Best Non Food Cities for Foodies

[bam bam]

Obviously, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago head the list of America's best food cities. TD and Jonathan seem to think Cleveland has some pretty good food for a city not known for its cuisine. JAG and I found what appears to be a great high end restaurant in Denver when we go there in two weeks. My choices would be as follows:

1) San Diego--great signature item, fish tacos, lots of neighborhood jaunts that rely on fresh ingredients and the bountiful produce of California. Also I have eaten two really good high end meals here. First was at Donovan's, an awesome steakhouse in La Jolla. Second was a place called the Wine Cellar and Brassiere in North County. The city is also bolstered by great sushi.

2) Baltimore--great signature item in crabs, prepared a myraid of different ways. Strong microbrew/brewpub culture. Also, they have a great Little Italy section as well as a dessert restaurant that kicks major ass. And by dessert restaurant, I don't mean sex club.

3) Seattle--Is coffee their signature item? Not sure. But terrific seafood here, particularly salmon. Great microbrews and plenty of Washington wines in the eastern part of the state.

4) Santa Fe--great local cuisine. Lots of great produce, especially chile peppers. Plenty of mid priced restaurants. Very underrated dining experience here.

[Schuarta]

If you make it to Baltimore, continue on "down the road" to Annapolis. It's far closer to the "crabs" and some really great seafood restaurants (and one really good Irish Pub with pub food). :toast:

Mccormick & Schmick's Seafood (http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/), Chart House Restaurant (http://www.chart-house.com/), Buddy's Crabs & Ribs (http://www.buddysannap.com/)

Chart House was the best!

[edible complex]

agree on the San Diego/La Jolla and Santa Fe/Taos/Albuquerque food scenes.

Apalachicola, Fla has great restaurants, and it is not just a place for weary weathermen to forecast hurricanes to hit.

Eureka Springs, Ark has a strong restaurant scene as well, and just about as many festivals as NOLA.

Key West, Fla also has its share of good places for grub and grog. Though I always less impressed w/Miami, except for the Cuban places.

[kcdixiecat]

Kansas City has some great restaurants...besides barbecue. Some of the best steaks in the world...several good italian places. It would be hard for me to pick my favorite restaurant in KC.

[BTG]

For a place so small, I agree about Key West.

I didn't get to explore Seattle in that much detail last time I was there, but it def. seems to fit the bill. I stopped in some neat little wine bars and a few good resuarants. Just from what I read, there appears to be a ton of good neighborhood places and few chain restaurants. Lots of great seafood and a good asian representation also.

[RouxTheDay]

Pardon the hi-jack but I've been watching way too much Man vs Food lately and a recent show featured 3 places in Denver.
Either I was really hungry when I was watching, or all of them really did appeal to me. In case your schedule has an empty meal slot....

The Cherry Cricket looked like a great burger/beer spot. www.cherrycricket.com (http://www.cherrycricket.com)

Buckhorn Exchange is Denver's oldest restaurant and if you can get past the stuffed animal heads hanging over your table, the steaks look amazing. www.buckhorn.com (http://www.buckhorn.com)

The other place he visited was Jack N Grill....where he tried to eat a 7 pound burrito. This one doesn't seem as appealing to me but here's the link anyway. www.jackngrill.com (http://www.jackngrill.com)

[TulaneRebel]

San Antonio for hole in the wall Mexican places. And the Liberty Bar is one of my favorite restaurants.

[Envie]

Here's a shout out for Sabatino's, Little Italy, Baltimore

[BobRSnow]

Atlanta. Here's a few great restaurants. Two Urban Licks. Very cool place. It's one of many restaurants the Concentrics Rest. Group owns. Very creative on the design, too.

Canoe is also very good. It's a bit out of the way, so plan on getting a cab if you really want to go there.

Not so far out of the way is Holeman & Finch. Pretty hip place. Packed. In town.

For BBQ, there's Fat Matt's. Don't dress up for this joint. Wont' bust your wallet, either.

[wish I never left]

Does Houston count as a non-food city? If so, there are tons of great restaurants and great food available throughout the city no matter the cuisine or price level.

Of course, they are practically overwhelmed by an even greater number of places that barely warrant being called restaurants; but you probably didn't need me to tell you that.

[RouxTheDay]

Well, it's too soon to say if it warrants a spot on this list but I've been in Aspen for all of 12 hours and have had 2 amazing meals.

Lunch at Ajax Tavern started w/ truffle fries...OMG, why doesn't everyone offer this?!?!

Dinner at Pacifica. I ordered the seafood cocktail and scallops w/ foie gras. The seafood cocktail was HUGE. Layer upon layer of shrimp, scallops, calamari, crabmeat and....wait for it....avocado...Amazing. I could have stopped there but then my entree (actually my 2nd "small plate") arrived. Scallops, mushrooms and foie gras. Party in my mouth.
Fantastic meal. Wonderful service...the waiter stood at our table for at least 20 minutes listening to very poorly delivered Boudreaux/Thibodaux jokes. Priceless. I have a feeling we'll go back again on this trip.

I can't imagine it getting any better but I'll let you know....so far, damn good!