This is great news for me. Even though, I am now living in Japan. I am originally from Chicago. I still love Chicago. I remember going to some great restaurants and bars with friends and family.Chicago Best Food City: Munchies People's Choice Awards Says Windy City Is Tops For Tasty Eats
Posted: 05/09/2013 5:29 pm EDT | Updated: 05/09/2013 5:51 pm EDTAccording to the latest Munchies Awards announced on Wednesday, Chicago is a food city that's second to none.
Foodie website The Braiser dubbed the prizes the "backyard version of the James Beard Awards," and noted the Munchies: The People’s Choice Awards skewed heavily toward the Midwest when it came to winners of the nation's best chef, food magazine, website and cuisine-specific eats.
The somewhat new Bar Toma won the hearts (or tastebuds) of Muchies voters for best pizza, while Lincoln Park's The Butcher and the Burger came out on top for its patty perfection.
(Read chefs' thoughts on the city's culinary scene and their favorite Chicago food spots below.)
Not only did Chicago beat out New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland for the distinction of America's "Best Food City," the Hog Butcher of the World made a strong showing across several cuisine-specific areas, too.
Chicago chef Paul Kahan (who recently notched a major James Beard nod) ranked among the finalists for Best Chef, while Big Star, Black Dog Gelato and Intelligentsia were in the running for best tacos, ice cream and coffee, respectively.
Nominees were chosen by panelists (which included highly opinionated Chicago food powerhouse Graham Elliot) and set to a public vote.
Recently, the city's iconic Super Dawg received the honor of America's Most Life-Changing Hot Dog, (pictured above) and Chicago nabbed another nod from Esquire for our indisputably awesome pizza.
Though the local food scene has had no shortage of accolades from industry kingmakers like the James Beard Foundation and the Michelin Guides, the Munchies show it's always nice to get love from the voting (and eating) public.
When talking about food and which city has a bigger food scene, people would argue that New York City has the one of the most vibrant food scenes in America. I would not know this personally because I have never been to New York City myself. Food critics and other people in the food industry would sometimes pass up Chicago in order to go places like Miami, New Orleans, or Los Angeles. However, people who live in Chicago know that we have a great food scene and hear that now Chicago is one of the best ranked food cities around really pleases me.
Eventually for me, I will be returning back to Chicago to live, and I cannot wait to try all of the food that I have been missing over the years. For a better understanding of what I am talking about and why I am so proud of my hometown, just watch these videos. You will see that Chicago is known for not only bad weather, Al Capone, and the Chicago Bulls but also for great food.
