No food might characterize Texas more than chicken-fried steak, the golden fried beef cutlet that usually comes smothered in creamy gravy. This month’s Texas Monthly describes it as one of  the state’s most iconic dishes, and even better, charts its route to culinary prominence:

Now, of course, you can find a chicken-fried steak (or my preference, the curiously named chicken-fried chicken), in any Chili’s or Cracker Barrel. Has the industrialization perverted the history of an iconic delicacy? I’m inclined to think not. Cultural foods over time tend to get labeled “authentic” or “not.” That’s a subjective decision. But really, between the roadside home-cooking restaurant and your grocer’s freezer, there’s never been a more robust selection of chicken-fried items. That means