I've been having a lot of fun recently by rediscovering some of the Midwestern foods that have been overlooked by Midwesterners themselves.

More specifically, I have been foraging, identifying, and preparing things that grow all around me in an attempt to help myself better understand American and Midwestern terroir.

What about Chicago style hot dogs and deep dish pizzas?

This list seems a bit dated to me, I haven't seen any of that stuff for the last 20 years outside of tourist areas. Most of us are eating Thai, Indian, Middle-Eastern, Fillipino etc. But I will add fudge to the list---a classic going up north treat especially Mackinac island fudge.

You didn't include a section for side dishes. Maybe this is more Southern than Midwestern, but here in Missouri I think most of us adore corn fritters. I've heard them called corn dodgers at Charlie's Chicken.

After living in St Louis for seven years, and speaking for my native friends, I think we'd all like to see gooey butter cake up there.

I don't know if that list is dated, but in this series I think you could say that no matter where you go people are eating a variety of foods including a large amount of ethnic cuisine especially as the population of the country shifts and changes. The point though, I think anyways, is to get down to what people ate when they only ate food that could be found in the area and the styles of cooking were influenced by the original/major settlers of the area otherwise known as what we think of as traditional flavors of the area. I know that there is more food than meatloaf, casserole and cobbler to eat in the midwest, but it definitely brings up a mental image of what we think of when we think of the midwest.

That being said who wants to do a round up of the flavors and foods of California!

The part of the midwest that I am from (Indiana) doesn't have nearly the Germanic/Scandavian influence of the upper midwest, but there are certainly lots of casseroles.

As for a true midwestern treat, I suggest persimmon pudding (made with american persimmons of course - not asian).

I grew up in east central illinois with lots of family in chicago and I have to say, not a lot of this is familiar to me. (I do agree with the deep dish pizza comment from above.)

also, a lot of polish foods like pierogies and poppy seed cake. not the slightly lemony stuff, but the rolled up cake like my busia used to make.

and, of course, corn. lots and lots of really good, really fresh corn.

the churches and fundraisers in my town did a lot of pancake dinners. which, for a vegetarian, were so much better than fish fries.

Buttered sweet corn, hamburgers, apple pie, dill pickles, fried chicken, hot dogs, steak, barbecued chicken, pork chops, three bean salad, sun tea, baked beans, fried perch, smelts, baked potatoes, coleslaw, potato salad, italian beef, spinach, catfish, pot roast, bologna, white bread, chili, chicken noodle soup, sloppy joes. I think these are typical foods. But as people have said, there are so many interesting things if you want to find them.

...ketchup.

Growing up in Wisconsin it was all about brats, sweet corn sold out the back of a truck and cheese curds.

My roommate and I are both from the midwest, but I'm from Kansas and she's from Michigan. This post made me laugh, thinking about how we can't agree on whether it's supposed to be called a "casserole" or "hot dish".

I think cream of mushroom soup should get honorable mention on that list--I know it's not a dish itself, but it featured prominently in a lot of the entrees I ate as a child!

Gooey butter cake absolutely belongs on the list. So does toasted ravioli, Kansas City barbecue, and Springfield-style cashew chicken. Not to mention funeral pie and mostaccioli (but only if pronounced "muskacholy").

Matchbookhymnal--what's funeral pie?! I've heard of all the others except for that one! Is it an actual dish or a general term for bringing pie to wakes, funerals, and so forth?

Funeral pie is a raisin pie. I think it's kind of a Pennsylvania-dutch thing originally, but I don't know an elderly person who doesn't get misty-eyed about it. You bring it to funerals b/c more people die in winter, and all you have in winter is dried fruit... Morbid name but a great pie!

I've actually never heard of the Midwest having any distinctive foods.

...Except for BUCKEYES!!! Seriously, no one's mentioned buckeyes???