Tom Sietsema Ranks Portland As The Country's #1 Food City

The best place in America to eat is Portland, according to critic Tom Sietsema.

The critic ranked the city #1 in his "Search for America's Best Food Cities" series. He writes of Portland, Oregon:

"I relish the abundant quirks: lines for (stellar) breakfasts, even midweek, and strip clubs inclusive enough to offer vegan fare. And I applaud the sense of pride demonstrated even by fast-food operators, foremost Burgerville, which rolls out raspberry milkshakes and Walla Walla onion rings in the summer. But most of all, I love the ingredients here – 300 kinds of truffles, berries so delicate they don’t leave the state – and what a small contingent of talented chefs does with them."

The critic, who wrote a love letter to his home city earlier in the series, puts D.C. at #9. New York barely edged out Washington at #8. Here's the ranking in full:

1. Portland
2. San Francisco
3. Los Angeles
4. New Orleans
5. Houston
6. Philadelphia
7. Chicago
8. New York
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Charleston

Zagat's top-rated food city this year, Pittsburgh, did not make the list.