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1. New York City: The widest variety of anywhere in the US. From fine dining to holes in the wall
2. New Orleans: Pound for found, my favorite. So much great food in such a relatively small place
3. Chicago: Similar to New York in that whatever you want is there. And I do enjoy the deep dish pizza
4. Philly: Really good food scene
#5 (tie): Austin: great tex-mex
#5 (tie): Charleston, SC: great coastal southern low-country
I spent my youth working in high end kitchens, this is a topic that's close to my heart. I don't know Mexican food cities as well, so I'm limiting this to Canada and the USA. The only major food city I haven't visited yet is Chicago so I've left it off, I do recognize how innovative it's food scene is though.
1. NYC (the top of the mountain.)
2. SF Bay Area (unparalleled access to great ingredients; amazing creativity.)
3. Montreal (unique local food culture; could be more eclectic.)
4. NOLA (see Montreal)
5. Los Angeles (great street/low-end food culture; high-end food scene getting better.)
Honourable mentions: Vancouver (excellent seafood and East Asian cuisine; absolute worst pizza in the world) Seattle/Portland (similar to Vancouver; good access to local/artisinal ingredients) Toronto (eclectic food scene; changing/improving rapidly)
1. NYC- arguably dining capital of the planet, with unrivaled depth and breadth
2. LA- ethnic dining colossus, with top-tier representation from Asian, Latin and Middle Eastern cultures
3. SF- Most foodie town in the U.S. Food is a passion in SF.
4. NO- Pound-for-pound the best local cuisine and strongest local food heritage
5. Chi- Strong in almost every facet, esp. fine dining and innovative food trends
Honorable mention to Philly, Charleston, Portland, Montreal and Mexico City.
SF
LA
SEA (most personal experience w/ outside of CA)
Vegas
CHI / NYC
I have my list of favorites for each of these cities which makes a visit to them near impossible for ME to get a bad meal. Still always open to new places in these cities of course.
Top 5 Food Cities would be a different list (well not rly, it would have the 4 usual's - NYC, CHI, LA, SF - then probably NO / Vegas as more 'niche' additions)
Gave it some thought, I think I will go ahead and replace Chicago with both Houston/Seattle in 5th over it (Chicago). They are about the same size combined as Chicago anyhow, so replacement is of equal parts.
Gave it some thought, I think I will go ahead and replace Chicago with both Houston/Seattle in 5th over it (Chicago). They are about the same size combined as Chicago anyhow, so replacement is of equal parts.
No way man you're crazy, Seattle over Chicago? I would love to hear your argument why Seattle tops Chicago.
Seattle can top Chicago because this thread is not asking for the 5 most renowned food cities. Like me for example, I know Chicago > Seattle when it comes to food but I have so much more experience with Seattle that I can spend a whole week in Seattle and hit up amazing food options (to me) 3 times a day just based on my past experiences where as I'm not quite as comfortable / knowledgeable when it comes to the Chicago food scene (outside of the most written up & famous word of mouth spots).
Going in to each city blind, Chicago would obviously be the [much] better option.
No way man you're crazy, Seattle over Chicago? I would love to hear your argument why Seattle tops Chicago.
I have lived around Mexican people my entire life. Save for here in Miami or previously in Washington D.C., Mumbai, and Singapore. However, it was the case in Chicago. It was the case in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was the case in Austin. It was the case in Houston. I have family in both Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area and places like Tucson and San Diego are some of my favorite cities around. So I have been to plenty of cities with a strong sense of Mexican cuisine to say the least. Tried different stuff in at least 5 different border/close-to-border states when it comes to Mexican food.
All of them, huge Mexican populations. Huge. All of them, a different breed of Mexican food and all of them also have authentic too, if that is something one wants instead of the local American-Mexican fusion.
Of everywhere I have lived (of those cities listed above), I have thoroughly enjoyed the Mexican food. Except for one city, Chicago. Not saying Mexican food in Chicago is bad, it is not. However it is an acquired taste. The beans taste different, the level of cilantro used is different, the color of the food is slightly different, and the taste is widely different from all of those other places. I am not sure I like the different Chicago Mexican food. I admit, it is probably good but an acquired taste that my taste buds keep rejecting and I've gone to some of the higher ranked places with reviews in Pilsen. So it is not that I haven't gone out of my way to like Mexican food in Chicago, I have, but it is a taste that I am not comfortable with.
Chicago's local cuisine is great but limited. Essentially it is hotdogs, pizza, and gyros and any or all combination of those three things. I like the deep dish personally, even if it is not common for Chicagoans to eat that, I usually have deep dish pizza from Chicago delivered to my apartment here in Miami about once every two months. I do the same thing for Barbecue food from Lockhart, TX. I like Chicago's food scene but don't think I love it.
I am also a spicy foods fan. Just about everything I eat is classified as such and usually places that have a strong Southeast Asian cuisine are among my favorites; Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian (if the place has them), or something like Afghan.
I went with the combination of Seattle and Houston as a combined 5th over Chicago. For the reason of Cajun, Creole, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Korean and a very good blend of everything in between with different types of Fusion.
Chicago's food is great, I can see why so many like it and I personally do too. I am not sure if it is in my top five though. I want more than what Chicago has, much more. I want fresh seafood. Really spicy foods. Different blends. I also want a sense of "familiarity" where an ethnic cuisine I've had a million times before in other cities doesn't need to taste so completely foreign in Chicago.
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