los angeles.

first, every ethnic group on earth has an enclave in LA. second, it is the first destination of the food grown in the central valley, where it is always sunny and so the produce is better than practically anywhere else, and is close enough not to suffer during transit.

the trick of course, is finding it. don't expect decent food along the third street promenade, along la cienega, in old pasadena, or in westwood. more so than other parts of the world, a restaurant populated by white people aged 20-30 will be a "scene" and is almost guaranteed to have bad food.

and ironically, the best ethnic food isn't always in the ethnic enclaves. i think the best thai place is in sherman oaks, not thai town. the best indian food i know of is in cerritos, not artesia. there are lots of good korean places in fullerton. my favorite japanese places are south of brentwood. and don't get me started on how little chinese food there is in chinatown.

I went to University in London. 40 years ago, I agree you would be laughed at for suggesting London was a world food city. However, London has come a long way in 40 years. There are now at least 3 famous British Chefs. It is also very cosmopolitan and as someone has mentioned up thread - a lot of Michelin starred restaurants - each to his own I guess. :)

And, our ham and cheese toasties are great! :p

I had fried black puddings with other stuff and washed down with Wadworth 6X a few years back in a great pub - I seem to remember the Kings Cross area but could be wrong. Cheese and Tomato toasties are a good alternative for a vegetarian. ^

There is a grilled cheese truck which recently appeared at the Southbank food market - but I'm not sure that I'd see it as all that important.

There is a remarkable amount of consistency here. My personal ranking, with a bit of a focus on street food rather than Michelin (but not by much) would be:
San Sebastian
Singapore
Lima
London
Hong Kong
Mexico City

I'll second that. The greater LA area is foodie paradise. Second place would go to the San Francisco bay area, not necessarily the city itself.

Ants
 

Relative to its size, San Francisco itself has incredible food creativity and resourses. Add in Napa/Sonoma, the East Bay, Marin etc, and you have outstanding options at all price points.

LA's great advantage is the influx of immigration, especially in the last 10 years. People who might previously come to live in the Bay Area or Canada now migrate to places like the San Gabriel Valley, and their restaurants follow. Not just the well known szechuan or hunan, but also food from areas like dongbei,
Yunnan, shannaxi, and the muslim/halal areas in the west. All available in the SGV.

And the Ramen craze in the US essentially started on Sawtelle Blvd.

Glad to see all of the LA votes on here - we have really incredible food.

In case anyone is trying to look that up, it should be Sawtelle, and my fave is Tsujita Annex (but others prefer Tsujita or even Tatsu).

Curious, where in Chicago? if the Loop or downtown area, you haven't at all experienced what Chicago has to offer.

Just goes to show that it's a question with no real answer. Also goes to
show that even the silliest question can generate some cool conversation.

I can't really take issue with most of the recommendations here, though
Houston seems a bit of a stretch (I'd take Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio
over it), and I find the general standard of eating in London not so great
(it must be said that three of the first five Michelin-starred restaurants I
ever ate at were there). One can eat well in pretty much any city this
side of Des Moines.

Sorry, that was the stupid auto-correct on my tablet. Will correct in the post above.

Houston, despite its size and the wealth in places like River Oaks, has always seemed to be a culinary provincal backwater, at best.

That began to change with the first wave of postwar immigraction from Vietnam. It was further added to after Katrina, when many of the Vietnamese and others from Louisiana evacuated to Houston and decided to stay.

Just my 2c:

Best meat: Canada (beef) or New Zealand (lamb).

Best fine dining: London.

Best value for money: Cape Town.

Best street/hawker food: Singapore, by yards.

Best seafood: Tokyo.

Best variety: Melbourne.

Most under-rated: Sri Lanka.

Most over-rated: You guessed it - Paris.

+1. The best food I've had anywhere was in the Basque country of Spain.

Oh yes ^ totally agree - IMHO the French have got a little complacent

I'll be in Chicago this weekend, primarily to enjoy the grub. What's your deep dish recommendation, Sweet Willie?