Friday, July 27, 2012

Santa Fe wins Best of the Road Best Food Town Competition!

cover of book
 

Santa Fe is the small city with the Best Food in the country – according to the Rand McNally/USA Today Best of the Road Rally.  The Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau, with generous support from 13 restaurants, five hotels, one tour company, a cooking school, the Santa Fe Bandstand program, the members of the Santa Fe Chocolate Trail, Santa Fe Spirits, local press, the City of Santa Fe, and the friendly folks of Santa Fe, tantalized visiting Best of the Road judges Mike Shubic and Brian Cox with a belly-full of Santa Fe’s remarkable foods, memorable sights, and Southwestern charm.

“We barely had time to scratch the surface of the city’s amazing food scene,” said Santa Fe Convention Visitors Bureau Marketing Director Cynthia Delgado. “There was only time for a small sample of Santa Fe’s 200 plus restaurants, and every one could have wowed the judges.”

Online voting determined six finalist towns in five categories. Each town was then visited by a two-person team of judges–one team judging all the towns in one category–in a month-long, cross-country trip to find which small town had the best food, was the most beautiful, most fun, most patriotic, and most friendly.

In the end, judges voted Santa Fe to be tops in Best Food as winners in all five categories were announced at the Destination Marketing Association International Annual Convention in Seattle during the noon general session on Tuesday, July 17.

In addition, video crews from the Travel Channel accompanying the judges caught every delicious mouthful plus Santa Fe’s world-renowned cultures, landscapes, and attractions during the judges’ whirlwind visit from July 4 through July 6. A one-hour show highlighting the rally will air on the Travel Channel, July 25.

This is the second year for the Best Small Towns in America, Best of the Road competition. Santa Fe became eligible as a finalist after an online competition rated cities in five categories: Best Food, Most Beautiful, Most Patriotic, Friendliest, and Most Fun. Other cities in the Best Food category were Lewiston, NY, Burnsville, MN, Bloomington, IN, Charlottesville, VA, and Walla Walla, WA.

In the end, judges voted Santa Fe to be tops in Best Food. This is no surprise to us locals. So who's up for a green chile cheesburger?

No comments: