{"id":55870,"date":"2024-12-06T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/?p=55870"},"modified":"2024-12-13T06:47:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T12:47:27","slug":"us-states-best-food-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/blog\/world-food-drink\/us-states-best-food-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"States with the Best Food Scene in 2025: Where to Eat in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Usually when we think of a restaurant \u201cscene,\u201d we think on the small scale\u2014cities, or even neighborhoods. But that hyperfocus on the local level can leave out the broader culture of a state or region.<\/p>\n<p>Escoffier conducted a study looking at statewide data in several categories to explore the restaurant culture of each state around the country.<\/p>\n<p>We looked at data from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, Georgia Tech, and other sources to reveal insights and draw conclusions.<\/p>\n<p>But before we get into our findings and methodology, let\u2019s look at some of the key takeaways. <a href=\"#method\">(Jump down to see our methodology)<\/a><br \/>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-text\">\n<h3>U.S. State Culinary Scenes \u2013 Key Findings<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Hawaii<\/strong> has, by far, the best statewide restaurant scene, ranking at or near the top of five out of the seven categories we explored.<\/li>\n<li>Perhaps unexpectedly, <strong>Rhode Island<\/strong> ranked in the top ten overall, powered by high restaurant spending, a large percentage of independent restaurants, and strong employment numbers.<\/li>\n<li>Population size is clearly not everything; while several of the biggest states did crack the top ten, smaller states like Hawaii, Nevada, and Rhode Island also ranked highly, indicating that population size alone does not determine the vibrancy of a state\u2019s restaurant scene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2>The Top Ten U.S. States with the Best Restaurant Scenes<\/h2>\n<p>We looked at data from three broad categories to rank the restaurant scenes of all fifty states; those categories were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Economic data<\/strong>: We looked at restaurant spending as a percentage of overall food spending and at restaurant jobs as a percentage of total statewide jobs in order to capture the economic implications of each state\u2019s restaurant sector.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restaurant data<\/strong>: We considered the population-adjusted restaurant density, the percentage of independently owned restaurants, and the tourist-to-restaurant ratio (described below) in order to measure the relative prevalence, type, and popularity of restaurants in each state.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Contextual data<\/strong>: We also included supporting categories, including the number of Michelin-starred restaurants and the number of culinary schools in each state to provide additional context for each state\u2019s restaurant culture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taking these seven categories into consideration, we determined the rankings for the fifty states. These were the top ten:<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Top Ten U.S. States with the Best Restaurant Scenes<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Rank<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Relative Score<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">1<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Hawaii<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">100.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">2<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">83.23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">3<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Nevada<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">82.57<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">California<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">75.01<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">5<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Florida<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">72.14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">6<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Massachusetts<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">51.29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">7<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Illinois<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">48.33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">8<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Texas<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">46.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">9<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Rhode Island<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">43.31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">10<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New Jersey<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">42.04<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>A few things immediately jump out from these results. For one thing, Hawaii is clearly far ahead of the rest of the pack, supported by its high rankings across most of the categories we considered.<\/p>\n<p>While many of the high-ranking states are unsurprising, some\u2014like Rhode Island\u2014may seem unexpected. But keep in mind, we\u2019re looking at each state\u2019s <em>overall<\/em> restaurant culture. Some states with notable food cities\u2014like Boulder, Colorado, or New Orleans, Louisiana\u2014did not make the top ten, owing to the fact we\u2019re looking at entire <strong>states<\/strong>, not just key <strong>cities<\/strong>. And, according to the data, these are the states that consistently rank highly in the categories we considered.<\/p>\n<p>To put some real texture on our findings, let\u2019s look at each of the categories we considered.<\/p>\n<h3>Restaurant Spending as a Percentage of Total Food Spending<\/h3>\n<p>One category we used to measure the size of each state\u2019s restaurant scene was the percentage of residents\u2019 overall food spending that goes toward restaurants specifically. The advantage of looking at this data point, as opposed to other economic indicators\u2014like statewide restaurant sales or average order value\u2014is that it takes into account differences in the cost of living from one state to the next, since it allows us to examine each state\u2019s spending habits separately.<br \/>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-text\">\nEscoffier\u2019s analysis revealed that Nevada residents spend almost half of their food budgets (43.81%) on restaurant dining \u2013 the highest level of restaurant spending in the country.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\nWe looked at data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) (which highlights food spending on a state-by-state basis) and applied analysis obtained in a previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/blog\/world-food-drink\/top-us-cities-for-restaurant-spending\/\">Escoffier study of city-by-city restaurant spending<\/a>, and found these results.