America's Best Restaurant Cities

"Today ... most major cities in the U.S. have the kind of gastronomic diversity and regionality that is rich in every department, and even if you’ve visited recently, you can be sure that next time you go, there’ll be more new and enticing restaurants than you could possibly visit," writes Donald Burnam in a recent ForbesTraveler.com piece, "America's Best Restaurant Cities." "It’s getting hard not to have a great meal anywhere in the U.S.." Burnam continues.

Forbes' Top 10 Restaurant Cities:
1. New York City
2. Chicago
3. San Francisco
4. Los Angeles
5. New Orleans
6. Houston
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Atlanta
9. Boston
10. Las Vegas

Rankings were based on: Overall number of restaurants above the fast food level; Number of fine dining restaurants with national and international standing; Solid representation of regional American food; A wide segment of second-tier restaurants that would include seafood, steakhouses, and independently chef-owned restaurants; Breadth and depth of ethnic restaurants, especially if the city has neighborhood such as a Chinatown; A significant number of neigborhood restaurants where the locals tend to eat out regularly; A well-traveled clientele that regards eating out in that city one of the real pleasures of going there.

IN THE NEWS: The Paris Bistro (1500 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City) gets three stars from Anne Wilson in the Tribune, while the Best Bites column considers the Pink Flamingo Roll at Mikado Downtown, 67 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City. The paper also notes: Thai Wild Ginger recently opened at 1407 W. 9000 South, West Jordan: and The Robin's Nest, a popular soup and sandwich shop in East Millcreek, has moved to a new home at 311 S. Main in downtown Salt Lake City. sltrib.com ... Mizumi (8391 S. 700 East, Sandy) gets three stars from Stacey Kratz in the Deseret Morning News. deseretnews.com ... Ted Scheffler reviews Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine (912 E. 900 South) in City Weekly.

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com