Best Food Destination Cities in America

Whether it’s dining at a rooftop restaurant on a starry summer night, sipping a latte in a sideway café or slurping down delectably messy barbecue at a smokehouse joint, one of the most enjoyable parts of traveling the county is sampling its cuisine. And nothing speaks more to a city’s unique culture than what’s on its menu. With a mosaic landscape that changes with every state border you cross, America enjoys one of the most diverse — and delicious — bills of fare on the planet. Planning on traveling and love to eat? Let’s be honest: who doesn’t? Here are some of the best cities for foodies in the United States.

NEW ORLEANS

If you’re visiting the Big Easy, you’ll need to ditch your diet. The city’s history is a fusion of French, African, Spanish, Italian and American cultures, and its mouth-watering cuisine with butter, oil and cream as its backbone reflects that. New Orleans is known for its Creole and Cajun dishes, which draw on its international influence plus traditional southern flavors. Among its popular dishes are po’boys, which are traditional Louisianan sandwiches of either roast beef or fried seafood — usually shrimp, oysters, crawfish or crab — served on a crusty French roll with a fluffy center that resembles a baguette. Jambalaya, a Creole-spiced rice dish with meat and vegetables, and gumbo, a stew of meat or seafood and vegetables, are also popular. The New Orleans dining experience is all the more enjoyable set against a backdrop of French architecture with its renowned soundtrack of jazz and blues. If your tastes run more on the sweet side, Café Du Monde is world-famous for its beignets — the French version of doughnuts: fried dough covered in icing sugar.

SAN FRANCISCO

Whether you fancy a unique hole-in-the-wall cafe or a Michelin-starred restaurant, you’ll find plenty of both in the City by the Bay. San Francisco is one of just four American cities that boasts its own Michelin guide. The multicultural city is known for its international offerings. Visit North Beach for Italian food or The Mission if you favor Mexican cuisine. There’s a huge Chinatown, plus San Francisco is one of the few American cities that has a Japantown. But what San Francisco is probably best known for is its commitment to sourcing ingredients locally — it’s not the exception but much more the rule in the city’s culinary community. If you love farm-fresh food and artisan products as much as San Franciscans, the city boasts more than 50 markets, including its famous Ferry Building Marketplace, a popular tourist destination that features small, regional producers. Some 200 of the city’s top chefs regularly frequent this feast-for-the-senses.

CHICAGO

Any guide to an authentic Chicago experience would feature two things: deep-dish pizza and the Chicago-style hot dog. The Windy City is among the go-to culinary places of the Midwest, mainly for its unique Chicago-style pizza which, as its name suggests, is baked in a deep-dish resembling a round cake pan that allows for oodles more cheese and sauce and other toppings. The verdict is still out on who invented the deep-dish pizza, although many reports point to downtown restaurant Pizzeria Uno. The classic, fully-loaded Chicago-style hot dog is served up on a poppy seed bun and topped with yellow mustard, white onions, green sweet pickle relish, a slice of dill pickle, tomatoes, sport peppers and celery salt. It’s believed the unique collection of toppings originated during the “Depression sandwich” era of the 1920s and ‘30s. And beware dousing your dog in ketchup — that’s practically a criminal offense in Chicago.

NAPA VALLEY

A sign on Highway 29 welcomes visitors to Napa Valley with a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson that sums it up perfectly: “. . . and the wine is bottled perfection.” The Scottish novelist and poet knew what countless other visitors to Napa Valley, known for its sprawling vineyards, have discovered. Fine wine is best paired with exquisite cuisine, so this California region is bursting with award-winning restaurants, such as Michelin-star recipients La Toque and Morimoto Napa. Hidden in plain sight, there are more casual options that are both easier on the budget and beloved by the locals.

LOS ANGELES

From big-name chefs to celebrity culture to eclectic diversity, L.A. has created a food scene that is unmatched anywhere else in the world. In a city famous for both celebrities and food, it’s no surprise that La-La Land is the birthplace of celebrity chefs, from Wolfgang Puck to Niki Nakayama to Curtis Stone, and the city has many celebrity chefs running their kitchens. If you’d rather rub shoulders with celebs, there are plenty of dining options that are amongst Hollywood’s hot spots, such as The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Ivy and Fig & Olive. The multiculturalism of the west coast city has also made its fusion cuisine scene among the most famous in the world. And if you’re concerned about your pocketbook, L.A. boasts a buzzing street food scene. Food trucks line up serving everything from sushi burritos to quinoa bowls to loaded hot dogs and barbecue.

NEW YORK

From the well-known classics to out-of-the-way cozy diners, there’s a wealth of food options in the city that never sleeps, thanks to its diversity and just plain volume. While there’s almost no dish you can’t find in New York, the Big Apple is particularly famous for two things: pizza and bagels. Unlike its pizza rival Chicago, New York likes a thin-crust pie with a light layer of sauce that is then piled high with cheese and toppings. Bagels and lox are a staple of this cosmopolitan city. The hearty breakfast and brunch staple is traditionally spread with cream cheese, which is referred to as “lox and a schmear,” a Jewish-American favorite. The folds of salmon are piled onto cream cheese, with capers providing a depth of umami. A city this big and diverse would be remiss not to boast several vibrant farmers markets, including Gotham West Market and Chelsea Market. Feel like splurging? There’s a smorgasbord of exquisite upscale eateries, including French restaurant Eleven Madison Park, and The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art. With its glittering skyline, it’s no surprise that New York also has some of the world’s loveliest rooftop bars.

