If there’s one thing that unites this deeply divided nation, it’s our love of eating. And perhaps no region captures our collective gluttony quite like the American South. For a comprehensive overview of Dixie’s comestible culture, we turn to the revamped Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Now housed in Central City’s Dryades market, the 16,000-square-foot space offers a crash course in seafood, barbecue, coffee, pralines, po’boys, snoballs, biscuits, and more. Most exhibits are organized by state and dive deep into the local heritage and agriculture, but one of the grand highlights is a wall devoted to ephemera from the Museum of the American Cocktail: turn-of-the-last century shakers, absinthe spoons, tiki mugs, and bar guides.  Admission is $10.50 and you should give yourself at least one hour to explore, stopping by the gift shop on the way out. True to its mission, the store sells an affordable selection of vintage cookbooks.

1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA; 504-569-0405.