Andrew Zimmern's Five Favorite Food Cities

Highlights from our friends at Lipps Service x Spilled Milk

This week we’re spotlighting another friend of Broken Palate — Lipps Service.

Scott Lipps, drummer for Courtney Love and owner of The Rebellion Management, deep dives into fashion, culture, food, and more with various musicians, chefs, and other influencers in this intriguing Substack and podcast.

This week, Scott chats with one of our favorite celebrity chefs, Andrew Zimmern, who has his own Spilled Milk Substack.

The duo discuss everything from Andrew’s career to Anthony Bourdain to their favorite food cities. The podcast is a great listen and can be found wherever you get your podcasts, as well as on the Lipps Service Substack.

As a preview, we’re sharing both Andrew’s and Scott’s top five food cities, as transcribed from the podcast. To subscribe to Lipps Service, click here.

Andrew Zimmern’s Top Five Food Cities

5. Tie: Paris & Madrid

“Number five is a tie — Paris and Madrid. I can't separate them. As great as so many other European capitals are for food, when it comes to travel and food, for both the breadth of offerings and the depth and the things to do while you're there, nothing beats Paris and Madrid. There’s more variety than Berlin or Rome. I mean, I'm just giving an example, but in Paris, there’s incredible Vietnamese food. They’re also bigger than Lisbon or Brussels. They're both the ultimate walking towns. I think they're perfect choices. And, I will say this, some of the most incredible food in the world is being cooked in Spain right now. It’s just that San Sebastian, which has more three-star and two-star Michelin restaurants than any other city in the world, is super tiny, and it just doesn't have other stuff. I mean, there are 25 great restaurants there. And the food, by the way, is great anywhere you jump in. But from a travel and capital standpoint, it doesn't measure up, although it's probably eighth or ninth on my list. Paris is always shat on. It's like it's uncool as if it was obvious, or it was so hot for so long. But every time I go back to Paris, I’m reminded, that this place just has some of the best food in the world. It really is quite incredible.”

4. Mexico City

There are two great global cuisines, that I think are far and away more sophisticated and have more to offer by region, by ingredient, and by technique than any other — ‘Mexican food’ is one of them. The reason why I put it in quotes is that Mexican food has to include both pre-colonial / pre-contact and post-contact food. I mean, just go to the District Federal, Mexico City, where people from all 31 states in Mexico will go to find success, and they bring their food with them. The variety and the flavors … Mexico City, number four in my book. One of the best cities in the world for travel and food.”

3. Tokyo

Kind of obvious. A very narrow focus, despite the fact there are great French restaurants in Tokyo, and there are great Italian restaurants in Tokyo. Some people make the argument that the best pizza in the world is made in Tokyo. People go to certain French restaurants there, and say, ‘That's the best French restaurant I’ve ever eaten at because the Japanese are so precise. The technique is flawless. Their ability to cook in different modalities is insane. Culturally, they understand that you must take years to master your craft. In America, we’re the opposite. Young cooks who are making salads in a mediocre restaurant come up to me and say, ‘How do I get my own TV show?’ Here, it's like, how do I work less and get to the top faster? And in Tokyo, it's like, I'm willing to work in toil and anonymity for 20 years just to get my shot. The results are sheer brilliance, devotion to technique, and respect for ingredients that you don't find in any other cuisine, truly, across the board. Tokyo is a marvel of a city to eat in, and, of course, to travel through.”

2. Chengdu

“The other great cuisine in the world is Chinese cuisine, along with Mexican. I think everything else falls after that, in terms of variety, depth, breadth, technique, cuisine, region, and ingredient choice. It’s just immense. Our conception of Chinese food, here in America, has certainly grown over the last decade and a half, but it barely touches the tip of what is being cooked over there region by region, city by city, town by town, [and] neighborhood by neighborhood. Chengdu in China, in the Sichuan province — people think that Sichuan just means spicy food that they cook very narrowly. In fact, Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan province, but the entire province is the breadbasket of China. That was the agricultural center, still is, of the country. The food there is just absolutely mind-boggling. Yes, they use a lot of chilis. Yes, they use a lot of heat. There are also dishes that don’t have that. It was so hard to choose what my favorite eating city was in China because they're all amazing. … I think Chengdu is the number two best food city in the world for travel and food. And the places that you can go from there are insane because you're sort of in the center of the country. So if you want to go up into the Northeast, where the Mongolian border is, and get into more of a meat-centric thing, do it. If you want to go South and East, and get into Guangzhou, formally Canton, and check out that food, you're just perfectly located to do everything. I'm obsessed with Chengdu.”