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

This culinary capital prides itself on rich traditional low-country cuisine, served up with charming Southern hospitality. Think big dishes of comfort food that stick to the ribs, such as shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, oxtail stew, okra soup, oysters and — of course — buttermilk fried chicken. Charleston takes pride in sourcing fresh, local ingredients. There’s no guesswork as to an ingredient’s origins; many restaurants display the names of local suppliers. Clams? They likely came from “Clammer Dave,” a.k.a. Dave Belanger, who’s been farming clams and oysters for more than a decade in the barrier island waters just north of the city. Don’t be surprised to see long lines that stretch down the block at the city’s hot spots, including Hyman’s Seafood, which is a favorite among tourists and High Cotton, famous for its brunch. Live music from local jazz musicians provides the soundtrack.

SEATTLE

It’s the city where Starbucks was born, Nirvana once called home and the skyline boasts the famous Space Needles. But Seattle — the Emerald City — is a hidden gem for foodies, ranking high on lists of America’s best eating destinations. Influenced by the wet climate of its Pacific Northwest location, the city boasts an unending supply of fresh seafood, from clams, Pacific oysters and Dungeness crab to Copper River salmon. The Northwest influence is also evident in dishes such as caribou, moose and elk, plus local, seasonal vegetables. The city’s unique flavors are infused with influences from around the world, like Hawaii and Asia. The beloved Pike Place Market comprised of produce and goods from local farmers began in the late 1800s when farmers brought their produce and dairy by horse-drawn carriage. Farmers markets are particularly popular with millennials who grew up getting their groceries from the local market and are sensitive to its environmental benefits. Pike Place is also home to the world’s first Starbucks, part of the beginning of a booming coffeehouse culture that still thrives there.

HOUSTON

The largest city in the Lone Star state has quietly been one of the best food cities in the U.S. for a while but recently made more of a mark on the global food scene. American restauranteur and TV celebrity David Chang called Houston his favorite food city in America, and H-Town is known for its two culinary mainstays: barbecue and Tex-Mex. Among the city’s most popular Mexican restaurants is The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, which claims to have started the fajita craze when Mama Ninfa Laurenzo — the restaurant’s creator — first stuffed chargrilled beef into a flour tortilla. If baby back ribs and slow-roasted brisket are more your thing, the city is brimming with barbecue joints. Among the most popular: Gatlin’s BBQ and Jackson Street BBQ. But the city’s growing cultural diversity has made for a melting pot of Hispanic and Southern cuisines, plus Chinese and Vietnamese influences. Beloved celebrity Anthony Bourdain visited Houston for his CNN show Parts Unknown, and proclaimed: “You can eat well here every single day without ever eating barbecue or Tex-Mex.”

PORTLAND

Big things come in small packages. That might be the best way to describe the bustling food scene in a city that features more than 600 food carts. A virtual subculture of the city, these carts pump out mouth-watering scents on seemingly every city block. Unlike other cities' food trucks that come and go, these are grouped together in pods across the city — making it easy to sample from several at the same time — and they stay put.  One benefit of food trucks is that the chefs aren't under the constraints of restaurant tradition, so they often break the mold and push boundaries to create unique dishes not seen anywhere else. Farm-to-fork dining has accelerated Portland's food-cart phenomenon largely because of the abundance of organic and fresh ingredients close at hand.  Many restauranteurs have actually downsized to food carts, while some carts have enjoyed so much success they've grown into full-sized restaurants. Some of the busier and more popular pods are Alder, Fifth Avenue, Third Avenue, Portland State University, Cartopia and Mississippi Marketplace. 

NASHVILLE

Music City, known for its honky-tonks and country music, also boasts an iconic dish — hot chicken — that has developed a cult-like following and has been spotted on menus in New York, Atlanta, Portland and even Canada. Consider it the bird that bites back: fried chicken on spiced-up steroids so hot it will leave beads of sweat on your brow. Hot chicken is soaked in buttermilk and hot sauce, then fried in a cast iron pan. It's brushed with cayenne pepper oil to add another level of heat and then is usually served on white bread.  There are more than a dozen restaurants — Hattie B's and Prince’s Hot Chicken are just two — dedicated to hot chicken in Nashville, where its reputation as a food destination is catching up with its lively music culture.  Nashville, of course, is also known for its ribs and mac 'n cheese, and there are plenty of terrific mom-and-pop joints that serve up both.

SAN DIEGO

San Diego is a relative youngster among America's bigtime food cities, emerging largely over the past decade as a young crop of progressive chefs arrived on the scene. Just a 16-mile drive north of the Mexican border, San Diego boasts an abundance of Mexican culinary offerings, from Coasterra, a high-end restaurant famous for its breathtaking views of the city's skyline, to City Tacos in trendy North Park, an affordable option that's a favorite with locals who come for dishes like the puerco agridulce tacos stuffed with pork tenderloin in a demi-glace.  San Diego is also a farmers-market mecca. The city boasts about 46 farmers markets every month, supplied by the more than 3,000 micro-farms in the San Diego area. Among the favorites is Hillcrest Farmers Market where the mix of fresh fruits and vegetables with seafood such as oysters and sea urchins create a feast for the senses. For more of a Latin-Continental flavor, there's Mercato Farmers Market in Little Italy, the place to go for food like prosciutto and truffles.  The city's multicultural landscape can be seen in numerous international markets such as the Japanese Mitsuwa Marketplace, Vine Ripe Market (Middle Eastern), Zion Market (Korean) and 99 Ranch Market (Chinese).