NEW ORLEANS – For those of us who live in New Orleans, we know the food is (I guess “arguably”) the best in the world. But it doesn’t hurt when those outside of the city acknowledge our superiority in the culinary arena.
Recently, Time Out – a media and hospitality company that has been encouraging people to explore cities around the world for decades – shared their list for best food cities in the world. To form the list, Time Out surveyed thousands of people asking them to rate their city among 18 different food-related criteria – which included categories like quality and affordability. In addition to the ratings of those who lived in the city, Time Out also took scores from editors, food critics and Time Out chefs to complete the ranking.
Cities that made the list of 20 included Cape Town, Bangkok, Paris and even Abu Dhabi. But the city that came out on top was our very own Crescent City, Big Easy… New Orleans, Louisiana.
“New Orleans has always had a rich culinary history, with influences spanning French, Spanish, Vietnamese, African and more,” said Time Out Contributor Gerrish Lopez in the official writeup. “The range of exceptional dining experiences – from the elegant, iconic Antoine’s to a neighbourhood po-boy joint like Parkway Bakery & Tavern – make this city unique.”
Lopez makes a point to note that most restaurants you can find the classics like red beans and rice or shrimp Creole, but special to New Orleans is also the ability to try food from all over the world – mentioning specifics like Senegalese at Dakar, Mexican at Acamaya and Indian at Saffron.
“Digging into a pile of boiled crawfish is a must, but they’re only available seasonally,” said Lopez in a section titled ‘if you only eat one thing.’ “For a taste of New Orleans any time of year, grab a bowl of gumbo – head to Liuzza’s by the Track for an excellent version at an iconic neighborhood joint.”
Gumbo? Yes, of course. However – and don’t get me wrong, it’s great – I’m not sure if Liuzza’s by the Track would necessarily be my first pick for someone if they only eat one thing in the city. Honestly, that question would be entirely unfair, and I’d need to pick at least three for breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner – or at the minimum give multiple suggestions for various types of food and different areas of the city.
Time Out shares that 93 percent of locals ranked the city highly for restaurants and eating out around town. This, combined with high scores from the experts, is what set New Orleans apart from all other cities in the world.
As the spring and festival seasons are upon us, this list could not have picked a better time to highlight New Orleans and its delicious offerings.
For those interested in reading the full list, click here.
Looking for other food recommendations? Each week, the editors of Renaissance Publishing share their top picks for various culinary categories. See all the “Editor’s Picks” here.
