ST. LOUIS — Depending on who you ask, it's official: St. Louis is one of America's best food cities.
Zagat, a national restaurant review guide, ranked St. Louis as the 17th most exciting food city in America, beating out city-rival Kansas City, Mo., Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, and others.
The list cited the works of local chefs and their 'elevated concepts' in the local cuisine as part of the reason the Gateway City is thriving. Restaurants such as Privado, Squar1 Project and Hi-Pointe Drive-In were listed as prime examples of St. Louis food excelling beyond the norm.
The ensemble of food trucks was also listed as a helping hand, with Guerilla Street Food, Balkan Treat Box rounding out the list, played a helping hand marking St. Louis a step above the rest.
The full list of most exciting food cities in America is below:
- 30. Asheville, N.C.
- 29. Baltimore
- 28. Kansas City, Mo.
- 27. Portland, Maine
- 26. Lexington, Ky.
- 25. Richmond, Va.
- 24. Birmingham, Al.
- 23. San Diego
- 22. Indianapolis
- 21. Detroit
- 20. Nashville
- 19. Miami
- 18. Minneapolis
- 17. St. Louis
- 16. Dallas/Fort Worth
- 15. New York City
- 14. Boston
- 13. Houston
- 12. Raleigh, N.C.
- 11. Philadelphia
- 10. San Francisco
- 9. Atlanta
- 8. New Orleans
- 7. Charleston, S.C.
- 6. Washington, D.C.
- 5. Seattle
- 4. Denver
- 3. Chicago
- 2. Austin
- 1. Los Angeles