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Eaterland: Recipes and Stories from Across the United States
The United States of Eater is popular website Eater’s mouthwatering deep dive into the quirky regional dishes that truly define American cuisine, with recipes, essays, and stories from local celebrities and chefs
When casual food lovers attempt to define stereotypical “American cuisine,” they often lean into foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza. Perhaps some understand that everything from Cajun cuisines to soul food is as American as apple pie.
But it takes a certain kind of obsessiveness—one Eater is known for—to really investigate what American food means. In The United States of Eater, national publication and go-to site for restaurant recommendations, recipes, and food stories, Eater, maps out where to eat, what to eat, and how to eat food that is quintessentially, unequivocally American.
Divided into eight regions, this cookbook is filled with recipes, introductions from notable local chefs or celebrities, and recommendations for restaurants that serve the eclectic, multicultural cuisines that make up American food.
From more recognized dishes like Detroit-Style Pepperoni Pizza and New York’s Chopped Cheese to the french fry–topped Pittsburgh Salad and the Midwest’s Funeral Potatoes, this almanac is an ode to American food. Essays call attention to local ingredients unique to their region, like New Mexican green chiles, the glossaries have every region’s essential dishes, and deeply personal stories about American culture will encourage readers to learn more.
This book also celebrates the history of food in the United States, centering Indigenous recipes and cooking techniques, highlighting immigrant influences on local favorites, and illustrating how renowned chefs like Kwame Onwuachi and Tiffany Derry are recontextualizing and modernizing food in America.
For anyone who’s wanted to experience Maryland crab soup, toasted ravioli from St. Louis, and Kentucky’s renowned Hot Brown sandwich all without leaving their kitchen, this book is a perfect guide from Eater, the authority on where to eat and why it matters.
When casual food lovers attempt to define stereotypical “American cuisine,” they often lean into foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza. Perhaps some understand that everything from Cajun cuisines to soul food is as American as apple pie.
But it takes a certain kind of obsessiveness—one Eater is known for—to really investigate what American food means. In The United States of Eater, national publication and go-to site for restaurant recommendations, recipes, and food stories, Eater, maps out where to eat, what to eat, and how to eat food that is quintessentially, unequivocally American.
Divided into eight regions, this cookbook is filled with recipes, introductions from notable local chefs or celebrities, and recommendations for restaurants that serve the eclectic, multicultural cuisines that make up American food.
From more recognized dishes like Detroit-Style Pepperoni Pizza and New York’s Chopped Cheese to the french fry–topped Pittsburgh Salad and the Midwest’s Funeral Potatoes, this almanac is an ode to American food. Essays call attention to local ingredients unique to their region, like New Mexican green chiles, the glossaries have every region’s essential dishes, and deeply personal stories about American culture will encourage readers to learn more.
This book also celebrates the history of food in the United States, centering Indigenous recipes and cooking techniques, highlighting immigrant influences on local favorites, and illustrating how renowned chefs like Kwame Onwuachi and Tiffany Derry are recontextualizing and modernizing food in America.
For anyone who’s wanted to experience Maryland crab soup, toasted ravioli from St. Louis, and Kentucky’s renowned Hot Brown sandwich all without leaving their kitchen, this book is a perfect guide from Eater, the authority on where to eat and why it matters.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published April 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 18, 2026
I’m not big on reading cookbooks cover to cover but American food history and culture will always be one of my favorite areas so this was well worth the deep dive. I feel like with any regional compilation-type book there are always going to be recipes or cuisines that you feel are missing, but this still wove in quite a few lesser-known but still significant ones, at least from the areas that I’m familiar with.
I was a bit disappointed at how beef- and pork-heavy it is since I don’t eat those, and some of the recipes are really involved. I hesitated on it in the bookstore for that reason alone but I’m glad I got it anyway. I did end up marking up quite a few to try or adapt. It’s the stories and bits of history that are the best parts, though. None of it goes TOO in depth but it was all really fascinating. And it’s bright and colorful, cheerful and well photographed.
I was a bit disappointed at how beef- and pork-heavy it is since I don’t eat those, and some of the recipes are really involved. I hesitated on it in the bookstore for that reason alone but I’m glad I got it anyway. I did end up marking up quite a few to try or adapt. It’s the stories and bits of history that are the best parts, though. None of it goes TOO in depth but it was all really fascinating. And it’s bright and colorful, cheerful and well photographed.
August 19, 2026
This "visual feast" book offers the reader a look at regional American dishes. Divided into 8 regions, the book offers a history of each featured dish, where to try it in a restaurant or food truck, and a recipe for the home cook. Sidebars include a glossary of food items unique to each region and suggested side trips for the food lover. A nice compilation from the Eater newsletter crew.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews