# Which city is the best bang for the buck in America, food-scene wise? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997 "2020-05-01T18:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/1 "2020-05-01T18:02:30Z")
If money were of no concern, then NYC would probably be that city, but NYC is expensive. High rents, High state taxes and High city taxes conspire to make it being the biggest culprits. Same goes for SFO. What we’re looking for here is a better value than those kinds of pricey cities. What’s your pick? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/2 "2020-05-01T18:28:54Z")
New Orleans is probably up there. Great place for eating but I wouldn’t want to spend a summer there. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/3 "2020-05-01T18:34:02Z")
Portland, Maine has been getting [raves](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/portland-maine-city-of-the-year-2018) for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/4 "2020-05-01T18:35:58Z")
I found [this web site](https://wallethub.com/edu/best-foodie-cities/7522/). It gives rankings in a couple of categories, including affordability. You can sort on the ranking category. They list Portland, OR, as #1 overall, and #15 most affordable. #1 most affordable is San Antonio, TX, with an overall ranking of #23. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/5 "2020-05-01T18:51:40Z")
I’m surprised Cleveland is so low (30) on **Icarus** ’s link’s list. There are expensive and cheap places to live in the Cleveland metro area. We don’t have good public transport here but highway travel is a breeze, so it’s like 20 minutes to get from my outer suburb to downtown. Same for most of the inner and outer suburbs. And the good restaurants aren’t just downtown anyway, or even in Cleveland proper, they’re all throughout the region. [This article is from 2017](https://www.thrillist.com/eat/cleveland/cleveland-food-scene-hot-right-now) but it’s a good explanation as to what’s been going on here for the past few years. And yeah, some of the restaurants mentioned in that article are closed already. But new restaurants and shops are opening all the time, filling up where previous ventures failed. People here are crazy excited about food! ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/6 "2020-05-01T18:51:26Z")
Houston. It shouldn’t even be close. New Orleans, while a fantastic dining destination, does not have the diversity of cuisine at the reasonable prices that Houston does. See, things like this GQ article on the subject: [Where to Eat and Drink in Houston, the New Capital of Southern Cool | GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/houston-restaurants-capital-of-southern-cool) ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/7 "2020-05-01T19:02:25Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > They list Portland, OR, as #1 overall, and #15 most affordable. #1 most affordable is San Antonio, TX, with an overall ranking of #23. I’m not shocked to see Portland, OR score highly. I’ve been consistently impressed every time we go down there from Seattle. In my anecdotal experience I’m inclined to think that while Seattle may have more very high end places there’s also a lot of stupid, tasteless money here and you can spend a lot for mediocre fare. Portland seemed like a real “foodie” city, where if you just picked a restaurant at random the chances of it being excellent are far greater than Seattle. And the prices were more reasonable. I don’t think we’ve had a single bad experience in Portland. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/8 "2020-05-01T20:27:49Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > I’m not shocked to see Portland, OR score highly. I’ve been consistently impressed every time we go down there from Seattle. In my anecdotal experience I’m inclined to think that while Seattle may have more very high end places there’s also a lot of stupid, tasteless money here and you can spend a lot for mediocre fare. > > Portland seemed like a real “foodie” city, where if you just picked a restaurant at random the chances of it being excellent are far greater than Seattle. And the prices were more reasonable. I don’t think we’ve had a single bad experience in Portland. I agree. It’s one of the great things about living here. You can pay a lot or not so much and get a great meal either way. The food cart scene is thriving, and while there are some that aren’t very good, they don’t last long with all the competition. Hell, the best authentic bagels in the city were from a food cart. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/9 "2020-05-01T21:08:17Z")
Only 36 cities in the world have the title of International Cities of Gastronomy by UNESCO. The first American city to receive that honor is Tucson, Arizona because of the “region’s rich agricultural heritage, thriving food traditions, and culinary distinctiveness” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/10 "2020-05-01T21:25:11Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Houston. It shouldn’t even be close. New Orleans, while a fantastic dining destination, does not have the diversity of cuisine at the reasonable prices that Houston does. See, things like this GQ article on the subject: [Where to Eat and Drink in Houston, the New Capital of Southern Cool | GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/houston-restaurants-capital-of-southern-cool) Houston is also my pick. A wide variety of cuisines are available in a city with a moderate cost of living. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/11 "2020-05-01T22:36:27Z")
