The U.S. is hardly known for its regional cuisines. This is not to say that food preferences don’t change from one place to another, and certain areas of the U.S. are known for their distinct cuisines more than others (Southern food is the most obvious example). But in the U.S., walking into a grocery store in San Francisco, California and one in Tampa, Florida is bound to get you the same result. Americans’ reliance on mega-chain grocery stores means that the same foods can be found pretty much anywhere. It’s interesting to note, then, that during Thanksgiving, the one holiday that almost every American celebrates, food varies considerably by region, as suggested in the report by the New York Times on November 26, 2009, “What’s Cooking on Thanksgiving”: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/26/us/20091126-search-graphic.html. There are the staples of the holiday, of course: turkey, stuffing, pie. But the variety in tastes, ingredients, and production of these three dishes, as well as the diversity of additional dishes, is astounding. Perhaps there’s more to be said about regional food in the U.S. after all.