Where would you go for the food?

Question

my wife and I are planning some sort of adventure in the next year, sort of a bucket list type thing, This is what we agree on.
 The main city, hopefully is less than 100,000 people. The weather should be nice, the warmer the better but definitely not cold.
 The area should have a vast selection of wines, house wines, regional wines are the key. Don't bother with bottles of $50 or $150 wine, it is not part of the trip.
 Cheese, we love cheese from all over the world. Once again, a very good selection of local and regional cheeses. 
 Seafood would be nice to see and enjoy the local recipes and flavor. We can eat seafood everyday of the year, living where we live, so having it available is good but there must be more.
 Personally I would like to run across some good cabrito, really good salami and sausages. 
 Fresh markets to wander around in and buy a few things to cook up while there. Walking around markets to work up an appetite is pretty much a perfect day.
 and last, the usual tourist things...museums, culture, site seeing, an occasional tour, etc..
 There are many travelers in CH, lets see what you can come up with to fit the idea.

Answer

I went to Portugal in April, and it was fantastic. Of course, Lisbon and Porto have populations greater than 100,000. But there are other cities. And we also went to Madeira, whose city (Funchal - translates into English as fennel, a good food-related word!) is about 100,000.

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It would easier to say where I wouldn't go for the food! And even those I am positive someone would argue about its deliciousness.

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At a population of ~120K [30k+ are students], but I think that Innsbruck Austria would be a good summer choice -- not as touristy as in the snow months and would fall unfer your 100K limit.

Lonely Planet:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/tirol/innsbruck/restaurants

UK tourist aimed site:
http://www.austria.info/uk/tags/innsbruck

I can't comment on wine, but the internet says:
http://allthingsaustria.com/innsbruck-to-vienna-p1/
http://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/popular-shopping-destinations-in-innsbruck-3766.html

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Consider the AZORES perhaps. 

It just seems like a very *untarnished* destination complete with all the food and drink you can handle: wines, cheeses, meats, seafood ... and, ALL very very local (it's an archipelago). 

I remember Bourdain mentioning that Azoreans love to eat. He goes on to say that it's one of the few cultures he knows of where the people talk about what they're going to eat for dinner WHILE they're eating lunch.

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australia or new zealand fit that description if you want to think outside the european box.

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Bologna. It's a bit larger population-wise than your target, but it has a very small town feel, and it's located within day-trip distance of many other charming towns (and the Adriatic coast). The food can't be beat.

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San sebastian is a bit bigger but has everything you want, also easy to take day trips to bilbao or take a train to another part of the country from there. 
Tons of locals markets, excellent cheap wine, locally made specialty cheeses and seafood from the nearby ocean.

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Dubrovnik, Croatia. Has everything you mentioned and then some. Beautiful city.

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Amalfi Coast

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Mallorca

Ticks all your boxes. Stay in Palma, the main city if you must, but preferably don't - stay in or near one of the smaller towns or large villages (preferably one with its weekly market). Palma has an excellent main market though (open every day, except Sunday).

Seafood availability is a given on the island.

The town markets will have a good range of locally grown produce, as well as locally made salami, and other preserves. The local olives are excellent - I love the bitterness. Wine is made on the island - good quality, although not a vast range. 

And a goodly amount of touristy things to do, assuming you rent a car and get out into the countryside.

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London, Vietnam, Morocco, Mexico, India to name a few. Looking forward to going back to London for our 40th anniversary next spring. Dinner will be at Le Gavroche.

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From personal experience:
Normandy
Bruge
Carmargue/Arles
Jerez de le Fonterra
Madison Wisconsin
Oporto

Answer

Nice.

I don't know about the cabrito but everyone in Nice seems to be a foodie and the Old Town is all restaurants. Seafood is the item all along that coast. The markets are delicious. For the best fun, rent an apartment by the week rather than stay in a hotel so you can take advantage of the markets and enjoy cooking. Nicoise food is a hybrid of French, French Provencal, and Italian. Also I see that you want some touristic intererest---you have it all, from Roman history to nearby Italy (and if you go twenty minutes to Italy you have a whole new array of ingredients in Ventimiglia). Have been there many times but never enough.

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I lived for a while in Sequim, Washington, and was a frequent traveler to SEATTLE. Loved the seafood, the markets ( Pike Place on the waterfront and the one on upper Queen Anne Hill). Many, many interesting shops in the downtown area, where I rented an apartment. Located near the main part of the downtown market is a wonderful cheese shop, as well as the original Starbucks coffee shop. Spend the money you save on air fare eating at the uncountable terrific restaurants; buy some veal at Don & Joe's in Pike Place Market, cook it in your apartment with the foraged chanterelle mushrooms you'll also find in the market; buy a whole Dungeness crab in the market and take home to your rental, along with a loaf from the French bakery to enjoy with the luscious crab. Enjoy the urban parks in Seattle, both on the waterfront in uptown. Check out the exhibits at the Seattle Art Museum. Go to a play or movie at one of the refurbished 1920's theaters. Stroll the area for some of the best people watching in the good old U S of A. Great way to enjoy a week in early September (also
known as summer in Seattle).


er...also know as summer in Seattle.

