This is the most iconic food served in New Jersey

When traveling throughout the country I enjoy tasting the best, most notable dishes from that state or region.

For example, I was in Maine recently and I have made several trips to the beautiful state, all in off season. I look for places with great Maine lobster rolls and New England Clam Chowder. What I love about every restaurant I go to is they all serve “award winning” clam chowder and every restaurant has the “best” lobster rolls.

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Go to Louisiana and I must have Jambalaya or Gumbo, go to Cincinnati and you will have to try the chili. Go to Kansas City for the best barbecue. Nashville has Hot Chicken. Throughout extensive research, I can tell you the best places to go for each of those "iconic” dishes.

But what about New Jersey?

What is the iconic food that stands out as a must have when in New Jersey?

Is it pizza, pork roll or Taylor Ham, a bagel? Each of these delicacies is critical to our Jersey palette. New York City would take a run at us for the best pizza and bagel, but they cannot touch pork roll, or as some call it, Taylor ham.

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According to the Food Network, they produced an iconic dish from every state that they say defines the geography of the state and the locality of the people. To their credit, they also listed the best place to get the iconic dishes.

According to the Food Network, the most iconic dish in New Jersey is disco fries!

That is right — disco fries.

Disco fries were created at the famous Tick Tok Diner in Clifton.

While they were a menu staple in the '60s before disco, they got their name, according to the Food Network, from the late night “John Travolta” wannabes made famous by the movie Saturday Night Fever who wandered into the diner at 2 a.m. after being at the club.

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For those of you not familiar with disco fries, they are crisp French fries topped with mozzarella cheese and gravy. Oh yes.

While it started as a North Jersey delicacy, it has worked its way to wonderful diners throughout Central and South Jersey.

So, the next time you want a food rush or a “Night Fever,” hit your diner up for a big old plate of iconic disco fries.

Fuhgeddaboudit!