Travelers love to eat. That's why, every year in our Readers' Choice Survey, we ask our readers to rate the U.S. cities that have the best restaurants. This year, we were surprised by some of the winners in our Top 20. We think you will be too. Agree with their picks? Disagree? Want to see your favorite foodie city in the winner's circle next year? Vote in the next Readers' Choice Survey at cntraveler.com/vote.
10. BOSTON
Readers' Choice Rating: 83.1
While history may associate Boston dining with such old-school (and often bland) dishes as brown bread, baked beans, and clam chowder, there’s been a changing of the guards in recent years. Chefs who have spent years studying under the city’s most notable cooks are breaking out and opening up their own joints, which couple upscale eats with laidback vibes. In the South End, Merrill & Co. promotes sharing plates of fried oysters in a squid ink aioli, cast iron mussels with red curry and ginger, and pork belly with baby carrots and za’atar. In Harvard Square, Alden & Harlow(pictured) does the gastropub trend proud with a 'secret' burger that is packing crowds in. While in Downtown Crossing, The Merchant is putting a New England spin on the American brasserie, serving up everything from green curry mussels to fish and chips into the wee hours of the morning. —Jennifer M. Wood9. HEALDSBURG, CA
Readers' Choice Rating: 83.6
Ask any twenty- or thirty-something in the Bay Area to name their favorite city in California wine country, and chances are you’ll hear Healdsburg’s name. Like the locals, the food scene is friendly and welcoming, with an impressive range of creative talent for such a small place. Chalkboard has a contemporary vibe and house-made pastas with accents like duck fat breadcrumbs. And SHED Café (pictured) serves delightfully simple and seasonal brunches in an airy, indoor-outdoor setting. —Stacy Adimando8. SANTA FE
Readers' Choice Rating: 84.2
An introduction to New Mexican cuisine usually starts with a declaration of allegiance: green chile or red chile? Start by sampling both at The Shed, a James Beard Award–winning restaurant that’s been managed by the same family since 1953, and serves some of the city’s best chicken enchiladas, wrapped in blue corn tortillas and smothered in red and green chile sauce. But the Santa Fe experience has grown beyond the chile war to embrace fusion fare: Mark Kiffin’sCompound (pictured) blends Southwestern and Mediterranean flavors, while Restaurant Martín dishes out 'progressive American cuisine'—Southwestern and Asian influences with French technique. —Laura Dannen Redman7. CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, CA
Readers' Choice Rating: 85.0
This coast city's quaint downtown area is a perfectly walkable size, which means you can cover a lot of ground (and some notable restaurant newcomers) in just one weekend. Mundaka, a Spanish tapas bar, has a rotating paella of the day and a new, next-door café pouring Ritual coffee. The attentive staff at Akaoni (24381 San Juan Rd, 831-620-1516) serves top-quality, traditional sushi, and La Bicycletta spins out inventive thin crust pizzas with combos like butternut squash and speck. Some say the three are among the best spots to dine in all of Monterey County. —Stacy Adimando6. CHICAGO
Readers' Choice Rating: 85.0
The Second City’s food scene has never been hotter, thanks to a healthy ratio of stalwart restaurateurs—notably Paul Kahan (posh Italian spot Nico Osteria(pictured) is his newest; perennial New American favorite Blackbird is his calling card) and Brendan Sodikoff (High Five Ramen opens in May; flattop burger joint Au Cheval is the favorite)—and a smattering of ethnic eateries reflecting the city’s diversity. In this town, to-die-for taquerias like L’Patron are just as popular as molecular-gastronomic mainstays like Next.—Lauren Viera5. NEW ORLEANS
Readers' Choice Rating: 85.4
This food-obsessed city is constantly redefining its local flavor, perfecting beignets and gumbo while experimenting with the latest from nearby farms. New French Quarter restaurant Eat serves comfort food—chicken and dumplings, red beans and rice, fried green tomatoes—with the freshest ingredients; while Isaac Toups proves he's a master of Gulf shrimp, dirty rice and pork skin cracklins at Toup's Meatery. Pork paradise Cochon (pictured) delivers traditional Cajun fare in a renovated warehouse in the Lower Garden District. And we’ll follow creative Chef Ian Schnoebelen from fine-dining restaurant Iris, which (sadly) closes in May, to his Italian-inspired Mariza in the Bywater. —Laura Dannen Redman
4. CHARLESTON, SC
Readers' Choice Rating: 86.0
Our readers' favorite city in America (and the one they also voted the friendliest) has gone way beyond standard-issue Southern in recent years, with restaurant creativity to rival much larger cities’ and, in the form of a local edition of the food blog Eater, the discriminating diners that go with it. New restaurants like The Ordinary (pictured)—where local oysters are shucked inside a former bank vault—and Xiao Bao Biscuit—where Lowcountry riffs make Asian recipes sing—prove that the trendsetting Husk—while still a winner—is far from the only game in this electric eating town. —Paul Brady3. SAN FRANCISCO
Readers' Choice Rating: 86.5
There’s no doubt SF has earned its reputation as one of the top food cities in the U.S., thanks to culinary destinatons like the 18-course seasonal-fare spotSaison (which started out as a pop-up) and off-duty-chefs' favorite Rich Table. But to experience the rustic, farm-to-table dining that helped put it on the map, have lunch at Delfina Pizzeria. Start with young fried favas or Sonoma-derived duck conserva with giardiniera, and don’t miss the housemade fennel sausage pie, which comes out perfectly charred and bubbly. Speaking of pie, head to the unfussy corner spot Mission Pie(pictured) for dessert. Plop down with a rhubarb-filled slice and do an hour of people watching among the hipster patrons. —Stacy Adimando2. NAPA
Readers' Choice Rating: 87.1
It wasn’t always a foodie destination, but locals will tell you the food scene across Napa Valley (which is loosely collected into a "city" for our Readers' Choice Survey) is improving every day. Of course, it started with a bang, thanks to Thomas Keller's French Laundry. And now, there's plenty more to taste. To experience a new world example, eat at the bar at Goose and Gander (pictured). The dim-lit pub-like interior is a fun contrast to the bright, fresh food and exquisite seasonal cocktail list by Scott Beattie. Don’t miss out on the more classic fare, like Model Bakery’s light as air English muffins, a dream come true when slathered with butter.—Stacy Adimando1. NEW YORK CITY
Readers' Choice Rating: 87.3
It's no surprise that New York landed in the No. 1 spot on our readers' list of America's top food cities. This is, after all, a city of culinary experts and of culinary upstarts. It's the foodie mecca where other chefs come to learn to be chefs, and where regular citizens learn to be food critics. This is where David Chang, April Bloomfield, Daniel Boulud, Wylie Dufresne, Bill Telepan, Tom Colicchio, and Marcus Samuelsson ply their trades. This is where you can eat burgers at Shake Shack, indulge in authentic curry in Queens, and throw back oysters and cocktails at Maison Premiere. But it's not all about famous chefs in this town—it's about authentic international cuisine and small mom-and-pop kitchens too. Oh, and desserts. It's definitely about dessert. After all, this is the town where the cronut was created. —Billie Cohen
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