1. New York City

“Not even close, New York City. And I’ll tell you why. If you just took the borough of Queens, and partitioned it, and it was its own city, Queens would be the number one food city in the world. … By the way, incredible food, obviously, in Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. I mean, incredible. I could go on and on about any one of them. But just in Queens alone, you have 150 different ethnicities and cultures represented in populations of 8000, 9000, or more, with new arrivals all the time. So, you know, the Liberians who live there are cooking for new Liberians who are coming. When immigration happens, the first thing that makes someone feel at home is seeing someone who speaks their language, looks like them, has traveled the same path before them, and then puts a bowl of food in front of you. So, if you want the best Colombian food in America, you go to Queens. If you want the best Liberian food in America, you go to Queens. If you want the best Chinese food, go to Queens. If you want the best Armenian food, go to Queens. Egyptian food, go to Queens. I mean, I could just keep going on and on.”

Subscribe to Andrew Zimmern’s Spilled Milk Substack by using this Lipps-Service-exclusive link and receive a 25% discount!

Scott Lipps’s Top Five Food Cities

5. Los Angeles

My number five is Los Angeles, just because I lived there for many years and have my spots. Now, LA doesn’t hold a candle to New York City food, nor Paris or Tokyo, but it does have damn good sushi and Mexican food, and even specialty little gems like the boureaka spot in Sherman Oaks. It’s catching up though, and I believe that it won’t be so-so forever. More and more people are getting hip to spots like Anajak Thai and Sushi Park. I think LA is having a bit of a food renaissance.

4. Paris

My number four is an obvious choice — Paris. Where nothing is possible, but it is if you’re a pain in the ass enough. It’s like, “Can you please remove the watermelon from the fruit salad? … It’s not possible, you say?” You gotta admire the arrogance. Either way, I had some fantastic meals there, and if you like butter, rich foods, and desserts, Paris is the place for you.

3. London

My number three is probably London. London usually gets a very bad rap for food, but have you ever had great fish and chips? Sticky toffee pudding? Mushy peas? The food in London is no joke. Granted I have not been all over the world, but I’m an Anglophile, and I’m all about British culture. Let’s face it, they have better music and fashion, so why not throw food in the mix? Whoever gave it a bad rap likely rumored that years ago. I always reminisce about the Ivy there. They serve a fantastic meal, believe it or not. This is one city not to be missed by any foodie.

2. Tokyo

My number two has to be Tokyo. It’s been a few years since I did my version of Lost in Translation there when I stayed in that same hotel and visited cities like Kyoto, but there’s something about Japan’s culture that will always be astounding to me. If you’re into belt buckles or 501 jeans, there is someone there who takes that craftsmanship to another level. I remember going to a tempura-only restaurant, and this was not a typical tempura restaurant — it was the best I’ve ever had and will ever have. It was so delicate and complex that it was almost its own food category. I also went to the fish market, where you can eat fish five minutes after it was swimming. Apparently, even the pizza’s insane there. Don’t ask questions, and just go. I was only upset that I had not been there sooner.

1. New York City

My number one, like Andrew’s, has also got to be New York City. I’m not biased, but some of the city’s restaurants that are mediocre at best would be standout hits in many other places. The quality is just that much different. I’ll admit I’m a creature of habit, and I frequent many amazing pizza spots (names on my Substack in length) and attempt to try all the great new restaurants popping up (also named on Substack). But any New Yorker will tell you that there’s the best of any cuisine right here in the city. You all know that I love my Italian, pizza, and sushi, but as an example, I had some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory recently. The flavors were off the charts! From the zen butter and almond cookie flavors to the weirder ones, this place was no joke. I literally just stumbled into it. Who knew?