You love food. No, you really love food. In fact, you love food enough to build a vacation around it—or at least make dining a priority on your next adventure. Whether you’re planning a grand culinary expedition or just want to eat well during your travels, here are some foodie destinations serving up the most exciting meals in America, along with a few tips on how to get a table—or even get the meal delivered.
Visit the Top Foodie Cities of the Year
For inspiring dishes that go way beyond barbecue, try Dallas, home to a burgeoning community of chefs, whose creations are attracting attention at places like the Laotian-focused Khao Noodle Shop and Petra and the Beast, known for its eclectic farm-to-table dishes. Their inspired dishes are part of the reason Bon Appétit named the Texas metropolis its 2019 Restaurant City of the Year. In the hipster haven of Portland, OR, you’ll find outstanding artisanal cheese, chocolate, doughnuts and scores of pop-up gourmet food trucks that earned it the top spot on Jetsetter’s 2019 list of best American food cities.
Attracted to Awards?
And if you’re after Michelin-starred restaurants, look no further than San Francisco, which has the highest density of three-star restaurants in the United States, plus notable two-star newcomer Campton Place—America’s only Indian-influenced restaurant to earn the second star.
Go Against Type
A region is often known for one type of cuisine; dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find inventive and unexpected sides to many a food scene. New Orleans, for example, is synonymous with warm beignets at Café du Monde, po’boys at Parkway Bakery and Tavern and spicy gumbo at, well, anywhere. But the Big Easy’s Vietnamese community is raising the bar with pho and báhn mì at favorites such as Lilly’s Cafe and Magasin.
Up north, Wisconsin may be best known for cheese, but you can also sample the culinary delights of Ireland, Armenia, Mexico and Italy from an ever-changing menu at Sanford, headed by James Beard-award winner Sandy D’Amato. And the vibrant food scene in tiny Portland, ME, serves up much more than lobsters. At Honey Paw, for example, New England-influenced Asian dishes rule the menu—so pass the wok-fried noodles.
Venture Beyond the Big Cities
Sure, New York City is a mecca for food lovers, but the scene has spilled out into the Hudson Valley and beyond. Head up river to visit Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where instead of a menu the chef presents a feast sourced from local farms. Or carry on to the Catskills to eat at Table on Ten, a 28-seat restaurant with a menu designed around whatever’s in season. In Danville, CA, just 30 miles outside San Francisco, you’ll find high-end food experiences such as Mediterranean-inspired The Peasant and the Pear and Esin Restaurant and Bar.
Snagging the Best Reservations
Tuesday is typically the easiest night to get a reservation at a hot restaurant, and you’ll likely find better service, too, as big parties are less common on weeknights.
For online reservations, Resy offers access to sought-after spots in more than 80 cities. Reserve with one touch; or, if no tables are available, ask Resy to notify you when something opens up. Another app, IKnowTheChef—which covers New York, Miami and Chicago—requires a subscription in exchange for bookings at hard-to-get places, including chef’s tables.
For last-minute outings, use Yelp to add your name to a restaurant’s standby list and then camp out for a pre-dinner drink nearby; you’ll get a call or text when your table is almost ready. You can also head to the bar for a first-come, first-served stool, or let the staff know you’re game for a communal table; both are great strategies to experience high-end restaurants that are otherwise booked up.
Should You Order In?
With third-party delivery apps, meals from luxury restaurants can be delivered right to you—provided you’re within the delivery area. Caviar, for example, can bring you dishes from top restaurants in 16 U.S. markets, including Seattle, Dallas, New York and Chicago. Not everything on the menu is always available—and yes, you’ll pay a premium—but sometimes the perfect restaurant is the one you create right in your hotel room.
C.J. Prince is a freelance writer who covers finance, business strategy and leadership. Her work has been published in Working Mother, Entrepreneur and New Jersey Monthly Magazine, as well as many financial websites and magazines.
Read about 7 changing cities to visit right now.