Yelp Named This City The Best For Foodie Visitors In 2022
Thanks to the growth of social media, it's easy to day dream of traveling to far off destinations to indulge in exotic, mouth watering culinary delights. For example, while you may not be very familiar with the tiny nation of Slovenia, you might learn more about the country's cuisine by following pages like Slovenia Food Experience. This heightened accessibility via social media has caused a massive increase in food tourism over the years. According to Research and Markets, the global culinary tourism market was valued at $1,116.7 billion in 2019.
With all of the content and destinations out there, it can be difficult to decide what destination should be at the top of the list. Luckily, Yelp is here to help foodies find their next tourist destination. They recently ranked the top ten food destinations in the U.S. for travelers to enjoy. They focused specifically on tourist destinations by only collecting reviews from out-of-towners, and then ranking those with the best scores.
In the top ten were Bend-Redmond, Ore.; Boise City, Idaho; Paso Robles, Calif.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Kapaa and Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii; Kill Devil Hills, N.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Savannah, Ga.
Stand out destinations are Bend-Redmond for its thriving brewery scene, and Savannah for its 2022 James Beard Outstanding Chef award-winner Mashama Bailey's, "The Grey." Even with all of these great destinations, Asheville, N.C. still stood apart as number one.
Asheville, NC is Yelp's top city for foodies in 2022.
Asheville is a small city nestled into North Carolina's stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The town has become well-known for its thriving art, brewing, and food scenes. As a result, it has earned the nickname of "Paris of the South" (via HuffPost).
Yelp named it as its top destination for foodies in 2022 for its "blending the flavors of the American South with Appalachian fare." It says that the city has a unique "mountain-to-urban" food scene that fuels the creativity of local chefs and artisans. Yelpers recommend making reservations at Chef Katie Button's Cúrate for Spanish tapas plates like the fried eggplant or jamon iberico (via Eater). Another favorite restaurant was Chestnut, which is featured as the best reviewed restaurant in Asheville on Yelp. Travelers flock to Chestnut to find Head Chef Joe Scully's creativity which is expressed on their monthly rotating menu of dishes. Yelpers also loved the Funkatorium which boasts that it is the East Coast's first sour beer-dedicated taproom. It's operated by Wicked Weed Brewing and features a full brewpub, beer garden, and bottle shop as well. It's the perfect stop for fans of beer or for those who are just plain hungry anytime they visit Asheville.