This January, we polled our readers (twice) to figure out what Arizona's official state food should be. The Sonoran hot dog scored 54 percent of the vote, beating prickly pear by more than 20 percent. Now, Arizona is being recognized on a national scale for not just one, but two of our state's favorite foods. Of the countless varieties of regional all-American hot dogs, the Sonoran dog was the only one to make the cut.
The Daily Meal recently named 18 American Foods You Have to Travel For. The criteria? The dishes have to be "so tied to a place that trying to recreate them or generate a passion behind them anywhere else would be a fool's errand." These are the foods that people try -- and fail -- to bring with them when they move away.
Which other Arizona specialty was picked?
Frybread was also honored as a local food that can't be duplicated elsewhere. But that's no shocker. It also surfaced in our first poll to narrow down an official Arizona state food, scoring 13 percent of the vote. And, we're pretty proud of Fry Bread House for nabbing the James Beard Foundation's America's Classics award earlier this month.
We'll be celebrating this announcement in the only way we know how: by eating a lot of insanely delicious food. Find us at Fry Bread House or wolfing down one of our five favorite Sonoran dogs.
