14 Unique Pennsylvania Foods You Need To Try

If you think the only food that Pennsylvania is known for is its cheesesteaks, you should think again. While the cheesesteak is a huge claim to fame for Philly, there is much more to the state than that. There are unique foods and traditions that come from all over — including Pittsburgh — and even many things from the Pennsylvania Dutch.

But why try out all these potentially rare-to-you items? Well, for one, some of them are a genuine delight and your life would be all the richer for trying it. But, other Pennsylvania food items are, frankly, unique in a less appealing way. But still, the Pennsylvania area fawns over all these items, so we believe they are all at least worth a taste. From sweet desserts to many types of sandwiches, pizzas, breakfast items, and Amish creations, here are unique Pennsylvania foods you need to try at least once in your life.

People will put just about anything on top of french fries, won't they? Cheese, bacon, truffles, chives, and more are all common toppings nationally. But one we think is a crying shame that isn't more widespread is crabfries. And no, it's not a lump of crab meat on top of unsuspecting fries. Crabfries make any baseball game, a trip to the Ocean City boardwalk, or casual Saturday night dinner better.

Crab fries can be described as the perfect union between French fries and Old Bay seasoning. It's simply the combo you didn't know you needed in your life. Originated by the regionally-popular Chickie's and Pete's sports bar and restaurant, the concept of crabfries has exploded through the area, with countless eateries adding their own versions of the item to their menus. The people love crabfries, and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't try them at least once.

Oh, Pittsburgh, you really know how to amp things up. Why have a normal lettuce and toppings salad when you could put french fries on it? No, we're not kidding. A Pittsburgh salad is famous for having a few key toppings on it, but specifically, the fries are what seal the deal.

You probably have to go to Pittsburgh to try this unique dish, as it's not commonly served anywhere outside the city. This salad typically has some veggies, like cucumber and tomatoes, along with the quintessential french fries and grilled chicken — and it's all drizzled with a very American ranch dressing. Of course, you could get it with any dressing you'd like on top (though you may get a few side-eyes). The Pittsburgh salad just proves that anything can be a salad if you try hard enough, and if you felt your croutons of the past just weren't enough carbs for you, the this salad will surely solve that dilemma.

Tomato pie, if you're unfamiliar, is not a delicate French pastry topped with ornately cut tomatoes. In fact, tomato pie is yet another kind of pizza that Pennsylvania is known for. And we're here for it. Tomato pie is an originally Sicilian creation, and it's focaccia bread topped with tangy tomato sauce sprinkled with Parmesan cheese on top. But here's the catch — the cheese isn't melted, and it's very common to eat this pizza cold. Not in a second-day leftovers way, but in a way that is entirely intentional.

Like gazpacho or a bloody mary, there are merits to cold tomato products, and the tomato pie just further proves that point. You'll often find a massive size of this square-cut pie laid out at parties or family gatherings for people to put a slice on their plate, and there's often even debate about whether you want a middle piece with no crust, or if you're a fan of extra crust and take that notorious corner edge piece. Tomato pie is genuinely good, and you're missing out if you don't give it a chance.

While many confuse the calzone with Stromboli, there is a real difference between the two. Calzones are an Italian import, while Stromboli is a uniquely American spin on things, created in, you guessed it, Philidelphia.

If you've never tried a Stromboli before, let us enlighten you with what you'd be eating. A Stromboli is another iteration of toasted bread and cheese, and like so many greats before it (pizza, quesadillas, grilled cheese, etc.), what makes it special is the way the ingredients are put together. A rectangular piece of dough is filled with cheese, meat, and often peppers, and it's rolled, cooked, and cut up into easy-to-eat pieces. It's totally worth deviating from your usual order at your pizza place to try out a Stromboli. It just might become your new favorite "sandwich," or even your go-to lunch or dinner. Who doesn't love a rolled-up pizza filled with your favorite meats and cheeses?

You might be thinking to yourself, where in the world is Altoona? If you're at all familiar with Pennsylvania geography, you'll know that Philadelphia is on the very eastern edge of the state, and then working your way west, you'll hit Allentown, Reading, Lancaster, and Harrisburg (north of which is Scranton). And if you keep going, you'll hit State College (We Are!), and Altoona. After that, if you just keep driving west, you'd finally hit Pittsburgh. That's all to say that Altoona is right in the middle between Philly and Pittsburgh, and like those two cities, it has its own signature dish: Altoona-style pizza.

If you thought that Pittsburgh-style pizza had a lot of cheese on it, wait until you hear about Altoona-style. This pizza can barely be called a pizza in our books, but it does technically hit all the markers. There's toasted bread, sauce, and cheese, but, ahem, the cheese on this pizza is, well, unique. Altoona-style pizza has gooey, melted American cheese slices on top of it, along with salami and green peppers. Those ingredients on their own sound like they would come together to create some sort of Wawa hoagie, but the folks in Altoona got creative and turned it into a pizza. Like scrapple, if you try this one, you'll either be pleasantly surprised with how much you enjoy it, or at least it'll be a story to talk about.

Though many may say the best sandwich in Philadelphia is obviously the cheesesteak, others may stake a claim that the best sandwich in Philly is a roast pork. Both meat-based sandwiches are incredibly popular across the state and area, so much so that if you're from the region, you might not even realize the rest of the country doesn't have roast pork sandwiches on the regular as the folks in Pennsylvania do.

A roast pork sandwich is probably not a hard one to guess what's in it, just based on the name. It starts with a toasted hoagie roll, and is filled with slow-roasted pork (the best part) and toppings of your choice, like cheese and peppers. It's a uniquely Pennsylvania sandwich that would be a crying shame for more people not to try.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Philly list without the not-so-humble cheesesteak. Not only is this a food item you should try from Pennsylvania, but you have to try this food if you're in Philadelphia. Whether you've heard of the famous rivalry between Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks or not, you probably understand that this sandwich is a Pennsylvania staple.

The sandwich that inspires so much trash-talking is comprised of a fairly long hoagie roll (yes, a hoagie, please don't call it a sub), with thin slices of warm beefsteak layered on it. But that's not where you stop — the fun is all in the toppings. You can get cheese on top (common choices include cheese wiz and American cheese), the biggest stack of caramelized onions you've ever seen, and as many spices as your heart desires. How can anyone call themselves a Pennsylvania expert or local if you haven't had an authentic cheesesteak?