I worked in Albuquerque for several months and discovered a new amazing restaurant every week. Especially if you’re into Mexican style cuisine, though New Mexico Mexican food is different from other places. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/12 "2020-05-03T04:30:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I worked in Albuquerque for several months and discovered a new amazing restaurant every week. Especially if you’re into Mexican style cuisine, though New Mexico Mexican food is different from other places. Agree with this. I lived in Albuquerque for a little over a year the first time I returned from Thailand in 1990 and had spent a lot of time in the area in the late 1970s and 1980s before that. Love the Mexican food of the northern part of the state. Nowhere else is like it. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/13 "2020-05-03T04:52:36Z")
NYC supposedly still has dollar slices of pizza. > **[Here's Where You Can Find the Best Dollar-Slice Pizza in Manhattan](https://www.bestproducts.com/eats/food/a2014/best-dollar-slice-pizza-in-nyc/)** > > We tasted eight dollar slice joints in the city. Find out which one reigns best! not the best obviously, but I’m guessing NYC has some cheap cuisine (I know nothing about the city though). ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/14 "2020-05-03T08:06:08Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Only 36 cities in the world have the title of International Cities of Gastronomy by UNESCO. The first American city to receive that honor is Tucson, Arizona because of the “region’s rich agricultural heritage, thriving food traditions, and culinary distinctiveness” Yep. I can’t wait to start hitting favorites again. I hear Casa Molina calling my name. Take out just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/15 "2020-05-03T18:29:53Z")
I’m not surprised to see Sacramento ranked fairly high overall on **Icarus’s** list, although kind of in the middle on the “affordability” scale (Sacramento is affordable compared to San Francisco, but still expensive compared to the rest of the country). It’s supposedly the most diverse city of its size in the US, plus being right in the middle of the agricultural part of California it’s basically the epicenter of the “farm to table” movement. Back in 2008-2009 the local public radio station [aired a series](http://archive.capradio.org/news/project/broadway-around-the-world-in-30-blocks) profiling the resturants in a 30 block stretch of one particularly diverse thorofare. Sadly the Hong Kong Cafe and the Balinese place have closed since that piece aired. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’m guessing NYC has some cheap cuisine (I know nothing about the city though). You can find some cheap, pretty good food in Chinatown, like [Wah Fung No 1 Fast Food](https://www.yelp.com/biz/wah-fung-no-1-new-york-2), and [Vanessa’s Dumpling House](https://www.yelp.com/biz/vanessas-dumpling-house-new-york-2?page_src=related_bizes). But in general New York is pretty expensive, and you can easily end up spending over $100 for four people at a middle of the road type restaurant (that is, not fast food, but not fine dining either). ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-city-is-the-best-bang-for-the-buck-in-america-food-scene-wise/852997/16 "2020-05-05T16:56:55Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m surprised Cleveland is so low (30) on **Icarus** ’s link’s list. > > There are expensive and cheap places to live in the Cleveland metro area. We don’t have good public transport here but highway travel is a breeze, so it’s like 20 minutes to get from my outer suburb to downtown. Same for most of the inner and outer suburbs. And the good restaurants aren’t just downtown anyway, or even in Cleveland proper, they’re all throughout the region. > > [This article is from 2017](https://www.thrillist.com/eat/cleveland/cleveland-food-scene-hot-right-now) but it’s a good explanation as to what’s been going on here for the past few years. And yeah, some of the restaurants mentioned in that article are closed already. But new restaurants and shops are opening all the time, filling up where previous ventures failed. People here are crazy excited about food! sorry, I’ve lived in Cleveland for 14 years, but after 20 years in Cali, with hundreds of ethnic cuisines, and then call Cle a Foodie city–with the dismal diversity of food, is deluded; not to mention Cleveland is scared of food outside Europe–when reviewer noted that somebody went to a Lebanese restaurant–which isn’t a spicy cuisine–and ordered a corned beef sandwich, which you can at any gas station, tells you everything about the alleged “foodie” scene