Food in New England: 10 Quintessentially New England Dishes and Where To Eat Them

Don’t tell a New Englander you’ve already eaten clam chowder if you tried it in New York City or other points south, as that tomato soup–like broth has no relation to its creamy northern cousin. In New England, the thicker and chunkier the better—a good chowder should be so full of clams, potatoes, and other goodness that it barely qualifies as a soup at all.

Where to try clam chowder in New England: Load yours up with oyster crackers at Union Oyster House—the oldest restaurant in Boston that’s been continually operating since 1826—or at the local chain Legal Sea Foods, a solid pick for a variety of local crustacean creations.

A lobster roll can cost as much as an outpatient surgery, but a proper one will be good enough to make you quickly forget the money you spent. A seafood shack that knows its stuff will serve you one that overflows with meat out of the skimpy hot dog bun. The most pressing question is whether you prefer yours hot (with butter) or cold (with mayonnaise).

There’s no wrong answer here, but a good rule of thumb is that simpler is usually better. Avoid overcomplicated toppings and stick with the classics, like a thin sheet of iceberg lettuce, a toasted white bread bun, and heaps of lobster.

Where to try a lobster roll in New England: Try an upmarket version at Neptune Oyster House in the North End of Boston, or venture up to Maine and get one at Thurston's Lobster Pound on Mount Desert Island to round out your trip to Acadia National Park.

In Rhode Island, don’t ask for a milkshake (or a frappe, for that matter, the name preferred by Bay Staters). Instead, ask for a cabinet, and you’ll get a rich mixture of blended coffee ice cream, locally-produced Autocrat coffee syrup, and milk.

Where to try a coffee cabinet in New England: Try it at the local chain Newport Creamery, which calls their take on the drink an “awful awful.” A lighter version is coffee milk, a Providence specialty that skips the ice cream. That’s available at the storied late-night food truck Haven Brothers, which has faithfully served generations of tipsy students and townies alike from its downtown location.

New Haven, Connecticut, is home to Yale University and culinary traditions distinct from both nearby New York City and the rest of New England. One of the most popular contributions is a local pizza variety known for being chewier and using less cheese than other kinds of thin-crust pies.

Where to try a white clam pizza in New England: The innovation that really put the city on the world pizza map, though, was made at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in 1925, where the namesake owner put some local littleneck clams on a tomato-less pie. The rest is history, as the invention is now found across the city but rarely anywhere else.

This hearty bean dish traces its origin to precolonial times when Native Americans would cook navy beans in earthenware pots. Later, in the 19th century, Boston became a major exporter of molasses, as it was used to make rum in the Caribbean. Some of that gooey sweetener ended up in the beans, along with salt pork, creating the dish that gave Boston its nickname of Beantown.

Where to try Boston baked beans in New England: Enjoy the dish at most Boston restaurants after a guided tour of the city’s Freedom Trail.

Related: Don’t-Miss Dishes in Boston

Growing up in Boston, students are often faced with a choice at lunchtime in the city’s public schools: If they don’t want the dish of the day, they can choose a Fluffernutter instead. This bizarre invention is a Boston classic—an indulgent mixture of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff spread on two pieces of wheat bread.

The latter ingredient owes its conception to Somerville, Massachusetts, inventor Archibald Query, who developed the product and sold it door-to-door in the 1910s.

Where to try a Fluffernutter in New England: It’s still a local favorite that holds a special place in the hearts of generations of schoolchildren, available at most supermarkets.

Ployes are buckwheat pancakes that trace their origin to Acadian communities in New Brunswick, Canada. Today, they’re ubiquitous in the northern reaches of Maine. To make them, chefs whip up a thin batter (similar to what’s used to make crepes), then cook them on one side only, leaving the other to develop holes like a honeycomb.

They’re most often used in savory dishes, rolled up with a meat stew inside, but you could also take a more modern approach and douse them in local maple syrup.

Where to try ployes in New England: The best place to try them is at Long Lake Sporting Club, located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Canadian border, which churns out hundreds of ployes per day.

Jumping from the farthest north to the farthest south, we’ll settle in the chic islands of Rhode Island, where stuffies reign supreme. This particular dish shows off the diversity of this maritime area’s history. Using clams first cultivated by the native Narragansett peoples, the quahog stuffie is prepared with bread crumbs and Portuguese chourico sausage, an addition that hails from Azorean immigrants.

Where to try quahog stuffies in New England: Try them at Anthony's Seafood, or pick up some to take to the nearby Cliff Walk, one of Newport’s most famous attractions.

As the saying goes, there’s nothing more American than apple pie—and there’s perhaps nothing more Vermont than apple pie with a slice of Cabot cheddar cheese on top. That’s because Cabot is Vermont’s most successful export (besides Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream) thanks to an alternative business model: The company is a co-op owned by the farmers who supply its milk. The apples, too, are local, as New England is the home of American folk legend Johnny Appleseed, after all.

Where to try apple pie with Cabot cheese in New England: For the perfect slice, try Vermont Apple Pies Bakery in Proctorsville before driving to the quaint town of Stowe.

Rounding out the list with perhaps the most unusual dish of all, American chop suey has very little to do with the Chinese-American dish from which it gets its name. There’s no rice, cabbage, or soy sauce in this particular chop suey. Instead, the New England version features elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, and ground beef. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with such a comfort food.

Where to try American chop suey in New England: Finding it on menus can be a little tough, but try old-fashioned delis and diners such as Victoria’s in Dorchester, Seapoint Bar in Boston’s South End, or Our Place in East Providence, Rhode Island, and you may just be in luck.