Durham Secures the Title of Tastiest Town in the South

In January, Durham and its food scene were catapulted again into the national spotlight by inclusion on Southern Living magazine’s list of the Top 10 Tastiest Towns in the South.  It shared company with culinary mega-star destinations like New Orleans, Charleston, and Miami.  The publishing of this list initiated the magazine’s annual national voting process to name The Tastiest Town in the South.

That town is Durham, NC.

Toward the end of the six week process, according to the leader-board on the magazine’s website voting page, what emerged was a spirited and friendly bout between Durham and the nearest competitor on the list, Memphis.  At three times the size of Durham, the odds were in Memphis’ favor, but Durham did what Durham does…stayed true to its convictions and reigned victorious.

Durham is no stranger to great accolades, and the community is proud to add this one to the list. “Durham is regularly recognized for its creativity, openness, diversity and quality of life.  We've always had a terrific food scene here, and this is a great honor to have everyone else stand up and agree that we are the Tastiest Town in the South,” said Shelly Green, President of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau (DCVB), the organization that spearheaded the promotion of this competition. “This is validation of what we've been saying for a long time!”

Visitors to Durham spent a total of more than $780 million last year, and more than $200 million was spent on food and beverages.  Durham’s culinary identity is an important part of the brand that the community has, and is a major component of what Durham promotes to visitors. “Whenever possible, we connect the ideas of ‘visiting Durham,’ and ‘great food,’” said Sam Poley, DCVB’s Director of Marketing and Communications. “This is a message we share as often as possible because Durham’s culinary community is an amazing asset to visitors, and is a major reason to come and explore here.”

Durham has more than seven hundred restaurants, many of which have achieved a status DCVB calls Celebrated Cuisine.  This elite group of restaurants has been regionally or nationally reviewed, not part of a chain, independently-owned, and noted for unique regional cuisine or a custom menu designed by a Durham chef. There are 52 restaurants in Durham that have achieved this status, all of which are listed online. “Being listed as a Celebrated Cuisine restaurant is nice feather in the cap of a chef and restaurateur, and a visitor convenience to help them identify places of interest when planning a trip here," Poley said.

On Tuesday an announcement was made at the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. Jennifer Cole, Southern Living’s Travel and Features Editor came in for the announcement.  “The South has a new culinary capital—Durham, NC,” said Cole. “With beer and pizzas made from seasonally minded local ingredients, to pies and even coffee elevated to an art form, the city's artisans are taking Southern cooking to new heights." She added, “The South's culinary scene has become richer and more diverse than ever. Whether you’re a native or a tourist, there's an endless variety of dishes, restaurants and local flavors to discover across our region.”

The announcement will be in the May print edition of the magazine which will be on stands on April 19. DCVB plans to incorporate this honor, as it does the many others the community receives, into its marketing messaging throughout the upcoming year.

Learn more about Durham, NC online, and read more from Southern Living about this story on their website.

Voting Ends Thursday at 11:59 PM

The effort to vote Durham as the Tastiest Town in the South in Southern Living Magazine's annual contest is coming to a close this week.  If interested in voting, readers can do so every day and with every email address they have until this Thursday at 11:59 PM.

Scan to Vote for Durham!

Vote HERE.

"To say that Durham has done well in this is an understatement," said Sam Poley who works at the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Durham rocked in this contest.  We took the lead at launch, held it, took it back from Asheville and then ran neck and neck with Memphis, a city three times larger."

Southern Living had a leader board on their voting page, but they took it down last week when Durham and Memphis were trading the first place position sometimes several times a day. Poley, and others pushing this contest, hope that the lack of knowledge about where Durham is on the list will spur fans on to vote daily, encourage their friends, and push this agenda.  "When you come down to the wire like this, it's the vigilant, the dogmatic, and the tireless who win," Poley said.  Durham's food scene is full of chefs and fans who exemplify those characteristics.

The winner will be announced by Southern Living in the May issue which hits the stands on April 19th.  Promotional efforts will continue until voting closes. The strong use of social media where the hashtag #VoteDurhamTastiest! has gotten significant traction will remain the backbone of the efforts. Addtionally, use of printed material, retweets, shared Facebook posts, and media coverage have helped Durham really make a mark.  "Durham's restaurateurs and food truck operators, as well as its food intelligentsia, have really shown up for us in this effort. We hope our thanks is sufficient for their help...that, and hopefully a title," Poley added.

