Louisiana boiled crawfish, Costa Rican gallo pinto on banana leaves and a French fry-stuffed sandwich from South Africa called a “Gatsby” — these are some of the dishes praised in Time Out’s recent list of the world’s best food cities.
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There’s only one U.S. place on the list, but that’s by design. Time Out surveyed its readers for “The world’s 20 best cities for food right now” on criteria like quality, affordability and attributes such as “family-friendly” and “experimental.” The editors then narrowed down the ranking in the interest of geographic diversity, so that there’s only one “culinary capital” per country.
Though this is kind of a self-selecting poll, it’s hard to quibble with New Orleans’ placement as America’s food mecca. Other spots might surprise folks who’ve never been — perhaps Abu Dhabi (praised for its burrata pizza), or Riyadh (for its Japanese cuisine) and Medellín (chicharrón salad).
“From street eats to fine dining, family-run taverns to cutting-edge kitchens, eating and drinking is the backbone of local culture in our cities and the reason many of us choose to travel,” writes Time Out. Without ado, here are the first 10 on the list of 20 culinary capitals:
Time Out readers vote the world’s best cities for food right now
1 New Orleans
2 Bangkok
3 Medellín
4 Cape Town
5 Madrid
6 Mexico City
7 Lagos
8 Shanghai
9 Paris
10 Jakarta