Perhaps lists of people, places and things will soon be outpacing cat videos as the most popular hits on the internet. (I myself am drawn to things like “Celebrities with ugly spouses” and “Tattoos people will soon regret,” and I am not ashamed to say so! Well, maybe a little ashamed.) But the news is that Louisville has made a number of relatively high spots on several recent lists of cities known for their food and restaurant scenes.The most recent such franking was on Thrilllist, which named the fifty best food cities in the U.S. Louisville came in at # 16, just ahead of Denver and just below Atlanta. Thrilist had already cited the ‘Ville the “7 most underrated food cities” list earlier in the year. Here is the new Thrillist citation, along with links to their previous Louisville mentions:
16. Louisville
Population: 597,337
It’s no secret that we’re fans of The Ville’s burgeoning class of cuisine-creators — hell, we opened an edition there just to cover it this year! The reasons are myriad, but they all orbit around the fact that Louisville’s kitchens punch way above the city’s weight class. It starts with history: L’ville lays claim to deeply traditional items like the Hot Brown, burgoo, and derby pie, plus deeply traditional establishments like the Brown Hotel. Don’t forget about fried chicken (a Kentucky classic) and the cheeseburger, which may have been invented right here in Louisville.
Unlike many other mid-sized Southern cities, though, they’ve got no intention to merely draft off old pedigree here on the banks of the Ohio. Just look at some of the openings from the past year alone: a modern breakfast counter from local beer whizzes, abrick-and-mortar burger mecca born from food-truck fame, a New Orleans jambalaya-and-jazz joint… the list goes on. Seriously, eating in Louisville right now is like eating in Austin 10 years ago or Portland five years before that or maybe Asheville IN THE FUTURE. This is a city destined for national food relevance in the coming years, so get down there and start eating before everything has a line.
And a bit earlier this year, Saveur magazine (whose new editor, Adam Sachs, is a Louisville native) gave Louisville honorable mention in its list of 2014 Culinary Travel Awards. You will have to scroll to the bottom to see the list of also ran “notables,” but down there is the link to us.
And even Huffington Post gave the River City some love, including us in its “13 greatest Destination Food Towns In America.” Though I am a bit nonplussed that that photo Huffington chose to represent the city’s culinary scene is a photo of the iconic Twig and Leaf neon sign.
