Across the midwest, there are many different regional dishes. Many of these foods are not taken seriously and are hated by the rest of the country, and therefore, require a lot of defense. Take Chicago-style pizza, for instance. I would say that most people around the United States not only hate Chicago-style pizza but don’t even believe it should be given the title «pizza.» I do agree that deep dish looks very strange to somebody who has never had it before, but you cannot tell me that it’s lasagna or a cake or anything like that. Deep dish is incredibly rich, and it’s not something that you’d buy for just any casual night like you would with a regular thin-crust pizza. Chicago-style pizza is not like other pizzas, and that’s the way I like it! 

Not all midwestern dishes are as well known as deep dish. One meal that even midwesterners did not recognize is cinnamon rolls and chili paired together. Very few people, even lifelong midwesterners, seemed to know where this dish came from; Debate arose among members of this region over whether this combo was gnarly or delicious.