The Best Local Sandwich to Try in Every State

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que is a beloved Kansas City, Kansas, BBQ joint, and its signature sandwich is so good that it’s become nothing short of an icon: The Rocket Pig, loaded with saucy pulled pork, bacon, pepper Jack cheese, BBQ mayo, and fried jalapeños.

When in Louisville, you eat a Hot Brown! The state’s signature sandwich was invented at the city’s Brown Hotel in 1926; it’s an open-faced sandwich of white toast topped with turkey breast, bacon, tomato, and creamy Mornay sauce, baked until golden brown. Variations can be found throughout the city, but the Brown Hotel still serves the signature version.

Lobster is so plentiful in Maine that many lobster shacks serve lobster that was plucked from the water less than 24 hours before. When steamed or boiled, chilled, tossed with a little mayo, and served on a split-top bun, there’s no better taste of Maine.

Pit beef is a Baltimore-area staple, but it’s hard to come by outside of the state. Chaps Pit Beef it turning out the definitive version: huge slabs of top round are grilled over charcoal, thin-sliced rare to order, tossed back on the hot charcoal for a little extra smoky flavor, piled onto a Kaiser roll, and traditionally topped with creamy horseradish-kicked “tiger sauce.”