As a Brit, I have yet to see European diversity in American cuisine.

That depends on the situation. Are you British living in the UK? Have you only ever had "American food" in Slough, Milton Keynes, Shettleston or elsewhere?

Or are you a Brit who has been to the US but hasn’t yet escaped the New York-Los Angeles-Florida axis of mass tourism?

Or are you a British person who dares to think about visiting countries that many of your compatriots (and, frankly, many of mine) cannot name? Like the one I stayed in, even Stephen Fry slept with him if I remember correctly? (It's Thanksgiving, so we're asking Brits to label America - we're sorry, America)

We've become very good at creating a mass-culture version of American cuisine and forcing it on everyone . Burgers (I feel like I should apologize for bringing Wimpy's fast food to your country), American pizza (real Italians will shake their heads at this), KFC, Coca-Cola, that kind of thing. This is common anywhere in the United States and I admit that some of our fair citizens don't eat much else. (Check out Ben Wagner’s take on “What would happen if I ate everything on the McDonald’s menu for the rest of my life?”) But if you look beyond that…and start investigating regional American cuisine…it looks a little different.

Maybe we haven’t had enough time to develop the kind of deep regional diversity that a place like Italy has, where every region and city has its own cherished traditional ravioli filling. Or the diversity of Germany, I was told that the German states in the 17th century were so proud of their traditional baked goods that they fought a terrible war over what should go in their cookies.

But if you spread out a little bit and get away from mass market junk food, there are lots of different ways to cook it. For example, different states and regions have very different views on what constitutes barbecue. Is it brisket (Central Texas), pork shoulder (North Carolina), ribs (Memphis), charred brisket (Kansas City) or lamb (parts of Kentucky)? Thick, sweet Ketchup (Kansas City, western North Carolina), mustard (South Carolina), vinegar sauce (eastern North Carolina), white sauce (Alabama), or "dry rub" spice (Memphis) — or nothing but crisp, smoky, juicy delights (Texas)?

Sample okra from the Deep South, black apples from Arkansas, shark fin from the Pacific Northwest, Chili peppers hatched from New Mexico. Even humble comfort foods, like Minnesota hot dishes, or Southern cowpeas, cornbread, and collard greens, have their own charm in the hands of a skilled cook. End your meal with kolache (Central Texas), fritters (Arkansas), beignet (New Orleans), funnel cake (Pennsylvania) or churros (Northeast).

You could eat all the way to South Louisiana and not have a meal for weeks.

(See Ben Wagner's answer on the difference between Cajun and Creole) This is what I'm making tonight...