These four items are not, in fact the Four Ninja Food Groups, but are, rather, the theme of four, count 'em, four separate books on these topics published by Southern Foodways Alliance frontman John T. Edge. I've read the first three, and the donut book came out last week. It is a project both conceived and executed idiosyncratically. I came across Hamburgers and Fries in the library, and checked it out, but it languished in the queue on the nightstand, a victim of its small size as much as anything. Fortuitiously, Fried Chicken and Apple Pie arrived in the mail. I recognized the format, but was surprised to see that all three books had the same author. The books are designed to look like one another like Hardy Boys books, and each has "An American Story" as its subtitle.* Logically, it seemed to me that someone had had the idea to comisssion a series of books on classic American dishes, and have each one written by a relevant or at least plausible person, like the 33 1/3 series, or the recent NYPL series of small books on each of the seven deadly sins. I expected a parade of slightly implausible literary types taking a stab at their favorites: that guy from the Mekons on fried clams, some American Studies prof on the Reuben, Sarah Vowell on chocolate chip cookies, that kind of thing.
But John T. Edge is made of sterner stuff. He does it all, himself. One would think that the punishing itinerary of heart-stopping delights would render him too fat to walk, see, or reach the keyboard, but he appears uncannily slim in his author photo. Not only does he take the whole burden of explicating America's vernacular treats on his own shoulders, but he is distinctive in his approach. In the hands of most writers, especially the dude kind, these sorts of books would turn into quests, with records of how many miles were covered, how many cups of coffee were consumed in search of some elusive mythical roadside diner that served the ultimate deep fried ivory-billed woodpecker wing. Mercifully, Edge leaves the pith helmet and johdpurs hanging in the closet, and gives the impression of ambling, rather than questing.
Along the way, he finds a considerable array of variation and adaptation. There are any number of places I've added to the list of things to eat the next time I'm within a reasonable detour (chicken and waffles) and a few I'll avoid (bean burgers of San Antonio). These books are reassuring evidence of regional specialties flourishing in the face of the chain restaurant onslaught. They are slight, octavos of about 175 pp. with narrative, anecdotes and receipts filling out each chapter. 
One could read straight through, or read a chapter at a time without losing much momentum. As a series, they are intended as much to please as to inform. It's hard for me to imagine anyone ploughing systematically through all four, but they are the kind of book it would be delightful to find in the guestroom of the home you are visiting for the weekend. I look forward to reading what Edge has to say on the donut kulturkampf.
*Though I see that Donuts are an "American Passion" instead. Developing.
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