Zagat: 7 Up and Coming Food Cities in the U.S.

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Birmingham
Athens
Nashville
Louisville
Charleston

Salt Lake City
Boulder

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Boulder, as well as all areas outside of Denver is a given. Don't know much about Salt Lake to be honest with you.

Athens is a real surprise to me though. I wouldn't expect such an SEC college town to be a growing food city. Great news for them.

Nashville has come a really long way since the day I lived there and they would wrap around the Red Lobster and Captain D's on Friday nights. Good for them. I wish I could have enjoyed it back in the early 90's.


Louisville may be in the south, but it's also always been a little different given its proximity. It has a cool scene.

Charleston I get. That fits the culture of the place, and the old money.

Birmingham? Wow... I still don't understand it. but maybe it's bleed over from Nville. Dunno. I know one of their chefs won a James Beard, so maybe that has spawned some real interest in doing serious food. Couldn't tell ya.

Over the past year or so, the birmingham food scene has really exploded. Tons of really awesome restaurants have been opening, both fancy and hole in the wall type joints.

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I've never understood the Birmingham hate on this board when it came to the city's dining. It's certainly not a dining mecca like New Orleans but it's a way better food city than many on this board give it credit for. For some reason, many on this board like to use New Orleans as a baseline for decent restaurant scenes and when those cities fall short the basic idea is that city's dining scene sucks. New Orleans is an anomaly with a world renown dining culture and it's unfair to judge most cities by that lofty standard.

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This times two.

You will not go hungry living in Birmingham. In fact, I'd put Saws, Highlands Bar and Grill, and Bottega up against any restaurant in New Orleans. They may not win, but they'd compete very well.

Was in Nashville a week ago. Really impressed with the food.

LINK to my Nashville experience

It's Loveless Cafe.

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I've never understood the Birmingham hate on this board when it came to the city's dining.

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Other than that one post above, which is basically just a poster professing his ignorance of the Birmingham restaurant scene, what are some other examples of the vast "Birmingham hate on this board when it came to the city's dining"?

I honestly don't recall seeing any such discussions.

I have seen some Birmingham restaurants and bars mentioned in in a few issues the last year or so in my Garden and Gun magazine, so thats what makes me believe that they are a good enough player to make list like this.

The bar is set so low in so many southern cities in regards to a real restaurant scene.

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Athens is a real surprise to me though. I wouldn't expect such an SEC college town to be a growing food city. Great news for them

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Athens has gotten a lot of really good food in the past 5-10 years. They had good food for a college town before then, but it's really taken off lately. Hugh Acheson has kind of lead the way for that town with nationally recognized 5 & 10 and The National.

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I've never understood the Birmingham hate on this board when it came to the city's dining. It's certainly not a dining mecca like New Orleans but it's a way better food city than many on this board give it credit for. For some reason, many on this board like to use New Orleans as a baseline for decent restaurant scenes and when those cities fall short the basic idea is that city's dining scene sucks. New Orleans is an anomaly with a world renown dining culture and it's unfair to judge most cities by that lofty standard.

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I don't hate Birmingham. You misinterpreted my intentions. That being said, New Orleans, outside of what New Orleans does best isn't as well rounded as places like Austin, and so I don't think you have to be New Orleans by any stretch to be a great food city. I've said it for years. All you really have to do is desire to have great food.

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if real chorizo ever makes it way to these parts, watch out. people are going to freak out, and become addicts.

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Is it on tour?