10 Of The Most Overlooked Food Cities In The US

As someone who is fortunate enough to travel frequently throughout the year for both work and pleasure, I have been happily surprised to find there are plenty of outstanding meals across the country to discover. My home base is in New York City, so I admittedly have been a bit biased by my hometown, where restaurants and bars frequently receive Michelins, James Beard Awards (which Anthony Bourdain was very vocal about), "50 Best" stamps of approval, and other accolades. However, while the coasts (or even other notable food cities in the middle of the country such as Chicago and Austin) may soak up the limelight, there are plenty of delicious options if you live outside of those places.

Many of these cities I have personally visited and experienced first-hand; others have been recommended to me and are starting to be recognized in their own right by food critics and diners alike. While taste is inherently subjective (these food cities reflect my own personal taste and encounters), I can without reservation say the next time you have the opportunity to visit one of the places listed below, take some time to seek out a dinner or two by local restaurateurs — you might be pleasantly surprised, or even better, find a meal like you better than your go-to in your hometown.

While Washington, D.C., may get all of the attention for celebrity chefs and flashy restaurants, I encourage you to explore just slightly farther north for some truly excellent food in Baltimore, Maryland. To prove its bona fides, the city has at least six local restaurants holding James Beard Awards and/or nominations.

Most recently, The New York Times named one of its Best Restaurant Dishes in 2025 in Baltimore: shrimp and corn patties at The Duchess. The English-style tavern with Pacific influences was also named by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the "9 Best Restaurants in Baltimore for Seafood and Beyond" in 2025.

If you're on the hunt for restaurants recognized with James Beard Awards, there's Clavel, a Mexican restaurant and mezcaleria helmed by James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist Carlos Raba (also nominated twice for his bar program). Then there's NiHao, a Chinese cuisine restaurant that was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2022. It is led by Peter Chang, himself a James Beard finalist for Outstanding Chef in 2022. If you're a fan of fresh, locally sourced food, you can't go wrong with foraged, a hyper-seasonal eatery helmed by 2023 James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist Chris Amendola. (Fun fact: forged also made the Conde Nast list above!) Finally, Spike Gjerde won Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2015, and his Woodbury Kitchen is still going strong, while Cindy Wolf's Charleston just won the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.

Traditionally, Birmingham has been recognized mainly for its role in the Civil Rights movement, while other cities in the South pick up the acclaim for dining. However, in recent years, Birmingham has put itself back on the map as a top food destination to enjoy in addition to its rich history. Rodney Scott of the acclaimed Rodney Scott's BBQ once told Conde Nast Traveler that Birmingham "doesn't feel like New York or Chicago, but it's just as important a food city." It's no surprise Food & Wine magazine moved its headquarters here. 

There are more James Beard honorees here, too. A small selection includes Adam Evans, who won Best Chef in the South in 2022 for his Automatic Seafood and Oysters restaurant; James Lewis, owner and chef at Bettola, who was a semifinalist for Best Chef in the South in 2012 and 2013 (and Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 2011); and chef Frank Stitt, a multiple-year nominee who won Outstanding Restaurant in 2018 with his Highlands Bar and Grill and was also named Best Chef in the Southeast in 2001 and a winner in the James Beard Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2011.

Recently, The New York Times visited Birmingham and bestowed two top honors to a seafood restaurant and raw bar called Bayonet. It was named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in America 2025 and was awarded one of the 14 Best Restaurant Desserts in America 2025 for what the Times described as an "impossibly smooth watermelon semifreddo" in its icebox cake, a retro dessert from the 1920s that is still the perfect summertime treat. Bayonet also holds the distinction of a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. 

Another Southern city that is often overlooked in favor of its bigger brothers and sisters is Charleston, South Carolina. However, recent accolades and awards are helping diners to take notice of this food destination.

One restaurant to start at is Chubby Fish, owned by Charleston native James London, which was named by The New York Times as one of the Best Restaurants in America 2025, with cuisine described as "finely tuned and resourceful." The Times also called out the blowfish tails at Chubby Fish as one of the Best Restaurant Dishes in America 2025. For additional endorsements, look to Food & Wine magazine, which named the restaurant No. 7 on its list of Top 20 Restaurants in the U.S. in 2024.

