10 Best US Cities For Local Food (PHOTOS)

We here at HuffPost Green think the local food movement is a thriving and exciting part of the discussion about sustainability. After researching the best local food in the United States, we compiled this slideshow of our discoveries, focusing mainly on restaurants. However, thankfully, this list is far from comprehensive. There is so many exciting things happening in the good food movement, there is no way we could mention everything.

First, vote on your favorite city that we've nominated for local eats.

Second, tell us what we missed. What's a fantastic city or town has great local food that doesn't get national attention? What mindblowing restaurant have we not heard about? Who's doing amazing work cooking local food that's not at a high-end restaurant? Who's using local food in soup kitchens, pioneering innovative community supported agriculture programs, or teaching kids how to grow and cook their own food?

These are all fascinating topics we want to cover in the coming weeks and months, so send us your tips to [e-mail].

Third, join in HuffPost Green's first citizen journalism mapping project. Click the participate button to send us photos of your favorite local grub restaurants.

Local Food Restaurants

 

Find a picture, click the participate button, add a title and upload your picture

Check out the restaurants people have submitted from all over the country already!

To find delicious local green eats near you try the EatWellGuide, a database of green restaurants, Greenopia, an online green guide to most cities in the United States, and the Chefs Collaborative, a restaurant database of locavore dining options.

Denver, CO

In the city that hosted the greenest Democratic National Convention, Denver boasts an incredible array of local fare.



Best Green Eats:

Duo serves up farm fresh meals straight to the table. The Kitchen dishes out seasonal ingredients paired with local beverages.

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Comments

[Loretta Callahan]

11:15 PM on 08/20/2009

Portland baby! When I had my urban garden, some of the restaurants would buy some of my veges and herbs when their suppliers came up short. I was glad to see New Orleans on the list. SF is a given!

[navina]

01:51 AM on 08/18/2009

Thanks for this article, raising awareness about local food and for including the SF Bay Area, where deliciously prepared locally grown food abounds! I also wanted to highlight Oakland, the other city in the area where real work is being done to create a resilient and equitable local food system in which every resident can afford to eat high quality, fresh, locally grown food --- regardless of income. In a city where, people say, its easier to get a gun than a tomato, Oakland boasts pioneering "food justice" organizations that work with low-income community residents to educate them about the process of food from seed to table, including the environmental and economic dimensions of our food system, to improve access to healthful fresh, local food in low-income neighborhoods, and to engage people in decision-making around their local food system.... while supporting local growers - urban and rural. These organizations include Oakland Food Connection, People's Grocery, EBAYC, and City Slicker Farms. These organizations and others, together with hundreds of community residents, are coming together to create an economic and policy climate that transforms our food system through initiatives like the HOPE Collaborative (Health for Oakland's People and Environment).

Not too long from now, thanks to their hard work and perseverance, everyone in Oakland, regardless of economic background, will have the luxury of choosing to eat some of the delicious organic bounty of produce grown and harvested less than 100 miles away.

[valereee]

06:54 PM on 08/01/2009

So that whole center of the country where all the food is grown...nothing there? Really?

[force fed up]

01:41 PM on 08/17/2009

I've lived in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco and currently reside in Little Rock Arkansas. I will say Little Rock Arkansas has some of the best local restaurants I've ever eaten at. My wife and I won't eat at the chain places and we don't have to because there is such a huge diversity of locally owned places here.

[RMatASAP]

03:33 PM on 07/30/2009

Asheville, NC is a top food city, I think. The downtown area offers great arts and culture--and dozens of independent restaurants. Meanwhile, the surrounding rural areas are home to over 12,000 family farms that supply locally grown foods.

