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Travel + Leisure recently released its list of America’s Favorite Cities, ranking 35 major metropolitan areas on everything from pretty people to driving habits to bars and restaurants. And there’s some good news for Denver: It’s the No. 1 city for microbrews. Which means there’s plenty of beer to cry in over our pathetic showing in other culinary areas, including visitors ranking Denver No. 21 for fine dining — and residents putting it at No. 32.
Magazines and other publicity-craving organizations frequently release lists; just last month, Travel + Leisure revealed America’s Best Cities for Foodies, and ranked Denver No. 13. But the methodology is rarely an exact science: For this list, Travel + Leisure posted the survey online for several months, and the respondents did the rest, identifying themselves as residents or visitors and ranking cities in a variety of categories, with restaurants just a part of the mix.
Beyond that No. 1 in microbrews (and that’s from visitors; residents ranked Denver as No. 4), here some of the other restaurant rankings:
Barbecue: Visitors rank Denver No. 17, residents rank it No. 26.
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Hamburgers: Visitors rank Denver No. 11, residents rank it No. 25.
Ethnic food: Visitors rank Denver No. 24, residents rank it No. 34.
Pizza: Visitors rank Denver No. 13, residents rank it No. 29.
Street Food: Visitors ranks Denver. No. 20, residents rank it No. 20.
Finally, agreement. And can we all agree on something else? It’s time for Denver residents to stop filling out these national surveys — at least until they’ve actually gone out and eaten a few meals in this town. How about starting with a trip down Federal Boulevard to check out the ethnic restaurants that definitely elevate Denver far above No. 34?
Read the rest of Denver’s rankings here.
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