Just like the word ‘moist,’ or ‘panties,’ sometimes the word ‘foodie’ makes us cringe. It just sounds so … blegh. But like it or not, Boston is officially a foodie city. Not long after Boston made the last spot on the list of Conde Nast Traveler‘s 10 Best American Cities for Foodies, it’s been handed a similar title again, this time ranking third on Livability‘s list of Top 10 Foodie Cities 2014.
While such a title may make you shrug, it helps to know that the ranking is not only well deserved, but the reasonings behind the award are also straight forward and resonant: “City residents embrace restaurants and take pride in knowing where their food comes from,” wrote the Livability team in a press release. From that perspective, they ranked the top foodie cities, and here’s what they had to say about the third place city:
What food lovers like best about Boston is the potential to make new discoveries in restaurants that haven’t yet caught the attention of culinary elites but draw locals back for more. From juice bars like Cocobeet in downtown to food trucks like Clover or hole-in-the-wall spots like The Daily Catch, small restaurants across Boston utilizing fresh, local ingredients make this town ripe for a food adventure. Residents can pick up restaurant-quality ingredients at several farmers markets and have good access to healthy, high-quality foods.
The determining qualities of the foodie list included the “caliber of community restaurants, culinary skills of local chefs, and whether [food lovers] will be able to find the ingredients they need to assemble a gourmet meal at home.” We know Boston’s got the restaurants and chefs covered, as 2014 has seen more restaurant openings than we can count, and local chef Barbara Lynch was this year named the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Restaurateur.” As for the local ingredients, we do have some pretty outstanding farmers markets opening this season to browse.
Check out the complete list of Livability’s ranking below:
- New Haven, CT
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Boston, MA
- Asheville, NC
- Traverse City, MI
- Berkeley, CA
- Boulder, CO
- Burlington, VT
- Omaha, NE
- Washington, D.C
Image via Cocobeet/Facebook
