Between NYC+North Jersey, LA, and the Bay Area. Which of the three do you think has the best overall food?

33 comments

1. They’re all really good. Things like that fluctuate all the time.

2. NYC by far

3. LA hands down

4. Chicago.

5. All of them. They all have a wide variety of styles and quality.

6. It depends on if you are looking for a specific cuisine, or just a variety.

   NY metro if overall quality of variety etc. There simply are more large population of various origins/ancestries than elsewhere.

7. NYC. It’s obviously immense, but it’s also much more cosmopolitan than the other options – both features that contribute to an amazing selection of world-class food.

8. Having spent a considerable amount of time in all three areas (well, a little bit of time in the Bay Area, but pretty much all of my life in the other two), it depends on what you want.

   They all have specific things they do really well.

   However, if you told me you had a particular food or cuisine in mind and you weren’t going to tell me what it was until after I picked one of the three? NYC, hands down.

   There are more options at higher quality than pretty much anywhere else (and generally easier to get to, especially compared to LA).

9. The answer is Chicago and New Orleans. No I will not be taking any questions.

   ~~Honestly any major American metropolis is going to have cosmopolitian food scenes and you can’t go wrong with either of those three or any additional ones like Chicago or Miami.~~

10. North Jersey and the Bay aren’t even in the running, though the Bay does have a lot of Michelin stars

    NYC miiiight beats us overall, but I’m sure we clear with Mexican food, KBBQ and Sushi

11. Chicago

12. NYC/North Jersey and it isn’t even close.

    You can count on one hand the number of good ethnic cuisines you CAN’T find in NYC, but we top the list in most you CAN find here. From fine dining to food trucks, there’s basically something for every craving, taste and budget. And you can get fusion here too, which is another bonus.

13. NYC for the variety and volume. Pick any neighborhood and there’s gonna be at least a handful of spots that will give you a life changing meal.

    Other cities are the best at specific types of food (For example LA and mexican) but the overall food scene is just a different beast in NYC its unlike anywhere else. I try to visit for a long weekend every year and spend pretty much the whole time eating

14. NYC Metro

15. Michelin stars? NYC 78, SF7 bay area 38, LA 28, followed by DC with 24. But I absolutely wouldn’t head to any one of these for BBQ (Carolina Gold—Fight me!), or Ethiopian food (Minneapolis is amazing )

16. NYC for fancy food. LA for cheap but delicious. Bay is somewhere in between.

17. LA has an amazing food scene and certain cuisines are better here than anywhere else in the US. However, New York City has probably the best food scene in the entire World.

18. Orlando probably

19. Los Angeles.

20. Manhattanite in the Bay Area here: Los Angeles.

    That said, every area excels at what they do. I love nouveau American / California in the Bay, but there’s no Italian / ethnic white people food / non-Mexican Latino food compared to NYC (I will forever gripe about the dearth of Peruvian or Georgian restaurants).

21. None of them

    New Orleans

22. NYC. Good and a lot of variety.

23. NYC by far

24. Definitely NYC but Houston has an underrated food scene as well.

25. New York has Queens, ’nuff said.

26. It really depends. But I’d say Galveston has some Good Cuisine! New York is known for their classic Pizza, it would literally be a crime to not mention how good New York’s pizza is! New Yorkers back me up on this claim!

27. I used to live in NYC as much as I hated it there, I must admit the food both in quality and variety is amazing.

28. I’m biased; I’m from the Gourmet Ghetto (Bay Area). But yes, it depends on the type of cuisine you want. The Bay Area has California cuisine, Chinese, sushi, Asian fusion cuisines, Mexican and Tex-Mex, and some soul food, plus a variety of cuisines from other parts of the world, but it can’t compete when it comes to kosher delis, cheesesteaks, deep-dish pizza (except for Zachary’s), lobster, BBQ (except Everett & Jones) and certain other east coast and southern foods.

29. LA by a substantial margin.

30. LA

31. Queens alone can compete with the other areas.

32. I’d give the trophy to NYC, especially if we’re talking high end and/or experimental.

    L.A. has better Mexican food, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have better sushi.

    Bay Area? I dunno. I’m guessing they have better Indian and Chinese than L.A. does. Maybe better seafood, but again, I dunno.

33. Chicago