A year of work mapping U.S. regional food traditions

Data is Beautiful via Reddit: “After a year of research, debate, and help from many of you in your home regions, I’ve finished a national map of 78 U.S. food regions. Each area is based on distinct culinary traditions shaped by geography, culture, and history, from Gullah and Tex-Mex to Monroe BBQ and Crucian cuisine. I’d love your feedback: Did I miss something obvious? Should a region be renamed, removed, or split further? A version of this map’s headed to print next year as part of a national cultural atlas, so this is the last round of tuning before it gets locked in.

Methodology note: This map is interpretive rather than purely statistical. Regions were defined using a mix of historical settlement patterns, agricultural zones, immigration history, regional dishes, and feedback from locals across multiple revisions. This is the 5th major revision, and I’m posting here specifically to invite critique before it goes to print as part of a larger cultural atlas…”