Other notable locations and individuals include FIG (Food Is Good), which won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program in 2018 and whose owner and chef, Mike Lata, won the Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2009; Husk, a restaurant known for having strict rules about its ingredients, whose chef Sean Brock was named Best Chef in the Southeast in 2010 and has had multiple nominations over the years; and Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott's BBQ, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2018. 

As a native Ohioan, I'll be the first to say that the Midwest can be ... underwhelming when it comes to dining out (you won't catch me eating canned Cincinnati-style chili from Costco with spaghetti). However, the Southern Ohio city of Cincinnati is proving the haters wrong.

For example, four of the restaurants named by Open Table as 2025's Top 100 Restaurants are not just in Ohio — they're all in Cincinnati (Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse, Pepp & Dolores, Sotto, and The Precinct). Additionally, the only Ohio restaurant to make The New York Times list of 2025 Best Restaurants in America is the newly opened Wildweed. While a tasting menu is available, I personally have sampled the a la carte selections, which change seasonally. When I sat at the bar in September, I sampled a melon salad and a squid ink pasta, which were both exquisite, along with a Paper Plane cocktail, which had just the right mix of citrus and sweet.

There are more national accolades floating around here, too. Nolia, owned by chef Jeffery Harris, was a Best New Restaurant Finalist in the James Beard Awards 2023 as well as one of the 50 Best New Restaurants in America by Esquire magazine in 2023. (Interestingly, Nolia currently has a 100% gluten-free fall menu.) Elaine Uykimpang Bentz and her husband, Erik Bentz, have also been recognized for their restaurant Café Mochiko as one of the 50 Best New Restaurants 2022 in Bon Appetit. Uykimpang Bentz was also a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Baker in 2022 and Best Chef in the Great Lakes in 2024 and a 2023 nominee for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Food may not be the first thing on your mind when you arrive in Denver. That's likely skiing. Or the altitude (which calls for changes when cooking here). However, after a long hike in the mountains, you should think about hitting up some of the best new spots in America to dine.

First up is Alteño, from Michelin-starred chef/owner Johnny Curiel, named as one of Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants in America 2025 for its wood-fired Mexican cuisine. Alteño and another of Curiel's Mexican-inspired properties, Alma Fonda Fina, both landed on Open Table's 2025 Top 100 Restaurants as did chef Troy Guard's steakhouse, Guard & Grace.

Another on the lists from both Esquire and Open Table is Kizaki, an omakase sushi restaurant from legendary septuagenarian chef Toshi Kizaki that was awarded a Michelin star in 2025. Speaking of stars, I have to mention The Wolf's Tailor, which was awarded two Michelin stars as well as a Michelin Green Star rating for its sustainable and eco-friendly practices. The 2025 Michelin Young Chef Award went to Denver's Aiden Tibbetts for his restaurant Wildflower, which was also named a recommended restaurant in the Michelin guide. Finally, for a nightcap, don't miss an excellent drink at Hop Alley, where Dustin Lawlor was named the 2025 Michelin Guide Colorado Exceptional Cocktails Award Winner.

If you think of food cities in Texas, you may think of Austin first. But it's time to shine a light on Houston, where there are just as many exciting restaurant options. West African restaurant ChòpnBlok from chef Ope Amosu just landed for the first time on The New York Times Best American Restaurants 2025 list as well as Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants in America 2025 list. With just a handful of expertly executed rice bowls, Amosu has expanded his well-regarded food stall into a full-blown brick and mortar hit.

Also on the Best Restaurant Desserts in America 2025 list from The Times is the konafa naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen, which also made the Top 100 Restaurants in Houston list from the Houston Chronicle. The konafa is the only dessert on the menu, so it must be special to hold up the entirety of the after-dinner section.

To touch on Michelins, there are 44 (!) recognized restaurants in Houston in 2025, including one-star restaurants BCN Taste & Tradition, Corkscrew BBQ (in nearby Spring), Le Jardinier, March, Musaafer, and Tatemó.

You won't find the James Beard Best New Restaurant 2025 in New York, Los Angeles, or even Chicago. Look no further than Minneapolis, Minnesota, for this particular award, going to the outstanding Bûcheron ("lumberjack" in French), where French cooking techniques meet Midwest hospitality. Jeanie Janas Ritter co-owns Bûcheron with her husband, acclaimed chef Adam Ritter, who was Chef de Cuisine at another well-reviewed Minnesota restaurant, Demi, when it was a finalist for a James Beard Best New Restaurant Award in 2020.

