WASHINGTON 鈥� He flew, he ate, he conquered 鈥� and then he assessed.
This past year, Washington Post Food Critic Tom Sietsema embarked on a cross-country journey to more than a dozen destinations in search of the America鈥檚 best food cities. He sampled shrimp and grits in Charleston, bit into barbecue in Houston, and munched on muffulettas in New Orleans.
Taking into consideration each city鈥檚 restaurant offerings, as well as service, shopping, creativity and community, .
It鈥檚 no surprise that the culinary giants聽(Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles) made the top 10 list, but some cities surprised even Sietsema 鈥� including his hometown.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure until I had traveled to at least 10 cities that Washington would be on there too,鈥� Sietsema says. 鈥淲ashington is a city that I know very well, and that was initially a disadvantage because 鈥� I know its weaknesses as well as its strengths.鈥�
But D.C. did make the list at no. 9, just ahead of Charleston 鈥� and it did so for a few reasons.
Sietsema says in the last few years, the District has emerged as a 鈥渞eally important food city.鈥�
鈥淚t certainly helps that we have a president and a first lady who like to eat out a great deal; they help bring recognition to the city. But we鈥檝e also got a lot of chefs coming in from out of town, we鈥檝e got local chefs who have been on the scene for a while who are sort of stepping up their game, and then we鈥檝e got a few things that are really unique to us,鈥� he says.
Take for example, the modern Indian offerings at Vikram Sunderam鈥檚 Rasika, as well as the beyond-the-plate mentality of chef-activists, such as Jos茅 Andr茅s, who lectures at Harvard and .
鈥淲e鈥檙e a city of 2,000 restaurants and about 650,000 people, and I think for our size market we鈥檙e really doing some remarkable things here.鈥�
And while Sietsema acknowledges that unlike other top food cities, D.C. lacks a 鈥渟ignature dish,鈥� he says that鈥檚 no reason to dock points.
鈥淎s one chef told me here in town, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not one thing, we鈥檙e many things,鈥� and I think that鈥檚 so true. We鈥檝e got many different cuisines represented here, and we are a small market, of course, but we do have a little bit of everything from around the globe.鈥�
New York gets knocked; Philly gets praised
Another surprise on the list is New York鈥檚 ranking at no. 8. One might expect a city with so many to land a bit closer to the top.
Sietsema says outside of D.C., he spent the most time 鈥� and the most money 鈥� in the Big Apple and its boroughs, but was underwhelmed.
鈥淚 just felt like this was not New York鈥檚 year,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he dirty little secret among a lot of food writers I know is that New York is sort of resting on its laurels right now, and other smaller markets seem to be working harder at being better.鈥�
Philadelphia, on the other hand, excited Sietsema 鈥� but not with its cheesesteaks and Italian subs.
鈥淚t has some of the best vegan and vegetarian food in the country,鈥� says Sietsema, who dined at the upscale and its casual counterpart V Street.
鈥淚鈥檓 a carnivore, but I love it when people treat vegetables with the same respect that they accord meat,鈥� he says.
Portland defeats all
Sliding in just ahead of San Francisco, Sietsema awarded the 鈥渂est food city鈥� title to Portland. 鈥淥n every point, expect for fine dining, they just hit it out of the ballpark,鈥� he says.
One reason he found Portland so tasty is because it has some of the best ingredients with which to work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like the streams and the mountains and the forests are just this big pantry that they can get great fish and seafood from, some of the best mushrooms in the country 鈥� berries so fragile that they never leave the state,鈥� Sietsema says.
It鈥檚 also a city that鈥檚 perfected the 鈥渂uilding blocks鈥� of a great food community 鈥� wine, coffee and bread 鈥� and is one that鈥檚 big on breakfast.
鈥淏ecause there鈥檚 not one industry there, like there is in a lot of other cities, people have more time for breakfast,鈥� Sietsema explains. 鈥淵ou know, a lot of creative types might not have the money to spend on food, so they take breakfast really, really seriously out there.鈥�
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