Nothing unfortunate about that! 
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Interesting! Seems like dill is more common in the Scandinavian-influenced areas of the northern Midwest, although my husband just mentioned that he knows people in Missouri who use dill in their potato salad. Maybe my mother never used it because she just doesn’t like dill - I’ll have to ask her!
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Potatoes with dill (and butter) is very eastern European - from Germany east. Probably came to the Midwest with Polish/Ukrainian/Russian immigrants early in the 20th Century.
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I grew up in CA and didn’t have much if any exposure to dill (well i did love ranch dressing and dill pickles !) until moving to nyc for college and becoming a fan of Veselka, an eastern european 24/7 diner that has fresh dill on about everything to this day
This is my favorite commercial readily available sauce. It does have a strong smoke flavor but everything is balanced.
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Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table ebook on sale now:
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There’s a magazine, Midwest Living, and an author, the late Marcia Adams, that I associate with Life in the middle of the country.
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Another gringo-style, middle American recipe from my childhood last night - enchiladas. My mother learned this recipe from a friend of hers from Texas, who referred to the chile sauce as “Texas chili” or “chili gravy” - IMO chili gravy is the more accurate descriptor as it bears little resemblance to a bowl of Texas red. It’s a very simple and homey dish but I love it, and luckily it can be made with low-carb tortillas and not really suffer. You brown ground beef and onions, then add chili powder, a bit of cumin and garlic, and a few spoonfuls of flour to the skillet. Let it all brown for a couple of minutes to get the raw flavor out of the flour, then add beef stock (or chicken stock or water, whatever you prefer). Simmer the gravy until it thickens slightly and the flavors meld, then use it to build enchiladas. I usually use a slotted spoon to fish out the meat and fill the tortillas with meat, cheese and some additional raw onion, line them up in a 9x13 casserole, then pour the remaining gravy (which by the end is mostly sauce and very little meat) over the top. More cheese and onions, then a quick bake till it’s all bubbling. This dish specifically calls for flour tortillas, which is atypical for enchiladas but 100% normal for midwestern cooking!
Last night I was too lazy to fill my tortillas individually so I just layered them with the sauce and cheese like a lasagna - equally delicious and much easier, though maybe not quite as nice a presentation. DH didn’t care and ate three servings. 
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This is how my San Antonio region MIL made them! She started cooking for her family at age 10 since she was the eldest and there were a lot of kids in their farm family. So the recipe goes back at least 80 years.
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Chili gravy is what it has almost always been called in my experience, but naming conventions may differ across the state. Usually prepared, in my experience, without meat, which is prepared separately. Its about the chiIies and the spices and is related to the moles of Mexico. I guess at least that saves having to fish the meat out of the gravy to fill the enchiladas. It is also served over tamales.
There is one very old line Tex Mex place here whose version includes ground meat and they just call it chili and will serve it in a bowl I’m told in addition to on enchiladas and tamales (I never have found it on the menu). It’s a very thin version of chili in my book.
Stacked enchiladas are the style in West Texas and New Mexico, served with red and green chili sauces and topped with a fried or poached egg. That may be a little decadent for Middle America 
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I’ve visited parts of the American Midwest but never lived there. My perceptions may be warped toward Sunday dinners and cookouts.
I think of things like:
burgers, cole slaw, potato salad, and beer
roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
spaghetti and meatballs
baked ham, sliced pineapple (from a can), peas and carrots
meatloaf, mashed potatoes, more peas and carrots, maybe baked beans
pot roast … chicken fried steak (unfortunately <- opinion) … macaroni & cheese … peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches … barbecue ribs … apple pie … pizza (not real pizza from NY, that funny thing they make in Chicago) … that funny green bean and canned fried onions casserole … sloppy Joes …
Now is it soda or pop? grin
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Pop! I’m from Pittsburgh, and that’s what we all called it.
In Michigan it’s pop, for sure!
My grandfather was from Sunflower County, Mississippi. He always called it “sodi-pop”. Who knew- Mississippi a linguistic melting pot?!
I’ve lived most of my life one - two states away from Georgia. That states soft drink influence has created a tendency to call all cola based soft drinks a “coke”. I would refer to soft drinks in general as soda’s.
Here you go!
Pizza in middle America is a much bigger story than just Chicago style! St. Louis has a very specific regional style (cracker thin crust, Provel cheese), as does Detroit (thick crust with brick cheese, baked in a deep pan for crispy burnt cheese edges). I’m sure there are many others. And let’s not forget the Appian Way box kits my mother used to buy for Friday nights in the 80s!
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Let’s not forget the chef boyardee box mix for pizza . My first food I ever cooked. With mom watching.
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The Susquehanna River is the dividing line between Pop & Soda. East is Soda - West is Pop.
These days people who talk about Chicago pizza are generally speaking about the deep dish pizza mess invented by radicals & anarchists in the neighborhood around the University Of Chicago. That’s a new invention (yup - I’m old). In the olden days before deep dish pizza Chicago pizza was quite distinctive. There was a thin crispy crust - NOT a cracker crust - that was lightly sauced, lightly cheesed & then the toppings were added. New York pizza is way over sauced & over cheesed & is a real gloppy mess (comment added to stimulate controversy). AND real Chicago pizza is cut in squares not wedges. AND it’s way better than NY pizza. No matter what water you’re using.
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I thought that real pizza in Chicago was called “Dominoes”?
In NYC there are two Dominoes that recently closed their doors due to lack of business.
As a kid growing up in the later 50’s pizza was one of the least expensive and quick meals you could have. Although most Pizza establishments were singularly owned, the term “fast food” really came into it’s own in the late 60’s here as it spread across the Midwest to the East coast.
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You haven’t had good New York pizza. Street carts maybe? If you want to pick on NY pizza the problem is grease, not sauce or cheese. You shouldn’t have to blot your food with paper towels before eating it.
Sauce on a cracker isn’t really pizza, neither is deep dish. Sorry. I have to say that or they won’t let me back into NY. Proper thin crust is an art form.
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