
The Cuisine of Kentucky today is a blend of Midwestern and Southern cuisines. The Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky (extreme western end of the Commonwealth) is considered by many the most Southern within Kentucky, in culture and cuisine. A typical summer lunch of 50 years ago might have been fried catfish, slaw and hush puppies served with a glass of sweet tea. Fusion cuisine is practiced at some of the leading restaurants in Kentucky; these restaurants commonly serve dishes such as wasabi cole slaw, chili and cumin hushpuppies, and stout-beer-battered fish served with green tea.Frog legs, unlike in most of the states to Kentucky's north, are served without batter and grilled or sautéed. In the southern and eastern parts of Kentucky, burgoo and regular chile con carne are favorites. In the extreme northern counties across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati chili is a popular fast food. That region and the Louisville area also are both home to a pronounced German-American population, translating into Northern-like preferences for beer and European sausages. However, their neighbors to the south are thoroughly Southern, preferring breakfast meats like country ham and ground pork sausage and, as their beverage of choice, the state's renowned bourbon.