Little Rock and Fort Smith Named Two of the Best U.S. Food Cities

With a burgeoning culinary scene and wide variety of food options, Little Rock is beginning to gain notice as a city for foodies. From fine dining such as Cache to down-home favorites like Whole Hog Café, there’s something for all tastes and budgets.

 

And now Little Rock’s status as a foodie city is confirmed. A recent WalletHub poll listed Little Rock as the 116^th best food city in the United States. Little Rock scored higher than noted “food capitals” like Memphis; Kansas City, Mo.; and Baton Rouge, La.

 

WalletHub scored Little Rock as being 142^nd in terms of affordability and 90^th in “diversity, accessibility and quality.” For reference, New York City, the second best foodie city according to the poll, was 175^th in affordability and first in diversity, accessibility and quality.

 

Little Rock wasn’t the only Arkansas city to get a shout-out on the list. Fort Smith also charted on the Best Food Cities list. Fort Smith charted below Little Rock as the 147^th best food city, just beating out New Haven, Conn.

 

Fort Smith was ranked 141^st for affordability and 149^th for diversity, accessibility and quality.

 

The top 10 spots were taken up by some of the largest cities in the United States, as well as cultural hotbeds. Portland, Ore. took the top spot, followed inevitably by New York City. Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles round out the top five best food cities on the list.

 

For some, the next top food city might be surprising: Las Vegas. The seventh and eighth spots are taken by two Pacific Coast cities: San Diego and Seattle, respectively. The final two spots in the top 10 move back closer to the heartland. Chicago takes ninth place and Austin “Keep It Weird” Texas takes tenth place.

 

Check out the full report here.

 

READ MORE: Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating