Is New Orleans no longer America’s best food city? The L.A. Times thinks so

In a 2013 interview with CNN, the late Anthony Bourdain was asked which American city’s food everyone should try at least once. His answer? New Orleans.

“In America, there might be better gastronomic destinations than New Orleans, but there is no place more uniquely wonderful,” he said. “It’s a must-see city because there’s no explaining it, no describing it. You can’t compare it to anything. So, far and away New Orleans.”

That seemed to close the case for many of us in south Louisiana. Bourdain is a foodie god, and his opinions are considered canon. Even here in Baton Rouge—a city often dealing with an inferiority complex in the shadow of its flashier sister—we can’t deny the draw of the Big Easy. We already know it’s the best. Bourdain just solidified it.

So when Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison announced in a Jan. 3 piece that the other L.A. is, in fact, the best and most exciting food city in the country, it pissed off a lot of people.

The Times-Picayune caught wind of it, offering up a side eye-serving headline that said, “Los Angeles, not New Orleans, is America’s best food city, LA Times columnist declares.”

Addison, who joined the Los Angeles Times in January 2019 after serving as the national critic for Eater, referenced the number of immigrant communities around the city that have stayed true to their culinary roots. Second generations have begun to innovate those passed-down recipes in exciting ways while still aiming to please their elders. For visitors and locals alike, the city has become a choose-your-own-adventure food tour with endless routes to take.

“L.A. doesn’t need any more affirmation at this point, but I’ll say it anyway: Its wondrous complexity does indeed make it the best food city in America,” Addison says.

So what’s your take on the rivalry? Has L.A. bested the Crescent City? Is the hipness of declaring New Orleans a foodie destination starting to wear off? Or is this just the product of a food critic aiming—ahem—for some clicks?

One thing’s for sure, even if New Orleans’ time in the limelight is starting to wane, we can thank the Big Easy for some of that attention rubbing off on Baton Rouge. Thrillist came this way in July 2019 to call us “cool as hell.” And Food & Wine declared the best beignets in New Orleans were actually … right here in the Capital City.

As the endless search for the best food cities continues, maybe Baton Rouge will start seeing its name on a few lists, too?