The Best Food City In The World, According To Andrew Zimmern

Beloved American chef and former host of "Bizarre Foods," Andrew Zimmern is known to have good taste. Whether it's his favorite hot sauces or his most memorable meal, when Zimmern has a food opinion, people listen. So it's no surprise that when he took to TikTok to discuss his top five food cities in the world, there was much anticipation for his responses.

Zimmern's top four food cities may come as no shock. Number five came in as a tie between Paris and Madrid, two cities that he said he simply couldn't separate. Four was awarded to Mexico City due to its variety and flavors. The number-three spot was given to Tokyo and two was given to Chengdu in the Sichuan Provence of China.

But the number-one spot? Well, that was enthusiastically given to none other than New York City (a place that already has some of the best pizza on the planet), but not NYC as a whole. Specifically, Zimmern noted that the borough of Queens, if partitioned off from the rest of the city, would easily be the best food city in the world. 

According to Andrew Zimmern, there's almost nowhere else on earth he'd rather eat than in Queens. Nicknamed "The World's Borough," Queens is the nation's most diverse large county. In fact, over 138 languages are spoken there, thanks in part to almost half of the population being foreign-born. Because of this diversity, Zimmern proclaims that Queens is an absolute rockstar when it comes to the diversity of its food, too.

A self-proclaimed globalist by nature, Zimmern loves to travel the world via the streets of Queens. Because it's a culinary melting pot, it's not hard to find authentic eats throughout the colorful and buzzing neighborhoods. Take a stroll through Astoria and you'll find some of the best Greek and Croatian meals outside of Europe. Jackson Heights is known for its Latin cuisine, although Zimmern also frequents Tawa, a tiny ​​Nepalese restaurant that serves up authentic sukuti (crispy pieces of dried meat and spices). No matter where you turn, Zimmern says you'll find yourself immersed in a new international food adventure.

Whether you're looking for Italian, Indian, Korean, Colombian, or other international cuisine, Queens has an entire neighborhood — or at the very least a street — to suit your taste buds. You can grab a table at a buzzing restaurant, like Corona's famous Park Side, an old-school red sauce joint that serves up Italian fare. Or, you can discover some of the best street food on the planet, like the infamous Tijuana-style taco truck in Jackson Heights, Birria-Landia, that consistently has lines wrapped around the block. Looking for carbs? Try the Bukharian bread at Rokhat Kosher Bakery, a Rego Park staple that Andrew Zimmern visited in an episode of "Bizarre Foods."

If you swing over to Flushing, you'll find a plethora of Asian cuisine, from authentic Korean BBQ at Hahm Ji Bach; to Chinese soup dumplings at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao; to one of Zimmern's favorites, a noodle dish called mung bean jelly at Fu Run. Want to quickly transport from China to the Philippines? Just head to Little Manila, a section of Woodside known for its many Filipino restaurants, like Renee's Kitchenette and Grille. 

Foodies have always known that Queens is where it's at when it comes to being able to try so many different cuisines. And now with Zimmern declaring it to the internet, maybe even more people will hop on the 7 train and get lost amongst the smells of grilled meats, fresh pastries, and some of the best meals they'll ever have.