Pepe began selling pizzas with fresh-
shucked clams, garlic, olive oil, and
grated cheese on a thin, charred
crust in New Haven.
Who Knew? The first Subway sand-
wich shop opened in 1965 in Bridge-
port, and it’s fair to say the idea was
genius. That original eatery was the
brainchild of a nuclear physicist
named Peter Buck. Today, Subway
is the biggest fast-food franchise in
the United States, with more loca-
tions than McDonald’s.Delaware
Signature dish: scrapple. The ulti-
mate mystery meat is actually made
of pork scraps, cornmeal, flour, and
spices. Wanna learn how to
serve it? The World
Championship Scrapple
Recipe Cook-Off &
Expo is held every year
in Newark, Delaware.
Who Knew? Until the
1920s, people raised
chickens primarily for
the eggs. That changed
in 1923, when Cecile Steele of
Ocean View ordered 50 chicks
for her backyard flock—
but received 500 by mis-
take. Undeterred, the
entrepreneurial Steele
sold the excess birds
four months later at
62 cents a pound, effec-
tively hatching the broiler
chicken industry.Florida
Signature
dish: Cuban
sandwich.
While most
people think
of Miami as
the capital of Cuban American culture,
Tampa claimed the Cubano as its sig-
nature sandwich in 2012. The Tampa
version is a triple threat, featuring
sweet ham, roast pork, and Genoa
salami—and exactly three pickles.
Who Knew? During World War II, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture asked
Florida orange growers to ramp up
production in order to get vitamin C
to the troops. Not long after, a Florida-
based company started selling a new
product called Minute Maid.Georgia
Signature dish: Peach cobbler—of
course. After all, this is the Peach
State, home to Peach County,
Peachtree City, and Peachtree Cor-
ners. (Naturally, the most popular
street name in Georgia is—actually,
it’s Dogwood.)
Who Knew? Georgia is also home
to a lot of kale. It’s the number two
producer (after California), as well
as the birthplace of the growing
health-food chain Kale Me Crazy.Hawaii
Signature dish: Kalua pig. “Hawaii
residents typically take the
shortcut and start with a pork toh^(kale).^ o
rangescourtesyflorida^ departmentofcitrusReader’s Digest
56 july/august 2019 | rd.com