Food in Durham is getting a boost from a national trend. “Southern cooking has become one of the country's hottest culinary obsessions,” says Southern Living Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Bierman. “But there's a lot more to it than pork belly and grits. Every day, we're discovering hyperlocal microcosms of food culture across our region."

Durham is certainly has food culture galore. Learn more about all of Durham's dining offerings online.

Southern Living Names Durham One of the "Tastiest Towns in the South" in 2013

Southern Living has named Durham, NC one of the “Tastiest Towns in the South” in its February issue, on newsstands January 18th.  Which town is the tastiest?  That's up to readers and fans.

Scan or click to Vote
Durham Tastiest!

To celebrate the many flavors and rich, diverse stories behind today’s Southern cuisine, Southern Living editors convened in its Birmingham-based Test Kitchen to identify the most compelling food destinations across the region. Durham made the cut, and now it's up to restaurants to rally their fans and customers to get out the vote.

"Durham's food scene is on par with the best in the nation. Chefs here have integrity, appreciation for the ingredients, the sourcing, the producers, the preparations, and the customers.  In Durham, food is a culture that rises above most barriers, and all of Durham's diverse inhabitants come together over great food all the time," said Sam Poley with the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Durham's official marketing agency.  "Things like this are fun.  Folks in Durham are really proud of this place and the things that make it great.  We're hoping they, and the places they love, will work together so that everyone knows Durham is where great food happens."

Vote Here

“North Carolina’s Triangle has long been fertile ground for enjoying the region’s rich bounty,” writes Southern Living Senior Editor Paula Disbrowe. “From Scratch Bakery to Watts Grocery, where much of the menu is raised, caught, smoked, pickled or cured within a two-hour radius, Durham is brimming with spots that passionately support local businesses,” adds Disbrowe.

Readers will decide the winner by casting votes for the “Tastiest Town in the South” from January 10 to February 28 on southernliving.com/tasty or via smartphone by downloading the complimentary Digimarc Discover app and scanning the corresponding image in the magazine. Each daily vote allows a consumer to be entered for a chance to win $1,500 toward a trip to the Tasty Town of his or her choice.

“Southern cooking has become one of the country's hottest culinary obsessions,” says Southern Living Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Bierman. “But there's a lot more to it than pork belly and grits. Every day, we're discovering hyperlocal microcosms of food culture across our region."  Durham has exemplified that description for decades.

Southern Living will profile each of the towns and reveal the “Tastiest Town in the South” in the May issue, on newsstands April 19th and online.

Southern Living editors identified the top 10 “Tastiest Towns in the South” based on the following criteria:

• Food as a cultural identity: The unique food or ethnicity that defines a particular Southern region
• Growth of a culinary-minded community: The influence that the culinary industry has on the local community and tourism
• Diverse cuisine at a variety of price points: Accessibility to hearty, flavorful meals at any budget
• Local, sustainable food practices: The focus on sourcing products from local purveyors to geographically define where each meal comes from
• Hot chefs on the rise: The influence of the area’s culinary talent in the media and pop culture
• Abundance of buzz-worthy food events: The number of festivals in the area that celebrate all things food and drink

For the full list of towns, visit: southernliving.com/tasty. Rally around your favorite tasty destination and vote online from January 10-February 28.

One vote per day is counted toward the finally tally.  Learn more about Durham online.

UPDATED: A Heaping Portion of Media Coverage

Durham is a place for food lovers - this is widely known. Despite the loss of culinary icon, The Magnolia Grill, last month, there are plenty of places in Durham that are generating buzz (and drinks and food) that will surely make folks look forward to great meals in the place where great things happen.

Below are two three links to articles that show off some of Durham's great food places. Recently, journalists from Southern Living and the NY Post have spent time here, and their articles indicate they had a mighty good time.  The latest addition is a piece in the Oxford American.

Read the NY Post piece by Jennifer Ceaser. Ceaser hit some high spots in Durham on her visit, including some of Durham's most notable fine dining establishments, and one of it's high end watering holes. This is an example of a journalist making the most of a visit to Durham.

Read the Southern Living Piece by Graham Averil. This article is about the Best Burgers in North Carolina. Two of them can be found in Durham.  Read on and see which ones made the cut.

Read the Oxford American piece by Erin Sroka.
Sroka is from Durham, and this piece is about Dame's Chicken and Waffles. Forewarned is forearmed, it's like to make you very hungry.