Asheville, North Carolina, was named a top destination for foodies. This file photo was taken at Plant, a vegan restaurant in the city.
Juli Leonard
jleonard@newsobserver.com
A North Carolina city is one of the nation’s top places for food lovers to visit — so bring an appetite, new rankings show.
Asheville ranks No. 10 on a list of cities offering top-notch restaurants and cuisine, according to results published Wednesday, Jan. 18.
To create the list, the travel website Tripadvisor studied comments that vacationers left from November 2021 to October 2022. While examining food and other categories, the website said it considered the “quality and quantity of ratings and reviews” about “accommodations, restaurants, and things to do” across the country.
Asheville was the sole North Carolina city to earn a top 10 spot in the food rankings. Tripadvisor recognized the travel hot spot for having standout dining options close to mountain scenery.
“If you’re into eating locally and supporting sustainable agriculture, go to Asheville — and eat, eat, eat,” Tripadvisor wrote in its report. “This town of less than 100,000 people has 17 farmers’ markets, and the local restaurant scene is all about taking advantage of the seasonal produce sold there.”
For those who come thirsty, Tripadvisor also gave Asheville a nod for its breweries. That might not come as a surprise, as the mountain tourist town recently made it onto a list of top U.S. cities for beer drinkers, McClatchy News reported.
Asheville also isn’t a stranger to earning praise for its dining scene.
Last year, Yelp named the city the nation’s best place for foodies to check out. Restaurants in Asheville also received honors for a range of offerings, including hot chocolate and outdoor dining.
Overall, the tourist destination of New Orleans ranked highest on Tripadvisor’s list. Rounding out the top five:
- Charleston, South Carolina
- New York City
- Savannah, Georgia
- Maui, Hawaii
On a separate list of best food cities in the world, the top honor went to Rome, Italy.
Simone Jasper is a reporter covering breaking stories for The News & Observer and real-time news in the Carolinas.
