Houston is a hell of a food city. They both belong.
Underbelly would be in the top 5 restaurants in almost any city, just one example.
No serious list can put New York at number 8. I’m not sure anything but number 1 is defensible.
I would of course argue that Chicago should be much higher on this list but more, I really have to wonder about his method. For Chicago, his comments are so out-of-date that and give no sign of an actual exploration of what is on offer. Along with his obligatory mention of Achatz, 3 of the 7 places mentioned are Rick Bayless spots and while I enjoy Xoco and the rest, this is so cliche by now I’m yawning. He then describes Fat Rice as a new place but it’s been around for a couple years now as has Parachute. This is such a hohum list and misses so many of the spots that make us smile here. At least mention Carlson’s Schwa or Bohemian House with Eater Chef of the Year Jimmy Papadoupolis or almost anything new.
There aren’t ten “top” cities.
New York, SF, New Orleans. The rest is just an exercise in enumeration.
Yes you can eat well in LA or Chicago, but nearly as uniformly well as those three. Los Angeles is so big, it’s like a small state. Exclude Monterey Park and it’s not nearly as great.
In my view a case could be made for SF as number one. For my money, no one can compete with SF’s high-end right now, which is firing on all cylinders. In the area you have Saison, Atelier Crenn, TFL, Manresa, Coi, Benu, Quince, etc etc etc. I’d rather eat at most of those places than Jean Georges, Daniel, EMP, Per Se, etc. But I can’t put it higher than number 3 because I don’t think it has anywhere near the depth or breadth across the range of cuisines and price points that NY or LA has.
In my view a case could be made for SF as number one. For my money, no one can compete with SF’s high-end right now, which is firing on all cylinders. In the area you have Saison, Atelier Crenn, TFL, Manresa, Coi, Benu, Quince, etc etc etc. I’d rather eat at most of those places than Jean Georges, Daniel, EMP, Per Se, etc. But I can’t put it higher than number 3 because I don’t think it has anywhere near the depth or breadth across the range of cuisines and price points that NY or LA has.
Also, I just don’t see the case for New Orleans. I go there regularly for work and otherwise. It’s a wonderful city, and the food culture is unique and, to be sure, broadly delicious. Few things are better than a Galatoire’s lunch or Cochon/Cochon Butcher. But across the board, I don’t think it’s anywhere near the level of Houston/Charleston/DC/Portland, much less NY/SF/LA/Chicago.
Born and raised in Texas, was a serious restaurant junkie and never thought of Dallas as a real food city. What’s convinced you of their culinary relevance?
Not being snarky, I’m really curious. I’ve definitely had some good meals there, but San Antonio beats Dallas for me.
I’ve never enjoyed the extreme upper tier of fine dining so I haven’t visited most of the places in SF you list, but very few things in SF excite me. I find it to be a pretty boring city for the level of food I enjoy.
While I put SF at number 2, it is amazing how much worse it is than LA for vegetarians.
Vegetarians only get half a vote. 
Didn’t see Flavortown anywhere on the list. 
Like any “top” list it is entirely subjective. The author makes some good points on some of the cities and odd ones also… as you would expect. Hard to see NYC where it is, no mention of Vegas either.
George
What’s one thing you can get in Vegas that isn’t better in the city it’s actually from?
If you ask me he is just trying to be provocative by listing NYC so low. I live in the East Village and the East Village/LES alone has more diverse and higher quality options that some of the cities on his list.
Based on what he wrote he went to the wrong restaurants to discover what is happening in NYC. I agree Masa and 11 Madison are overrated and overpriced.
In the U.S. NYC (including the boroughs) is #1 and SF is a close #2 and then the rest of the list starts.
Yeah that’s the issue with Vegas. Tasty food but with some exceptions, overpriced and derivative.
Keep in mind that this is a list of food cities, not restaurant cities. Portland has closer proximity to more local produce than most of the cities listed. Portland also has four “gourmet” grocery chains (five if you include Whole Foods), which speaks to the city’s obsession with food. Add the craft beer/spirits/wine/coffee cultures and Portland looks pretty damn good.
Nolan, I live in Dallas and have lived most of my life in the area and I tend to agree with you. We’ve traveled the world for food (although, nowhere near as much as some on this board) and I do think it is a solid food city these days. Not sure I could make much of an argument for it being in the top 10 though. It keeps us satiated, but I don’t recall ever having a “wow!” meal here.
Top X lists are always just an exercise in fun and usually are designed to spark disagreement and attract attention. There are precious few (if any) people that could ever make an accurate (well, it’s all subjective) and relevant list across this kind of geography without spending months in each city with an enormous food budget.
The East Village alone has more diverse options, low to high and everything in between, than a few of the states in the US.
This right here has been overlooked/ignored by most everyone in their posted responses. Variety and strength of restaurants is great to have, no doubt. But unless you’re a professional food critic, you’re not eating out 100% of the time.
Sietsema definitely gives a locale major points for availability of quality ingredients that are locally sourced. Places in the SF Bay Area like The French Laundry and Manresa literally have their own gardens that they harvest from. Go to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, and you can buy live oysters from Hog Island, grass fed meats raised and slaughtered less than 100 miles away, and seafood caught within that same distance so it’s never flash frozen. Sightings of chef/proprietors shopping for ingredients for their local restos are frequent, and it certainly “raises their cred” amongst the foodie crowd.
I recently did a day trip to Napa, and for lunch we had Thomas Keller’s buttermilk fried chicken at his Addendum “permanent pop-up” behind his Ad Hoc location in Yountville. Seating is outdoors on picnic tables which are nestled amongst their vegetable gardens. The BFC was really good, and consuming it amongst veggies and herbs almost ready to harvest made the experience that much more pleasurable.