The editors over at Thrillist, the weekly newsletter dedicated to giving the best recommendations for city exploration, complied a list ranking all 50 states in order of where they would want to eat and drink in for the rest of their lives if they couldn’t move anywhere else. Here is how their (super scientific) ranking system breaks down: they ranked states by the food/drink available in that state, focusing on four key questions: 1) What did they produce (beef, oranges, ugh, sorghum?), 2) What iconic items were they known for (key lime pie? onion burgers?), 3) What is their beer/wine/spirits production like (great breweries/wineries?), and finally 4) What is the food/drink scene like in their cities? Weighing all those factors, North Carolina landed at the #11 spot! That seems pretty good to us, right? The Triangle has seen a boom in new eateries and innovated concepts, not to mention the fact that we’re home to some of the top chefs in the country! (Ashley Christensen we’re lookin’ at you.)
Here’s what landed North Carolina at #11:
“Asheville is cool. It has more breweries per capita than any city in the US. Plus your barbecue — be it Lexington or Eastern-style — is all equally delicious. Krispy Kreme was founded in Winston-Salem. So was — weirdly enough – Texas Pete’s. And Cheerwine is a thing you wish you invented. Just imagine if you could eat tobacco!”
Click here to see how the rest of the nation fared!