Zagat Ranks Baltimore Among Top Food Cities for 2015

Baltimore has been named the second best destination for foodies in the United States.

Zagat dished out the recognition in its list of the top 17 food cities of 2015, which the rating agency said used “the caliber of new openings, award-recognition and national media attention” to determine.

Helping Charm City was the fact that Spike Gjerde won the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Award for the Mid-Atlantic, according to Zagat, which mentioned his growing empire of Artifact coffee, Parts & Labor and Woodberry Kitchen.

See Also: Maryland Eatery Listed Among 100 Best Restaurants in the South

The restaurant rating agency also dropped names like Aggio, Azumi, Mt. Vernon Marketplace and Shake Shack as testament to the growth of culinary innovation in Baltimore.

Here’s the list, according to Zagat:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Baltimore
3. Washington, D.C.
4. New York
5. Boston
6. Los Angeles
7. San Francisco
8. Portland, Ore.
9. Dallas
10. Philadelphia
11. Minneapolis
12. Denver
13. Seattle
14. Atlanta
15. Charleston, S.C.
16. Miami
17. San Diego

“A notice like this after a year like this is just terrific,” Charleston co-owner Tony Foreman told Baltimore magazine.

Read more about what Zagat has to say about Baltimore.

Pictured, Woodberry Kitchen. Patch file photo.