Food fuels and food rules. Sure, we all have to eat, but more and more, people care about exactly what they are eating, where it’s coming from, and who is making it. These types can easily be called foodies. They know the best new food trucks, the latest James Beard award winners, and where all the Michelin stars are within any given destination. It’s a good day to be a foodie (even if you don’t like that term) because food is just so damn good these days. These are the best U.S. cities to plan an epic, gastronomic bachelor party. Just take it easy on the Instagram food pics.
-
Miami
Matador Room, Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL, USA
No, seriously. Miami is going through a foodie renaissance with an awesome restaurant scene that did not exist ten years ago. Celebrity chefs have opened restaurants (literally every top chef seems to have a restaurant here now, from Jean Georges with Matador Room to Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak). There’s now a memorable elevated Asian scene (KYU, KOMODO), outstanding tacos (Coyo Tacos, Lolo’s Surf Cantina) and even good fried chicken (Yardbird). Right now, everything’s all about the high-end, laid-back dining like Lobster Bar and Upland, and a huge scene is happening in South of Fifth (next to South Beach) but you can find damn fine food anywhere in Miami now.
-
Los Angeles
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles At Beverly Hills, South Doheny Drive, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Los Angeles is the hottest dining destination in America right now. A trendy, stylish restaurant opens every week, and even the James Beard Foundation announced their awards in LA this year, the first time ever outside of Chicago. Most hotels will have restaurants that are hard to book (Georgie at Montage, Culina at Four Seasons). They’re the new place to be seen as they have bar scenes too (kill two birds with one stone). You cannot have a bad meal in LA at the moment. Everything is fresh thanks to the surrounding farms in rural California, the ideal weather to grow crops, and the perfect location to get foodstuffs flown in from Asia (like fish). It’s all about “California coastal” but you can bet LA knocks out insane Mexican, Latin, Italian and Asian too.
-
New Orleans
New Orleans, LA, USA
There’s two things that really get people visiting New Orleans: the partying and the food (the added bonus is the history and architecture). New Orleans is one of the top food cities in the world, and you can have some truly amazing meals at iconic restaurants for cheap or splurge at fine dining places. Remember, every bachelor party has to have one important meal, so this one has to be extra special. The history of the food culture is what made the food scene one of a kind. You have Cajun, Creole, Southern, and seafood almost everywhere you go, and there’s no other city in America that can bang out all four types of cuisine like New Orleans. Don’t forget your beignets and muffalettas, which just happened to be created here.
-
Nashville
Pinewood Social, Peabody Street, Nashville, TN, USA
Nashville is going to blow you away. You can find everything from cheap, homestyle eats to fine dining, and everything centers around Southern food. You’ll never eat so many plates of good grits, collard greens, and fried chicken in your life. In fact, fried chicken is so iconic that you’ll find “Nashville hot and spicy fried chicken” on menus outside of Tennessee. Because Nashville is a fun city where most visitors who come are groups (bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, conventions, cults, whatever), most of the better restaurants have built in those fun vibes like Pinewood Social (which has a bowling alley and swimming pool) or The Mockingbird, which basically has oversized art everywhere. Even Husk, the most famous high-end restaurant here, feels like a museum.
-
New York City
New York City, NY, USA
You can’t do a best foodie destination list without including NYC. This is the food capital of the world. The best pizza you have will be at a random place at 4 am, the best dim sum you have will be $4 in Chinatown, and the best bagel you’ll ever have in your life will be here from a deli (the minerality of the water here produces such fine bagels, FYI). It is possibly the only city in the world where you can find every ethnic eat imaginable (even, like Himalayan or Sudanese) so don’t be afraid to explore the outer boroughs. You can bet you can still get a good bite at 5 am in the 24-hour city. Obviously, street food and ethnic eats aside, the restaurant scene is epic, and most chefs make a name for themselves here before moving onto the national scene. Planning for NYC can be a pain, but this might help. Trust us!
-
Chicago
Girl & The Goat, West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL, USA
If your diet consists of hot dogs, BBQ and pizza, then hell… you just hit jackpot. The Windy City is where you’ll find some of the best versions of these comfort foods. It’s also home to some of the best restaurants in all of America, considering the huge number of Michelin rated and James Beard award winners. It’s a bucket list foodie destination where you can have pizza for breakfast, sausage hot dogs for lunch and BBQ for dinner, and you just ate the best of the best. Sandwich shops are almost everywhere too and some buzzing restaurants are household names in the food world (Alinea, Avec, Girl & The Goat).
-
Napa Valley
The French Laundry, Washington Street, Yountville, CA, USA
It is super expensive to have a restaurant in Napa Valley, so you know food is going to be equally expensive. But here, the food is worth it. Some of the top restaurants in the world are here (Morimoto, French Laundry, Meadowood), and Napa Valley has a huge concentration (or is constellation?) of Michelin stars. You will not consume anything processed in Napa. Everything comes from the farms and organic gardens, and you can easily wash everything down with wine. Save the up for a foodie trip to Napa—it’s quite possibly going to be the most epic eating weekend you’ve ever had.
-
Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip, NV, USA
Not only will you have great food in Las Vegas, you will indulge. Isn’t that one of the seven sins? If not, it should be. Vegas is all about going over the top, so the restaurants exceed expectations. Every celebrity chef in the world has set up shop here, and they don’t hold back with restaurant design, ambience and, obviously, the food. It is pricey, so we hope you have deep pockets (or do really well at the tables). Most of the better restaurants are inside casino resorts, but you can still find great grub off the strip. The locals who work in show biz want a good meal too.
-
San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, USA
San Francisco has always been known for food. Even pre-tech boom, people came for the fine-dining scene, eating at Michelin Star restaurants and getting fresh seafood with scenic views (the city is famously hilly, so you always have restaurants or bars perched somewhere). Now, post-tech boom, the restaurant scene is even better. You can find old-school establishments, from steakhouses to classy seafood joints, new-school contemporary restaurants, and some of the best Chinese food in all of California.
