Houston Community News >> Top 10 Cities for Food and Wine

8/6/2007-- Tourists fed up with the beach and not interested in golf or tennis are finding a new reason to travel - food. They are going great distances to sample local cheeses, pastries and exotic delicacies.

Forbes.com has just released its list of the top 10 cities for foodies:

1. New York City

Essential Eats: Per Se to sample Thomas Keller's constantly changing tasting menu; Bubby's for enormous brunch dishes like sour cream pancakes with bananas and cherries; bistro Balthazar for classic choices like duck confit and steak frites; Chelsea Market, a gold mine of several dozen gourmet food stores.

2. Las Vegas

Essential Eats: Guy Savoy at Caesar's Palace to sample butter roasted veal sweetbreads, chocolate ganache and the 10-course tasting menu; Commander's Palace for a jazz brunch; Firefly for Spanish tapas; the thrice weekly Las Vegas Farmers Market for a display of goods from local bakeries.

3. Los Angeles

Essential Eats: French restaurant Melisse in Santa Monica for traditional dishes like almond Dover sole; Coast at Shutters on the Beach for lemon ricotta pancakes; Hamasaku, a celebrity favorite, for sublime sushi; the daily Santa Monica Farmers Market for a vast selection of vegetables, fruits.

4. Paris

Essential Eats: Taillevent, the most famous and grandest classic French restaurant in the city; contemporary bistro Ze Kitchen Galerie for favorites milk-fed lamb shoulder and pork ribs; Au Pain d'Antan for buttery croissants; Beauvau market in the 12th arrondissement for Lebanese specialties.

5. Bologna, Italy

Essential Eats: Al Pappagallo for upscale but classic Emilia-Romagna food; Tamburini for a selection of freshly baked breads; bowls of tortellini with different sauces at Da Bertino; the daily indoor food market on Via Clavature.

6. Singapore

Essential Eats: One Rochester for French dishes like cream of wild mushroom soup with white truffle oil; Ah Teng's Bakery for assorted dim sum; Lei Garden for Chinese specialties; the dozens of food stalls at Lau Pa Sat market.

7. Palermo, Sicily

Essential Eats: Il Mulinazzo in an elegant country house for dishes that are upscale twists on traditional fare; Antica Focacceria San Francesco, a bakery with excellent focaccias; Osteria Altri Tempi for classic Sicilian favorites; the 11th century market Ballaro for local almonds, dried fava beans.

8. Barcelona

Essential Eats: Casa Leopoldo for seafood and Catalan cuisine like pork stew; Schilling, a favorite of locals, for basic breakfast choices like eggs, toast and ham; Can Manel la Puda for a paella; La Boqueria, the largest open-air market in the city, for stalls of fruits, tapas and bocadillo.

9. London

Essential Eats: Three-Michelin-star restaurant The Fat Duck for the 12-course tasting menu; the Thames Foyer for a full-on English breakfast; Indian spot Tamarind for more than 50 dishes; Borough Market for stalls of Indian pickles, meats.

10. Sydney

Essential Eats: Longrain for Asian style dishes like red curry of kingfish with wild ginger snake beans; Bills 3, a chain that has a cult following for its breakfast specialties; trendy Chinese restaurant Billy Kwong; Sydney Fresh Food Market, a collection of 800 vendors.

(Contributed by Reuters)