Miami, Orlando, Tampa Among Top US Cities For Foodies

MIAMI, FL — Miami, Orlando and Tampa are Among the top U.S cities for foodies, according to a new study by personal finance website WalletHub.

Miami ranked third in the nation for foodies behind only Portland and New York based on 30 factors ranging from affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants to the number of food festivals per person and craft breweries and wineries per person.

"Americans today apply the term 'foodie' to anyone who loves gourmet dining. But foodie culture isn’t limited to restaurants," WalletHub said. "More importantly, far fewer than the many who claim to be foodies truly deserve the label."

WalletHub said authentic foodies not only crave new and different flavors but also savor the exploratory experience of eating, learning and discovering food.

Orlando ranked 11th in the study while Tampa ranked 13th. Fort Lauderdale came in 33rd and Jacksonville ranked 64th. Hialeah was 87th and St. Petersburg was 90th. Tallahassee ranked 112th while Cape Coral came in at 123rd. Pembroke Pines ranked 143rd. Port St. Lucie ranked 169th.

"Naturally, the foodie lifestyle can be quite expensive, considering that restaurant prices rose 3.2 percent just between July 2018 and July 2019," WalletHub said. "In 2015, Americans spent more money at food establishments than at grocery stores for the first time and restaurant purchases continue to experience greater year-over-year growth than grocery sales in 2019."

While eating out can be expensive, the website also noted that eating at home can be pricey too, depending on the local cost of living as well as the type and quality of ingredients used.

Miami topped all other cities in the U.S. for its affordability and accessibility of highly rated restaurants. It ranked second in the country for the number of gourmet specialty food stores per person and third for the number of restaurants per person.

Rounding at the top 10 cities for foodies were San Francisco at number four, Los Angeles in fifth place, Las Vegas in sixth place, San Diego in seventh, Seattle in eighth place, Chicago in ninth and Austin in 10th place.

Read the complete findings here.