The Best Food Neighborhoods in the USA
A coast-to-coast look at the culinary oases that keep us coming back for more.
(March 19, 2024) - You don’t need the internet to tell you that there’s good eating in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Miami’s Little Havana, New Orleans’s French Quarter, or Charleston’s everywhere. These neighborhoods are the stuff of legend—their reputations precede them. But what about lesser-known global food havens in places like St. Louis, Missouri; Boise, Idaho; and Dearborn, Michigan? What does their multicultural existence say about what it means to be American?
Admittedly, our interpretation of the word “neighborhood” is loose here. In some cases, it’s a tidy number of blocks nestled between clear cross streets. In others, the thoroughfare runs like a life-sustaining artery through multiple neighborhoods, feeding the divergent communities that flock to them. What all 12 districts and strips that follow have in common are the sheer number of immigrant-, BIPOC-, and women-owned businesses that thrive there; the intrepid foodies who support them in droves; and, of course, ridiculously delicious food.
And so, we introduce AFAR’s best food neighborhoods in the United States, in no particular order . . .
NuLu in Louisville, Kentucky
NuLu stands for “New Louisville,” the East Market District of downtown known for its art galleries, antique shops, and robust food scene. Settle in for slow-roasted lechon asado and classic cancháncharas at Cuban rum bar and restaurant La Bodeguita de Mima, pork belly marinated in doenjang at Korean steakhouse (Nami) from celebrity chef Edward Lee, or a jaw-dropping salatim platter from Levantine restaurant Meesh Meesh. The siren calls don’t stop there, either: Other NuLu temptations include hot chicken, barbecue, and bourbon-infused bonbons (this is the South, after all).
For breakfast or brunch: The mile-high biscuit sandwiches and pancake corn dogs at Biscuit Belly will fill you for hours. For something lighter, consider the beet-cured salmon tartine from Rosettes, a Parisian-style café inside the newly opened Hotel Genevieve.
For lunch: Explore Cajun and Creole flavors at LouLou on Market, where the midday offerings include jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish étoufée, and oysters on the half shell with a dash of Crystal hot sauce.
For dinner: Chef Bruce Ucán, owner of the Mayan Café, has been entrenched in the NuLu neighborhood for more than a quarter of a century. His tok-sel lima beans—seared the traditional Mayan way with sesame oil, pumpkin seeds, green onions, parsley, and lime—are lionized locally, but don’t miss his confited duck in a smokey-rich, 30-plus-ingredient black mole sauce.
For coffee and dessert: Grab a butterscotch latte and an ooey-gooey chocolate-chip cookie from Please & Thank You, a coffee shop-slash-bakery whose cookies are so coveted they ship them by the dozen nationwide.
For a nightcap: Ucán recommends moseying over to Nouvelle Bar & Bottle, a French-inspired wine bar with reds, whites, and what it dubs “a completely irresponsible champagne list.” Also Taj, a “sexy bourbon bar” with the occasional live music night and costumed karaoke party.
What to bring home: A tray of Modjeskas from the 103-year-old Muth’s Candies. The creamy, buttery, marshmallow-stuffed caramels were named after Helena Modjeska, a Polish actress who fell in love with Louisville after emigrating to the United States in the 1840s.
This article was written by Ashlea Halpern. You can read the full article via the link below