898.
Joan Nova/Flickr
This unique combination can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Jason Lam/Flickr
Whether you pick them up from a roadside stand or an old-fashioned general store like Sunrise Grocery, there’s no better summer treat than boiled peanuts!
Alby Headrick/Flickr
Georgia is one of the top peach producers in the country and so well-known for its fruit that our official nickname is the Peach State.
River Street Sweets
These delectable little morsels smell as good as they taste. There are actually several River Street Sweets locations now throughout the country, but if you ask us, they taste best from the original spot on River Street.
Charlotte Quinn/Google Maps
The history is surprisingly fuzzy on this dish, but it’s likely that Spanky’s was one of the first restaurants in the country to serve up chicken fingers. Don’t skip out on the spuds, though! These deep-fried potatoes are just as delicious.
Shelby L. Bell/Flickr
This soul food classic is tasty!
Tristan Ferne/Flickr
Cornbread was actually first made by Native Americans, but it’s so heavily entrenched in Southern cuisine now that it’s tough to imagine it as anything other than an a good old-fashioned Southern side.
thewhistlestopcafe_juliette/Instagram
Did you know that the Whistle Stop Cafe that was built in small-town Georgia for the filming of the 1991 classic “Fried Green Tomatoes” is still in existence today? You can pick up unripe fried tomatoes there that are just as tasty as you’d imagine.
Vortex Bar & Grill/Google Maps
The Vortex is famous for having some of the most delicious (and biggest) burgers in Georgia. You can get a good burger in a lot of places, but their oversized monstrosities are pretty special and definitely unique to our state.
thebittenword.com/Flickr
Okra is such a versatile dish and you’ll find it in a variety of cuisines, including Southern, Middle Eastern, and Indian. We love it deep-fried!
Carol VanHook/Flickr
This cheese/mayonnaise/pimento concoction is a beloved cracker dip and sandwich topping.
ryan griffis/Wikimedia Commons
Did you know Vidalia onions are the official vegetable of Georgia? By law, only onions grown in the area around the city of Vidalia can be sold with the name. Due to the low sulfur content, they are sweeter than most other onion varieties.
Nolabob/Wikimedia Commons
Collards are often cooked with ham hocks or fatback, and all Georgians know you’ve got to eat them with black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck!
jeffreyw/Wikimedia Commons
Is there any better breakfast dish?
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