Not so great food cities

I'll say it. Baton Rouge. I spend a lot of time up there and the amount of chains piss me off.

Dallas/Charlotte. I'm sure there are good spots, but I didn't find them.

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even the Chick-fil-A in that town is bad

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stayed there this year for the LSU bama game, and the place most recommended to go "out" was the bar at Outback.

Mobile pisses me off too. They have access to some of the freshest seafood around but lack the restaurants to take advantage of it.

Orlando
Dallas

i'm sure a local could prove me wrong, but i didn't find anything great. But, outside of tourist destination cities it can be tough to find the right places to eat anywhere.

Talahassee sucks and they are right on the Gulf too...seems like a common problem.

Boom?

Cincinnati. If you want good food here, you've got to really look for it. You won't stumble upon many hidden gems up here.

Gotta agree with everyone on Baton Rouge.

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People saying BR really need to get out more, or at least get more familiar with parts of BR besides those right next to LSU or within 1 mile of I-10.

It's not a culinary mecca, but it shouldn't sniff this list....as it also shouldn't sniff a "best" list.

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Baton Rouge would best be labeled as a frustrating restaurant city. Given its size, it's got a nice handful of really decent restaurants.

It just always strikes me as inexcusable, though, that it can's support at least one sort of inventive "New American" (for lack of a better term) type restaurant that is owned and/or operated by a forward thinking chef (I don't care if he/she is "professionally" trained or not) that serves a seasonal menu utilizing truly thoughtfully procured ingredients.

I've run across such places in any number of smaller cities (Chattanooga, Asheville, NC, just to name two), and can't fathom why Baton Rouge would not be able to support at least one.