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Padova, Veneto is a surprising small city. Do your research and see if it is for you. We have been spending a month there for the past 3 years.

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Edit

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Twice as large as your desired city-size, but how about Burgas, Bulgaria?

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Population 100,000, wine cheese sausage, seafood nice but not required, not in a cultural desert. After reading your post again as well as the suggestions, please allow me to shift my suggestions.

Verona, Italy is in the culinary heaven of Emilia and a short train ride from Tuscany and the Veneto. More than just Romeo and Juliet.

Wiesbaden Germany is again centrally located for German culture. In the home of the Riesling grape, you have sausage, a wonderful pedestrian district, wine shops galore, pork, sekt wine, and a world class casino. Frankfurt, Mainz, Trier, Coblenz, the Moselle, are an hour away by train. Or take a day trip on the Rhine viewing the castles.

I stick with Bruge, Belgium and Jerez de le Fonterra, Spain.

I would recommend the two islands of Patmos and Samos in Greece, but they are more of a reflective, lounge on the shore type of vacation. Mykonos is international, just like Cancun. But the food, wine, and cheese are unlike anything in your home country.

Am I the only one here who enjoys the British Isles? The stickler is keeping the population down, as I do not have much experience outside the cities. But here are two I did spend time in. 

Canterbury and York. York exceeds 100,000 population, but is not on the international radar as a tourist town. Architecture, history, a jaw dropping Cathedral, Vikings. and plenty of food. Canterbury is the home of the Church of England, roman ruins, a great shopping district, and close enough to London to hop the train to eat and see a play. Leeds castle should be on any visitor's bucket list. And definitely search out the new English wines. You may just like them.

My final one is Salzburg, Austria. More than The Sound of Music. And Mozart. And bier, And dessert, the knockerl, and chocolates, and a cathedral, baroque architecture, day trips to Munich and Vienne, local wines, salt mines, and Alps. On second thought, this place is terrible. Crowded with tourists in July and August. Nobody should ever visit this town. Please stay away. :-)

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buenos aires.. or for a small town there are many in the countryside to choose from

of course somewhere along the cost in chile would be interesting too

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Corsica
Greek Isles
Croatia
Portugal
Mallorca
Sicily
Azores
Maui or O'ahu
Sydney or Melbourne
Napa
South Beach Miami/Siesta Key on the gulf

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Spain, Italy, France or better yet all three!! Lots to see, always fresh food, great wine, cheese- well of course! Barcelona, Amalfi coast, Bordeaux. If I had to choose just one - Italy. Enjoy!!
Ps I never thought I wanted to see much of France either ( I live in Quebec) but Bordeaux is Fantastic and one of the few places I would return to.

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The Ligurian coast in Italy -- stay in Santa Margherita.

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You can't have it all!!! (food, culture, ... )

I'd go to a smaller city/village in France (anywhere ni corsica), Italy (anywhere in sardignia, puglia or sicily) or Spain (Leon, Oviedo) or Portugal (don't know portugal)

Remember that in smaller cities, markets will be, well, smaller, and you will be done visiting in an hour or so and will probably not be open everyday (they will be open in different cities on different days)

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In the summer only (since you specified "warm"), I would recommend the Ile D'Orleans near Quebec City. Winemakers, artisan cheeses, local charcuterie and produce abound. Just across the river you have the great historic sites of Vieux-Quebec. It's not an exotic locale, but you're going for the food, and I always eat well in the Province.

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Well, if one can't go to France, then what about Sicily? It's a bit of an acquired taste but will address all your requirements. A month will give you time to genuinely know the island and it's more reasonably priced than Tuscany or other regions of northern Italy. I do find Sicily more interesting than the Northern Italy hotspots (nothing against the lovely and very cultured Northern Italy but Sicily has a unique vibe of its own). Great markets, lovely produce, meats and cheese and wine and a slightly different approach to Italian cooking. You could base yourself in Palermo or Catania.

If you'd rather be further up Italy, Bergamo is a charming town. Umbria has several lovely places. 

If money is not an issue, then Switzerland, somewhere on Lake Geneva? The food from the region is fabulous, lots of excellent cheeses, pastries, cured meat and chocolates. Stunning landscape. But it is undeniably expensive.

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Maybe some town in the Rioja and Castile areas of Spain, north of Madrid? Your post makes me think of an article I read some time back about a small city in that region called Aranda de Duero. It's got a population of about 30,000, and is famous for its very old interconnected underground wine cellars, local wine clubs, and roast whole young lamb. Don't know about seafood, but lovely weather, lots of incredible Medieval historical sites, and great little markets.

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Going in Summer - 
Cochem/Mosel Germany

Erfurt, Weimar, Jena also in Germany

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Where would you go for the food?

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