To get a sense of Western North Carolina's local food scene, search restaurants and farms here : http://www.buyappalachian.org . There's some good tourist info here, too: http://www.exploreasheville.com/foodtopia/restaurants/index.aspx

[Rapier]

01:37 PM on 07/30/2009

How about ten best breakfast cities? Saw some great recipes at

http://ofthisandthat.org/Recipes.html

[Rapier]

10:52 PM on 07/29/2009

This has some great Chicago food places

http://whatstodo.us/RestaurantFavorites.html

[national crisis]

06:08 PM on 07/29/2009

Any city can be good for local food, if the residents get the majority of their food from a "local" source (less than 50 miles away). If you're into urban farming or gardening, then you've got a local food source. If you have farms on the outskirts of your town, then you're in a prime spot for local food. If you live in an area that is overrun with urban sprawl, bad news... not a good spot for local food - even if the restaurants are good.

Some of the cities listed here have great fresh seafood, but where and how was it caught? If it traveled more than 50 miles to get to your plate, then it's not local! Sorry.

It helps if your city has organizations that foster direct relationships between farmers and restaurants. Here's an interesting blog on cooking using local food: http://www.gutenappetit-letseat.blogspot.com/

[n5ifi]

08:35 PM on 07/29/2009

WHERES the BEEF?

[national crisis]

01:42 AM on 07/30/2009

In a pasture, not a feed lot.

[Rapier]

02:01 PM on 07/29/2009

What a great idea?

Also on food --- amusing with some useful and rather tasty recipes

http://thegorillachef.com/

[DonPMitchell]

01:49 PM on 07/29/2009

Seattle has a lot of great food, but they list a Vegan restaurant? Has this guy ever been to Seattle? Has he ever heard of salmon?

[SueSueStraightTalk]

10:20 AM on 07/29/2009

This is a crock of crap. Baltimore does not even rank? There is nothing like a crabcake from Baltimore Maryland. Furthermore, how can Minneapolis have great sea food.....they are not on the ocean! Hello it can't be fresh!

[Libbety]

04:11 PM on 07/29/2009

I live in CA. and some of the best and most reasonably priced seafood I've ever eaten was during the 2 years we lived in Vermont. All the seafood there is shipped fresh from Maine. Whole tanks of live Maine lobsters. Two varieties of scallops. Clams, muscles, shrimp, tuna they had it all...fresh...frozen you name it. It was all cheap. Now that I'm back in CA. I can no longer afford to eat it. Bummer!

[elcerritan]

12:04 AM on 08/12/2009

But if it's shipped from Maine to Vermont, it's not LOCAL food, which is (supposedly) the point of this article ... although the comments seem to have drifted into an unfocused discussion of which cities have tasty food, or which cities have some kind of "local cuisine," even if the raw ingredients for that cuisine don't come from a local source.

[Nickolay Gurin]

09:49 AM on 07/29/2009

are you joking?

[Constantine Margiev]

09:54 AM on 07/29/2009

just kidding :)

[Constantine Margiev]

09:40 AM on 07/29/2009

i like ukrainian meals

[Nickolay Gurin]

09:51 AM on 07/29/2009

sorry, my previous comment was addressed this ukrainian(?) guy

[longislandlol]

09:39 AM on 07/29/2009

In NY-- we have the best seafood--

[TruthmongerII]

12:19 AM on 07/29/2009

I love the choices and quality found in local San Francisco food; not just the restaurants (a huge selection of nearly every cuisine in the world) but the produce available at Certified Organic Farmers Markets. And it's not all tomatoes and berries: artisan cheeses, local wines, olives, honey, pizza, breads, meats, fish -- the markets sell a great many foods and it lessens the carbon footprint if you food was grown/prepared within 20 miles of your home.

[Libbety]

04:15 PM on 07/29/2009

CA. has the freshest food per capita by far. I just bought 20 baby artichokes for a dollar at a year round produce stand out in Watsonville. 12 ears of corn for $2.00. That's hard to beat!

[ZanScott49]

01:25 AM on 07/30/2009

I love the farmer's markets around here. I'll definitely be hitting up the Marin Civic Center this week. I can do the majority of my weekly shopping there. You're right, it's so much more than just produce.

[Aron Cohen]

08:12 PM on 07/28/2009

Lancaster, PA?
Portland, ME?
Cleveland, OH?
Philadelphia, PA?
Atlanta, GA?

Those are also good places for local food believe it or not.