Soul food at Burdell in Oakland. Photo: EVA KOLENKO
OAKLAND, Calif. - Beating out Chicago's deep-dish scene or Philly cheesesteaks is the culinary culture in Oakland.
Travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler presented its annual Readers' Choice Awards for 2024's best food cities in the U.S., and Oakland topped the list.
Notably, the magazine praised the town's Temescal neighborhood's dining scene and highlighted pizzeria Pizzaiolo's "out-of-the-box" pizzas and the soul food restaurant Burdell.
Burdell was also recently named "Restaurant of the Year" by Food & Wine.
The Fruitvale neighborhood was also commended for its taco trucks serving "some of the best birria in the country." Oakland was also praised for its strong taproom and winery tasting room scene.
"Easy to plan your entire visit around eating, drinking, or some combination of the two," Condé Nast Traveler said.
Thursday at 3 p.m. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao held an impromptu press conference at Y's Choice soul food restaurant regarding the news of Condé Nast's Best Food Cities ranking.
"We welcome everybody…our small businesses are really excited to have more people come on out and enjoy…come and meet your chefs," Thao said.
SEE ALSO:
- This Bay Area hotel was named best in the world
- TikTok food critic Keith Lee ends Bay Area eating tour early
Burdell chef and owner Geoff Davis reacted to the news of Oakland's foodscape, saying the town takes "so much pride" in food and is excited about being recognized for such.
"I think as Oaklanders, we’ve known for years that Oakland is a diverse landscape of innovative food, not held to the same boundaries that other cities are," Davis said. "This is a huge win for The Town that needs all the positivity in the media right now."
KTVU reached out to Pizzaiolo for comment over its mention by Condé Nast Traveler and has yet to hear back.
Following Oakland in the top five spots were New Orleans, Chattanooga, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., and Detroit.