Bûcheron also landed on the Best Restaurants in America 2025 list from The New York Times as did Diane's Place from chef Diane Moua. Given Moua's background as a pastry chef, it's no surprise that the sesame balls at Diane's Place were also called out on the Best Desserts in America 2025 list from The Times, which describes them as "unexpectedly light and airy." Diane's Place received further accolades from Food & Wine magazine, which called it the 2025 Restaurant of the Year. Moua herself was a James Beard Award finalist in 2025 for Best Chef in the Midwest.

One final restaurant to call out for a visit is Hai Hai, where chef Christina Nguyen won the Best Chef in the Midwest James Beard Award in 2024, after having been nominated three times previously. Hai Hai was also named to the Best New Restaurant lists in 2018 by Esquire magazine, Eater, and Thrillist. All four of these Minneapolis restaurants are also among Andrew Zimmern's favorite restaurants in his hometown in the Twin Cities.

What makes 2025 a special year for Philadelphia? No, it has nothing to do with cheesesteaks. The city was awarded its first Michelin stars — for not just one, but for three restaurants: Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp's Her Place Supper Club (French, Italian, and Jewish cuisine with a multi-course set menu), Chad and Hanna Williams' restaurant Friday Saturday Sunday (a tasting menu with optional wine pairing), and chef Nich Bazik's Provenance (a Korean-French mash-up). Additionally, Pietramala, which serves an all-vegan menu, was awarded the Michelin Green Star, while 10 more restaurants received Bib Gourmand designations.

Another restaurant to be recognized this year was Emmett, which serves Levantine cuisine and made Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants in America 2025 list, while four more locations — Fiorella, Parc, Saloon Restaurant, and Mawn — all found themselves on the Open Table 2025 Top 100 Restaurants list. Additionally, Mawn, a Cambodian noodle house, was called out for its Banh Chow Salad as part of The New York Times 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025, and Phila Lorn of Mawn won the James Beard Emerging Chef Award in 2025.

It's no wonder Food & Wine magazine named Philadelphia No. 10 on its list of Top 10 US Cities for Food and Drink in 2025. (Don't worry, a cheesesteak from Angelo's does, in fact, get a nod.)

Yes, Portland, Oregon, is frequently talked about as a foodie destination, but we're looking at the other coast now. As reported by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2025, "Portland, Maine, is one of the best food cities in the U.S.," boasting about one restaurant for every 200 residents in town.

If you're a fan of baked goods and dessert, you're in the right place. ZU Bakery, a tiny shop at just 620 square feet, won the 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bakery, and Norimoto Bakery's Atsuko Fujimoto won Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in 2024. In 2025, Brant Dadaleares from Gross Confection Bar was a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. Speaking of dessert, the dulce de leche flan described as "a perfectly balanced bite" at Franciska Wine Bar placed on The New York Times list of 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025.

Additionally, restaurants Fore Street and Scales made the Open Table Top 100 Restaurants in 2025 list, and Mr. Tuna's Jordan Rubin and Leeward's Jake Stevens were both James Beard Award semifinalists in 2025 for Best Chef of the Northeast.

Another small town on the East Coast rounds out our list: Providence, Rhode Island. A good place to start is the Crispy Fish Ssam at Gift Horse, which appears on the 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 from The New York Times. You should finish your meal with the restaurant's Blueberry Tart, which also made the 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 from The New York Times.

Gift Horse, which also appeared on Esquire magazine's 50 Best New Restaurants in America in 2023, is an elevated raw bar and restaurant, where South Korean chef Sky Haneul Kim was just awarded Best Chef of the Northeast in 2025 from the James Beard Foundation.

Additionally, Ben Sukle and Bethany Caliaro's Oberlin restaurant was a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Restaurant, and chef Derek Wagner of Nicks on Broadway was also a finalist for Best Chef of the Northeast. Finally, James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef was Nikhil Naiker, who most recently showcased his talents at Nimki at Courtland Club.

For the tiniest state in America, there are big moves happening in the food scene here!