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States with the Highest Restaurant Spending as a Percentage of Total Food Spending<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Restaurant Spending as % of Food Spending<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Nevada<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">43.81%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Hawaii<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">43.54%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">41.68%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Illinois<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">41.20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Massachusetts<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">40.97%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Escoffier\u2019s analysis revealed that Nevada tops the list, with residents spending almost half of their food budgets (43.81%) on restaurant dining.<\/p>\n<p>While a few of these high-ranking states (like Hawaii, New York, and Massachusetts) do have <a href=\"https:\/\/meric.mo.gov\/data\/cost-living-data-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comparatively high cost of living<\/a> according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Nevada and Illinois rank closer to the middle of the pack\u2014an indication that a high cost of living does not account for these results, and that they do in fact provide a snapshot of each state\u2019s dining habits.<\/p>\n<h3>Restaurant Jobs as a Percentage of Total Jobs<\/h3>\n<p>We also explored the size of each state\u2019s restaurant industry by examining National Restaurant Association (NRA) data on restaurant jobs as a percentage of each state\u2019s total workforce, which revealed these results.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States for Restaurant Jobs as a Percentage of Total Jobs<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Restaurant Jobs as a Percentage of Total Jobs<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Nevada<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Hawaii<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Rhode Island<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">South Carolina<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Montana<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nevada and Hawaii placed first and second in this category as well\u2014likely owing to the two states\u2019 large tourism industries.<\/p>\n<p>While these five states did clearly rank ahead of the rest of the pack, it\u2019s worth noting that restaurant jobs account for one in ten jobs nationwide, and in no state did restaurant jobs account for fewer than 9% of total jobs\u2014so the restaurant industry is clearly a massive employer across the country, regardless of which state we\u2019re looking at.<\/p>\n<h3>Population-Adjusted Restaurant Density<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to those economic factors, we also wanted to examine the restaurant options available to diners in each state. We approached this subject from a few different directions.<\/p>\n<p>First, we determined population-adjusted restaurant density by combining NRA data with the latest numbers from the US Census Bureau, and arrived at these results.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States for Population-Adjusted Restaurant Density<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Population-Adjusted Restaurant Density<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">California<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">25.66<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Texas<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">16.98<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">14.81<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Florida<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">14.47<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Pennsylvania<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">7.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Escoffier\u2019s analysis found that California has the highest population-adjusted restaurant density by a wide margin.<\/p>\n<p>We chose to look at a weighted figure rather than raw restaurants per capita, which would be biased toward states with smaller populations. This weighting allows us to make a more equitable comparison between states with vastly different populations; see the Methodology section below for more detail on how we derived these figures.<\/p>\n<h3>Tourist-to-Restaurant Ratio<\/h3>\n<p>Our population-adjusted numbers are useful for comparing the number of restaurants to the number of residents in each state. But residents aren\u2019t the only ones visiting restaurants; tourists eat at restaurants too, and their impact also ought to be considered in order to fully account for the activity of a state\u2019s restaurant scene.<br \/>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-text\">\nEscoffier developed a tourist-to-restaurant ratio to examine the effect of tourism on the vibrancy of each state\u2019s restaurant scene, and found that Hawaii and Nevada once again placed at the top of the list.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\nTo examine this factor, we developed a tourist-to-restaurant ratio by using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and obtained these results.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States with the Highest Tourist-to-Restaurant Ratio<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Tourist-to-Restaurant Ratio<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Hawaii<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">376.44<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Nevada<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">315.75<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">183.32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Florida<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">164.06<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Utah<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">94.37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>A higher ratio was considered positive, because it signals increased demand relative to the supply of restaurants in the state\u2014potentially indicating a more vibrant restaurant scene, with many tourists seeking dining experiences at relatively few restaurants.<\/p>\n<p>Within this framework, Hawaii and Nevada once again outstripped the competition, owing to their tourism-heavy economies.<\/p>\n<h3>Percentage of Independent Restaurants<\/h3>\n<p>We also wanted to determine how dynamic each state\u2019s restaurant scene is, by looking at the relative proportion of independent versus chain restaurants.<br \/>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"blog-article-callout-text\">\nEscoffier\u2019s analysis revealed that Vermont has the highest proportion of independent restaurants in the country; nearly eight in ten (79.03%) restaurants in the state are independent.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\nWe analyzed data from Georgia Tech\u2019s Friendly Cities Lab, and obtained the following results.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States with the Highest Percentage of Independent Restaurants<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Percentage of Independent Restaurants<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Vermont<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">79.03%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Hawaii<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">77.17%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Alaska<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">76.31%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Maine<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">74.62%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">71.87%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Escoffier\u2019s analysis of the available data revealed that Vermont has the highest proportion of independent restaurants\u2014nearly eight in ten restaurants in the state are independent.