Best Food Cities in the United States

The United States is a cultural melting pot with no shortage of cities that offer a wide range of diverse food. With many cities ranking among the best in the world when it pertains to food, the culinary culture of the U.S. has something for everyone. The following list contains just a few American cities that are well-known for their delicious food offerings.

New York City, NY

While New York is famous for its bagels, hot pretzels and thin-crust pizza, it’s the city’s large collection of high-quality restaurants that makes it deserving of a spot on this list. No matter what your favorite type of food is, New York has almost unlimited restaurants that can satisfy your cravings. In addition to its classic American offerings, New York has a multitude of neighborhoods that specialize in foreign food. Among these are Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Guyana, Little India, Little Odessa, Little Australia, and Little Poland.  

The city that never sleeps is full of quirky 24-hour diners and all types of street venders. No matter what time of day or night it is, you can find a delicious dish. Restaurant chains like Nathan’s Famous, Shake Shack, Benihana, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Sbarro’s, all started in NYC before expanding. Nathan’s Famous is particularly associated with the city and is home to the yearly Hot Dog Eating Contest held on July 4^th.

New Orleans, LA

One of the most culturally-rich cities in America, New Orleans is as much known for its food as its music. Combining elements of creole cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and soul food, New Orleans offers a distinctly unique cuisine. Seafood is a staple of many meals, and New Orleans’ location on the water ensures fishermen always have easy access to a variety of fresh fish and shellfish.

While classic meals like gumbo, jambalaya, poboys, crawfish etouffee, and shrimp creole have helped cement New Orleans as a food city, novelty dishes like fried alligator and turtle soup are also relatively popular. And since the city is so heavily steeped in jazz culture, many local restaurants provide live musical performances.

Chicago, IL

The capital of the Midwest, Chicago has always been an innovator when it comes to food. Responsible for inventing deep-dish pizzas, Italian beef sandwiches, and Chicago-style hot dogs, the windy city is also renowned for a wide range of outstanding restaurants. Like New York, Chicago has a myriad of different neighborhoods known for distinct food—Chinese, Italian, South Asian, Mexican, Polish, and Vietnamese restaurants.

Many Chicago restaurants are also rich with history. The Mill Cocktail Lounge, which is still a popular venue that often features live jazz and poetry performances, was one of Al Capone’s favorite hangouts during the prohibition era. Another well-known Chicago venue is the Billy Goat Tavern, which gained notoriety when its owner and his goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series. The owner allegedly put a curse on the Cubs franchise, which was lifted last year when the Chicago won the World Series.

Steak-lovers in particular flock to Chicago for the plethora of high-profile steakhouses. The city celebrates all things food in July by holding the Taste of Chicago—a five day food festival that attracts millions of attendees and features several live musicians.

San Francisco, CA

One of the big advantages of dining in San Francisco is restaurants receive meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and wines from local farms just outside the city. Consequently, meals are made with only the freshest ingredients. The city’s mouth-watering dungeness crabs are prevalent when in-season from November-July and go great with San Francisco’s classic sourdough bread.

San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America and considered the origin of western Chinese food. As one would imagine, Chinese food still makes up a large sector of the city’s culinary offerings.

There are also a variety of food trucks throughout San Francisco, and many carry ethnically diverse gourmet street foods. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is based in San Francisco and is the perfect place to visit for sweet tooths.

Charleston, SC

While at first glance Charleston might seem out of place on this list, the reality is the city’s culinary scene has been making waves over the past few years. So much so that the city is having difficulty with worsening traffic, skyrocketing rental prices, staffing shortages, and increased tourism. Locals believe all this is a direct result of Charleston showing up on multiple “Best Food Cities in America” lists.

The city is possibly best known for its shrimp and grits, a dish prepared with a unique approach by every chef. Also popular is the she crab soup, which features a heavy cream and crab meat. Combining shrimp, corn, sausage, and potatoes, Charleston’s frogmore stew is a classic southern creation that’s beloved by nearly all who try it. Many of Charleston’s restaurants boast a southern charm that you’ll find in only a few other places.

Portland, OR

Although most people associate beer and coffee with Portland, the northwest enclave also possesses a thriving culinary culture. If the city has a signature dish, it’s locally caught salmon.  But really, Portland is best-known for embracing the evolving diner preferences that are becoming more prevalent. Concepts like organic, vegan, sustainable, and farm-to-table are embraced by a large portion of Portland restaurants.

Along those same lines, Portland has adapted to busier and more demanding diners by turning to food carts. With unique carts that offer everything a hungry Portlandian could ever want, the city has figured out a way for busy customers to quickly pick up and eat a diverse range of quality food.

There’s no need to fret if you don’t see a city close to you on this list. There are excellent food cities throughout the United States, and this list is in no way comprehensive. Furthermore, there are cities around the world that are worth visiting for any true culinary connoisseur. There’s no need to limit your food scope to the U.S. alone when there are thousands of other food centric cities scattered throughout the world.