The 20 best US cities to live in if you love to try new food

[Rob]

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-cities-with-the-most-diverse-food-2016-8

[Bill Hart]

Surprised they missed Austin- pretty serious food scene- it ain't all bbq, y'all.

PS: a lot of the smaller cities have really come into their own, along with other places that were never really well regarded for food, e.g. Boston and DC, which now have some superb restaurants. I find that the cost of overhead in NY makes it harder for young chefs to take a stab. The reason Austin is cool is that you can start with a small trailer attached to your pickup truck, graduate to a full sized truck, and then eventually to a B & M set up if it takes off. (You never get rid of the pick up truck, though). You gotta grease too many hands to get permitted in a place like Manhattan. Which is why a lot of young chefs set up in Brooklyn 15 or so years ago- now that's gone crazy.
I've had great food in the middle of nowhere. It's fun to be surprised. (sometimes).
PPS: Providence, RI is also a serious food town. Seafood and Italian there are killer.

[Rob]

Surprised they missed Austin- pretty serious food scene- it ain't all bbq, y'all.

PS: a lot of the smaller cities have really come into their own, along with other places that were never really well regarded for food, e.g. Boston and DC, which now have some superb restaurants. I find that the cost of overhead in NY makes it harder for young chefs to take a stab. The reason Austin is cool is that you can start with a small trailer attached to your pickup truck, graduate to a full sized truck, and then eventually to a B & M set up if it takes off. (You never get rid of the pick up truck, though). You gotta grease too many hands to get permitted in a place like Manhattan. Which is why a lot of young chefs set up in Brooklyn 15 or so years ago- now that's gone crazy.
I've had great food in the middle of nowhere. It's fun to be surprised. (sometimes).
PPS: Providence, RI is also a serious food town. Seafood and Italian there are killer.

I havent been to Austin since the 'great gentrification' took place I know its quite the food town now. In terms of 'new food' we're experiencing a wave of new cuisine coming through So. Cal and its exciting for foodies. Growing up here in the 60s-70s we had an absolute dearth of varied cuisines. the ethnic make up was primarily lily white mid westerners and with it, the meat and potato type establishments. The recent influx of immigrants from all over the world has really shaken things up (and for the better). The largest group are Asian and food is a lot more important to those cultures as its central to their social being. I'm not surprised to see Anaheim on the list as new food concepts pop up on a weekly basis. the best yet is The Packing House https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-packing-house-anaheim-2 its a repurposed warehouse that acts as in incubator for startups and its often the first step from food truck to B&M establishment. They bill themselves as America's test kitchen, they aspire to infect he rest of the US with new food ideas.

[mkuller]

San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose all in the top 20. At least I don't have to drive very far. But I'm not that adventurous of an eater - I'll take quality over unusual. Although I recently tried a new Peruvian restaurant near us and was surprised how much I liked the different spices.

[Long Live Analog]

Surprised they missed Memphis and Nashville. Memphis has some great resturants that's not all bbq. Nashville seems to have a new resturant pop up every other day.

[allenh]

Not surprised to see so many California cities, esp SF which I loved so much. The food truck scene there is awesome. Was a bit surprised at seeing so many FL cities listed. Orlando never struck me as a foodie town but then again, I go there for the theme parks and pretty much stay in them when I'm there...

[tom_hankins]

So is the grading scale based on volume of restaurants and types of different cuisine? Because Atlanta, for example was the worst metro area I've lived in for great food. I agree with Boston, SF, and would add Austin, Portland Maine, Charleston SC and a few others that don't have the volume as most of the other cities.

[Bill Hart]

Portland, ME is a very nice small city. My wife has family there, and for close to 30 years, we went there at least once a year, sometimes more often. It has grown considerably in depth and variety, from a somewhat sleepy port town to a vibrant small city. The old buildings there, and the New England homes in and out side of town, are fab. Only one downside- winter is forever. Summer, though, is pretty spectacular, and the place still vibes as largely unspoiled.
Charleston was a favorite for a long time and that low country cuisine is yummy. Haven't been back for a while now.
I think the somewhat recent interest in American food- say, the past twenty five or thirty years to be generous- starting with nouvelle American and then leading to the 2d or 3d generation of chefs who branched out from that- have put an entirely different complexion on American cuisine (leaving aside so-called 'ethnic' food). I remember when you couldn't get good imported cheese, even in NYC, due to rules on pasteurization and (required) processing. Now, of course, it doesn't have to be imported. So, too, with all the micro-breweries, distilleries, and farm to table stuff.

[tom_hankins]

My wife and I have some property west of Portland and go up at least once a year. We were married in Charleston and try to get there for a couple weekends a year too. Our big plan is to build small on Maine property and buy in Charleston, then divide the year between the two places. Stereo in Charleston.......boombox in Maine

[Bill Hart]

Yep, I get it, winter in Maine, summer in Charleston. Makes sense to me.

[Asamel]

No Philly? Oh well we never get any love. I could go out every night for the rest of my life and never get to them all...

[MylesBAstor]

Interesting article and obviously has made some assumptions.

One thing they don't seem to take into account when talking about buying groceries vs dining out. Places like New York City must have one of the highest per capita numbers of food being delivered from restaurants. Seamless and Grubhub must melt down at night. Obviously not the very best, but many restaurants to deliver food and how does that affect the numbers?

[Bill Hart]

The idea of being able to get delivery from Wu Liang Ye is enough to make me want to live in Manhattan.