Chef Andrew Zimmern's favourite US restaurants

In a nation of immigrants, America's food scene is often inspired by culinary traditions from around the world, with each region in the country drawing from a variety of international influences. Depending on what state you're in, a "quintessential American meal" might refer to Cajun soul food, a Philadelphia cheese steak or something as simple as New York City's $1 slice of pizza. And yet, fast food tends to dominate the global imagination of American cuisine. But here in the United States, conversations about culinary excellence are increasingly revolving around quality, sustainability and diversity.

Andrew Zimmern, perhaps best known as the host of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, has spent the last 20 years travelling the world in search of unique dining experiences. But between munching on insects and intestines in the far-flung corners of the globe, Zimmern has also dined in many of the world’s finest restaurants. These days, it takes a lot to wow this culinary expert, though his criteria for a standout restaurant experience are fairly simple.

Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and sustainability advocate. Known for hosting the Bizarre Foods franchise, he also recently produced the new PBS series Hope In The Water about how fishers, aqua farmers and scientists are working to feed the planet while trying to save our oceans.

"First of all, it has to taste great. Second of all, it has to be sustainable and regenerative. If it's not sustainable and regenerative, why bother doing it?" says Zimmern. 

In an era of concern about how agriculture and farming affect a warming planet, many trailblazing American chefs are focused on the use of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients to create dishes rooted in their heritage. 

"I think the thing that's most exciting about American cuisine in 2024 is the diversity of cuisines that are available in bigger and bigger numbers in more and more cities," says Zimmern.  

Here are the restaurants that excite Zimmern across the US right now. 

1. Best for pizza: Una Pizza Napoletana and L&B Spumoni Gardens

Raised in Queens, Zimmern has plenty of recommendations for eating well in the Big Apple. But in a city filled with fine dining options, there's one New York City staple Zimmern says everyone should try: "Without a doubt, New York City is the pizza capital of the world." 

Wondering where to go out to dinner when visiting a new-to-you American city? Follow the experts. "I try to find four or five food critics in a given city and see what they’re doing, where they’re going, and when you triangulate those, you can come up with a really awesome list," says Zimmern.

The range of pizza joints across NYC is incredible. In the same breath, Zimmern mentions Una Pizza Napoletana, a darling of food critics, and L&B Spumoni Gardens, which has been dishing out Sicilian-style square slices in Brooklyn since 1939. 

The former has been praised in The New York Times and Michelin Guide for its simple menu of wood-fired pies, paired with refreshing sorbets and decadent gelatos. Una Pizza's owner Anthony Mangieri was inspired by his Italian-American heritage to pioneer Neapolitan-style pizza in the US, opening restaurants in New Jersey, San Francisco and New York City. 

For another classic NYC experience, Zimmern recommends you indulge at L&B Spumoni Gardens. "You could just buy a slice, but most people buy a half or whole pie and eat those things up," says Zimmern. The restaurant's commitment to not using pre-packaged ingredients makes for delicious Sicilian-style pizza layered with fresh mozzarella and savoury tomato sauce.  

2. Best farm-to-table dining: The Barn at Blackberry Farm

In the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, James Beard Award-winning restaurant The Barn at Blackberry Farm takes farm-to-table dining to a whole new level. Serving seasonal dishes with ingredients sourced from the property's garden, only steps away from the restaurant, the menu evolves with the flow of the seasons. 

Drawing inspiration from the traditions of the surrounding Appalachia area, the menu showcases dishes that celebrate the region's heritage. Heirloom vegetables, foraged mushrooms and wild game are just a few of the locally sourced ingredients that highlight local flavours.

"It is truly a globally special and unique restaurant. It's helmed by a chef, Cassidee Dabney, who understands how to put together flavours in a way that very few people do," says Zimmern. 

3. Best classic New England fare: Fore Street

According to Zimmern, "the greater Portland, Maine, area is making some of the most incredible food in the United States." New England is known for its oysters and lobster rolls and coastal Maine is no exception. In Portland, Zimmern highlights restaurants like Mr Tuna, Eventide Oyster Co and Five Islands Lobster Co, but if he had to pick where his last meal would be, he'd have to pick Fore Street for its top-notch seafood and ingredient transparency.

"It’s one of my favourite restaurants in America," says Zimmern. "They cook everything over open fire and seasonally. They have glass walls on their walk-ins so you actually see the produce in boxes in their coolers."

4. Best seafood restaurant: La Mar by Gastón Acurio

La Mar by Gastón Acurio is one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Miami, Florida. While it is Gastón Acurio’s name on the restaurant, his colleague Diego Oka has opened the last several La Mar locations across South and North America and, according to Zimmern, his work in Miami is nothing short of magical. 

"He does raw fish dishes and cured fish dishes and cooked food from the Peruvian playbook as well as anybody does, but with a modernised touch that is simply breathtaking," says Zimmern. 

According to Zimmern, seafood restaurants are a great way to "vote with your feet and your fork". Ask questions about the menu before you buy to ensure that ingredients are sourced sustainably.

At La Mar, Oka’s menu fuses authentic Asian and Peruvian flavours in colourful seafood dishes, fresh from the Atlantic coast. Guests choose from cebiches (ceviche), causas (Peruvian layered potato dish), anticuchos (meat skewers) and tiraditos (fish crudo), each meticulously crafted to balance bold flavours, as they take in the restaurant’s stunning views of Biscayne Bay and the glittering lights of the city.

Tim Flores American cuisine is known as a melting pot of flavours brought by waves of immigrants; Zimmern loves the Filipino food at Kasama in Chicago (Credit: Tim Flores)Tim Flores

American cuisine is known as a melting pot of flavours brought by waves of immigrants; Zimmern loves the Filipino food at Kasama in Chicago (Credit: Tim Flores)

5. Best Filipino restaurant: Kasama

In the mid-2000s, Zimmern returned from visiting the Philippines convinced that Filipino food would be the next great culinary movement in America. 

"It combines all the best Asian techniques, textures and flavours," says Zimmern. "The incorporation of Spanish techniques into that traditional, Indigenous Filipino style with all the influence from the other tropical Asian countries that surround it. Filipino food is just as good as it gets."

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the diversity of American cuisine, Zimmern says "don't go to eight cities in 12 days. Go to one or two places and just spend some time there. It’s better to go deep than go shallow." Choose a cuisine with deep roots in the city you’re visiting – like, say Southern barbecue or Asian fusion – and explore how different chefs put their own spins on similar dishes.

While Zimmern says that the Filipino food movement in America has been more of a slow burn than an explosion, he believes the restaurant leading the charge is Kasama in Chicago, Illinois. Led by husband and wife Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama was the first Filipino restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star and in 2023, the couple won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes.

"They're fantastic culinarians. Their restaurant has been held up as a beacon for everything right about food in America today. And, I have to agree, I think it is just beyond fantastic," says Zimmern. 

-bbc