Image: istock.com/knape via AFP Relaxnews
Forget San Francisco and New York. According to UNESCO, America’s next best dining destination is San Antonio, Texas, which was just designated a Creative City of Gastronomy by the United Nations body this week.
San Antonio is the second city in the U.S. to be bestowed with the designation, which recognizes the city’s rich culinary heritage and dynamic dining scene.
Tucson, Arizona was given the title in 2015 for boasting the longest agricultural history of any city in the US, with a 300-year tradition of vineyards, orchards and livestock ranching.
In addition to a long history of Native American traditions (be it foraging for roots, pecans and game hunting) San Antonio boasts a rich heritage of Mexican and European culinary influences, from the Spanish colonists and Canary Islanders who arrived in the 1700s, to the German, French, Asian and African settlers who introduced new spices, cooking styles and ingredients to the region in the 1800s and onwards.
And while the flavors of Tex-Mex have long defined San Antonio’s dining scene, today’s corps of young, innovative chefs are pushing the flavor envelope to create a new culinary movement dubbed Tex-Next, where the familiar takes on uncharted flavor territory.
“This designation is a great honor for San Antonio,” said San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg in a statement. “As a Creative City of Gastronomy, we will seek to strengthen and expand international connections, share our culinary arts and heritage globally and introduce San Antonio as an international culinary destination.”
Along with its newest UNESCO title, the Lone Star city boasts bragging rights to opening the first Mexican restaurant in the U.S.
San Antonio is one of 64 cities from 44 countries to be added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network across categories like gastronomy, music, film, design, literature, crafts and folk art.
Other creative gastronomy cities include Panama City, Panama; Alba, Italy; Buenaventura, Colombia; and Macao, among others. JB
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