Food & Cuisine in North America

Widely regarded as the soul of Mexican cuisine, this highland city is famed for its seven complex, chocolate-tinged moles, smoky artisanal mezcal and markets piled high with chillies. Grasshopper snacks, crisp tlayudas and stringy quesillo are all local specialities, and cooking classes offer a hands-on way in.

One of the world’s great street-food capitals, Mexico City sells taco al pastor shaved from a spinning spit, tamales and quesadillas on seemingly every corner. Sprawling markets like La Merced overflow with regional ingredients, yet it also boasts fine-dining rooms among the world’s best. Follow the queues to the busiest stalls.

The most distinctive food city in the US, New Orleans blends French, African, Spanish and Caribbean influences into Creole and Cajun cooking. Gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, po’boys and beignets with chicory coffee at Cafe du Monde are essential rituals. Add a legendary music and cocktail scene, birthplace of the Sazerac.

Arguably the most diverse dining city on Earth, New York lets you eat your way around the world in a day, from a folded dollar pizza slice to a Michelin-starred tasting menu. A subway ride reaches Chinatown dumplings, Jackson Heights momos and countless taquerias. Half the joy is grazing the streets.

The birthplace of California cuisine, San Francisco built its reputation on fresh, local, seasonal produce and pioneered the farm-to-table movement. A superb Chinatown, the taquerias of the Mission, and the Ferry Building farmers’ market make it rewarding to graze. Sourdough, Dungeness crab and nearby Napa wine country complete the picture.

Canada’s gastronomic capital, Montreal is where French tradition meets hearty local invention. This is the home of the towering smoked-meat sandwich, chewy wood-fired bagels that fuel a fierce rivalry, and gloriously indulgent poutine. A sophisticated bistro scene and the vast Jean-Talon market round out a city that takes its eating seriously.

A colonial city that claims two of Mexico’s most celebrated dishes, Puebla is the birthplace of mole poblano, the deep sauce of chillies and chocolate, and chiles en nogada in creamy walnut sauce. Its historic convent kitchens shaped much of Mexican cooking, and street-cart camotes are essential bites.

A sprawling, multicultural food playground, Los Angeles elevates the taco to an art form and is home to some of America’s finest immigrant cooking. Koreatown’s barbecue, Thai Town’s fiery dishes and the San Gabriel Valley’s Chinese restaurants rival anything abroad. Pick a neighbourhood and eat your way through it, following the crowds.

One of the most multicultural cities on Earth, Toronto reflects its diversity on the plate, with vibrant Chinatowns, Little India, Greektown and Caribbean enclaves within a short transit ride. Suburbs like Markham hide some of the best regional Chinese food in North America, and Kensington Market makes an ideal grazing ground.

The cradle of some of Mexico’s most iconic exports, Guadalajara gave the world tequila, mariachi and the hearty cooking of Jalisco. Locals queue for tortas ahogadas, sandwiches drowned in fiery tomato-and-chilli sauce, and rich, slow-cooked birria. An easy day trip runs to Tequila, where you can tour the agave fields and distilleries.

The elegant capital of the Yucatan, Merida is the gateway to a cuisine shaped by Maya and Caribbean roots, unlike central Mexico’s. Slow-roasted cochinita pibil, marinated in bitter orange and achiote, plus tangy sopa de lima set it apart. Sunday, when the centre closes for a street party, is best for grazing.

A Pacific city built on pristine seafood and one of the best concentrations of Asian cooking outside Asia, Vancouver offers world-class Cantonese, Japanese and Korean restaurants alongside inventive West Coast kitchens. The suburb of Richmond is a mecca for authentic Chinese food, while spot prawns and Dungeness crab star on the menus.

The self-proclaimed capital of Texas barbecue, Austin is a hotbed of slow-smoked brisket, Tex-Mex, breakfast tacos and freewheeling food-truck culture. Pilgrims line up for hours outside smokehouses like Franklin’s for brisket that falls apart at the touch. It’s all washed down with craft beer in the self-styled live-music capital of the world.

The unofficial capital of Latin America, Miami serves a mingling of Cuban, Colombian, Peruvian and Caribbean flavours found nowhere else in the US. In Little Havana you sip a sweet cortadito and bite a pressed Cuban sandwich, then dine hours later at a glamorous South Beach hotspot beside a devoted stone-crab following.

A hearty, unpretentious food town with its own inventions to defend, Chicago is fiercely proud of deep-dish pizza, the loaded Chicago-style hot dog, and the messy Italian beef dunked in its own juices. Beyond the classics lies one of America’s most ambitious fine-dining scenes, plus outstanding Polish, Mexican and Chinese neighbourhood cooking.

In Havana, food is inseparable from history and resilience, and a wave of private paladares, family-run restaurants in living rooms and on rooftops, has revived Cuban cooking after decades of scarcity. Ropa vieja, slow-roast pork and fresh seafood, served with a mojito and live son music, make dining an experience.

The genteel heart of Lowcountry cooking, Charleston serves shrimp and grits, she-crab soup and rice-based dishes rooted in Gullah-Geechee traditions. A wave of ambitious modern Southern chefs has made it one of America’s most acclaimed dining cities, elevating Carolina Gold rice, benne seeds and fresh coastal seafood into an occasion.