10 more foods that make America great

Ours is a nation of eaters.

Americans have always been willing to embrace the new and the different on their plates. True, that occasionally leads to a Manifest Destiny of the waistline, but it also means we're insatiably curious — and fiercely proud — about food.

Last year, we chose 10 iconic American foods, and had so much fun we decided to repeat the experiment.

After sidestepping certain hot-button issues (barbecue, pizza) we aimed for items that have a real American history, even if their roots lie elsewhere. Many readers sent in terrific recommendations last year — and more than a few complaints that we'd omitted something obvious (cheesesteaks) in favor of something obscure (Olympia oysters). Several of your well-argued picks were included in this year's list.

Here are 10 more foods that make America a truly delicious place to live.

Lobster roll
You'd immediately target Maine as the source of this down-home delicacy, but truth is hardly that simple.  Long Island gets a certain amount of credit.  John Mariani's “Encyclopedia of American Food And Drink” traces it to 1966-67, when the owner of the Lobster Roll Restaurant in Amagansett, N.Y., “produced a recipe containing mayonnaise, celery, and seasonings ... ”

Connecticut lays an earlier claim, though (Mariani traces it to a Milford restaurant in the 1920s), and Massachusetts gets more than a few nods.  Roadfooders Jane and Michael Stern have uncovered fine specimens throughout the Northeast.

If its origins are hazy, the concept couldn't be more crystal clear.  Succulent, sweet lobster meat, mixed with mayo and tucked into a crisp hot-dog bun; it is at once elegant and down-home, a quiet reminder that even luxury ingredients have humble roots.

New York City, in particular, is currently witnessing a lobster-roll renaissance at venues like Pearl Oyster Bar and Ditch Plains in the West Village. Whether it's reasonable to pay north of $22 for crustacean meat jammed into a bun is a personal choice, but the fact that people gladly will in a city where more refined options are in no short supply is testament to the fact that sometimes there's no need to gussy up simple pleasures just for the sake of being fancy.