<\/p>\n<p>This is nearly double the number in Kentucky, the state with the fewest independent restaurants in the country; 43.30% of restaurants there are independent.<\/p>\n<h3>Number of Michelin-Starred Restaurants<\/h3>\n<p>Finally, we also considered the number of Michelin-Starred restaurants in each state.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Top Five States with the Most Michelin-Starred Restaurants<\/h4>\n<div class=\"table-wrap\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">State<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\">Number of Michelin-Starred Restaurants<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">California<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">New York<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">68<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Florida<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Washington D.C.<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">Illinois<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>A Michelin Star is perhaps the most coveted form of recognition in the culinary world, and a high number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/blog\/world-food-drink\/a-brief-history-of-the-michelin-guide\/\">Michelin-Starred restaurants<\/a> indicates a high level of excellence in a state\u2019s culinary scene.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s worth noting that Michelin does not award stars to restaurants in every single state; for this reason, this category only contributes a small portion to each state\u2019s overall score. Also, we\u2019re aware that D.C. isn\u2019t technically a state, but its concentration of starred restaurants necessitated its inclusion here.<\/p>\n<h2>Methodology<a name=\"method\"><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>To determine our rankings, we first obtained data from reliable sources and, in some cases, applied additional analysis in order to extrapolate more meaningful results.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To determine restaurant spending as a percentage of total food spending, we first gathered state-level data from the USDA\u2019s ERS<sup>1<\/sup> that revealed Food at Home (FAH) and Food away from Home FAFH) expenditures. A previous Escoffier analysis (involving national-level ERS data) found that, on average, 68.56% of FAFH expenditures occur at restaurants; we applied that figure to the state-level data to estimate each state\u2019s restaurant spending.<\/li>\n<li>To determine restaurant jobs as a percentage of total jobs, we gathered state-level data from the NRA, which tracks this percentage for each state.<sup>2<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>To determine population-adjusted restaurant density we first determined restaurants per capita by dividing the number of restaurants in each state (per NRA data)<sup>2<\/sup> by the population of each state (per 2023 Census Bureau data).<sup>3<\/sup> We then assigned each state a population weight according to the state\u2019s share of the national population, and used these weights to adjust the per capita numbers in order to eliminate small-population bias. Finally, we multiplied the results by 100,000 to make the numbers more easily comprehensible.<\/li>\n<li>To determine the tourist-to-restaurant ratio, we divided the number of overseas tourists (according to the U.S. Department of Commerce)<sup>4<\/sup> by the number of restaurants in each state.<sup>2<\/sup> Reliable domestic tourism numbers were not available, so we relied on international tourists as a proxy for tourism in general.<\/li>\n<li>To determine the percentage of independent restaurants in each state, we first obtained data from Georgia Tech\u2019s Friendly Cities Lab,<sup>5<\/sup> which identified the proportion of chain-owned restaurants in each county across the country. Because this data was organized at the county level, Escoffier aggregated it to the state level in order to make state-by-state comparisons.<\/li>\n<li>To determine the number of culinary schools, we relied on data from culinaryschools.org,<sup>6<\/sup> a repository for information about culinary schools around the country.<\/li>\n<li>To determine the number of Michelin-Starred restaurants around the country, we relied on data from Michelin\u2019s own database.<sup>7<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once we had obtained data in these seven categories for each state, we normalized the data for each category, then assigned each category a weight corresponding to its relative importance, aggregated the scores, and normalized the results to determine the final topline rankings.<\/p>\n<p>This analysis offers compelling insights into the vibrancy and depth of the restaurant industry around the country, reminding us that restaurant \u201cscenes\u201d aren\u2019t limited to a handful of big cities or flashy neighborhoods but instead are an essential part of the fabric of life no matter where one lives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>(1) USDA Economic Research Service State Food Expenditure Series, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/data-products\/food-expenditure-series\/#:~:text=10\/21\/2024-,State%20Food%20Expenditure%20Series,-State%20food%20sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State food sales, with taxes and tips, for all purchasers<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(2) National Restaurant Association State Statistics, <a href=\"https:\/\/restaurant.org\/research-and-media\/research\/industry-statistics\/state-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fact Sheets: Industry Size by State<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(3) U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/quickfacts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Population estimates, July 1, 2023<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(4) U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trade.gov\/us-states-cities-visited-overseas-travelers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Overseas visitors to U.S. states and territories<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(5) Georgia Tech Friendly Cities Lab, <a href=\"https:\/\/friendlycities.gatech.edu\/data-interactive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Restaurant Chainness<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(6) culinaryschools.org, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culinaryschools.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Culinary Schools by State<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em>(7) Michelin Guide, <a href=\"https:\/\/guide.michelin.com\/us\/en\/restaurants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michelin-Starred restaurants by state<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Which U.S. states have the best food scenes in 2025? We did the research to find out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":28979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1317],"tags":[102,1389],"class_list":["post-55870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-food-drink","tag-food-trends","tag-statistics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>States with the Best Food Scene in 2025: Where to Eat in the USA - Escoffier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Which U.S. states have the best food scenes in 2025? 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