As an encyclopedia of flavors and a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants, you could say TasteAtlas knows a thing or two about good food. As New Yorkers, you could certainly say the same about us. And sure, you could say we’re biased, but NYC’s many beautiful restaurants, Michelin-starred restaurants, and new restaurants are just some of the many, many examples that prove it.
With that being said, TasteAtlas recently released their report of this year’s best foodie cities in the world, and let’s just say NYC’s position on the list didn’t exactly surprise us.
The atlas analyzed 17,073 cities in their database, taking a look at 475,000+ different food ratings for 15,400+ foods. With that information they were able to choose 100 stand out cities that had the highest average ratings for both the regional and national dishes most commonly served there.
And coming in at number 12 was NYC–and yeah, of course we think we should have been number one, but number 12 out of 100 isn’t too shabby; especially when 17,000+ cities were analyzed in the first place! The study pointed out a few must-tries and “bests” in NYC, which are as follows:
Must Try
Best Gourmet Producers
- Crown Finish Caves Llc (Cheese)
- Salvatore Bklyn (Cheese)
- Jack From (Liqueur)
- Lemon Brothers (Liqueur)
Iconic Traditional Restaurants
- Russ & Daughters
- Keens Steakhouse
- Katz’s Delicatessen
- Rubirosa Pizza
- Legend of Taste
What was also cool about the study is it noted some recipes and food creations that originated in NYC! Some of these include the Bloody Mary, the iconic brunch cocktail that’s believed to have originated during the prohibition era in NYC (some say in the original Harry’s New York Bar), and the Reuben, a sandwich made using corned beef, rye bread, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and Swiss cheese which is believed to have been invented in 1914 at Manhattan’s Reuben Delicatessen by its owner, Arnold Reuben.
Other iconic creations originating in NYC include:
- Eggs Benedict – it’s believed that Delmonico’s chef Charles Ranhofer invented the dish in 1860s for a customer named Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, who wanted to eat something new
- Cosmopolitan – believed to have originated in the 1970s
- Ice Cream Sandwich – dates back to 1899 and was allegedly invented by an unknown pushcart vendor in the Bowery
- Moscow Mule – created in the 1940s
- Garlic Knots – believed to have originated in Brooklyn or Queens
Rounding out the top ten is as follows:
1. Naples, Italy
2. Milan, Italy
3. Bologna, Italy
4. Florence, Italy
5. Mumbai, India
6. Rome, Italy
8. Vienna, Austria
9. Turin, Italy
10. Osaka, Japan
Looks like NYC can really hold its own when pitted against Italy–maybe that #EuroSummer trip isn’t needed after all…