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'Tis the season for eating outdoors! USA TODAY 10Best teamed up with a panel of traveling foodies to help nominate 20 streets and neighborhoods across the USA for the title of Best Al Fresco Dining Neighborhood, and for the past four weeks, USA TODAY and 10Best readers have been voting for their favorites.
Snagging the number one spot was Historic Downtown in Wilmington, N.C. This quaint waterfront neighborhood is no stranger to the 10Best Readers' Choice winners list, as it previously won the category Best American Riverfront.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Al Fresco Dining Neighborhood are as follows:
- Historic Downtown - Wilmington, N.C.
- 5th Avenue South - Naples, Fla.
- Main Street - Greenville, S.C.
- Vail Village - Vail, Colo.
- Larimer Square - Denver
- State Street - Santa Barbara, Calif.
- River Walk - San Antonio
- Wicker Park - Chicago
- Peachtree Road - Atlanta
- Adams Morgan - Washington
A panel of experts picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Caroline Potter (OpenTable, Inc.), Eric Grossman, Megy Karydes, M. Linda Lee (10Best), Akila McConnell (The Road Forks), Larry Olmsted (Great American Bites) and Kim Sunee were chosen based on their extensive knowledge of food and travel.
Other nominees for Best Al Fresco Dining Neighborhood included Back Bay in Boston, Chicago's Riverwalk, Dupont Circle in Washington, French Quarter in New Orleans, Garden District in New Orleans, Georgetown in Washington, Lake Travis and Lake Austin in Austin, Meatpacking District in New York, Montana Avenue in Santa Monica and Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.
10Best and USA TODAY extend their congratulations to all the winners.
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The Experts
Caroline Potter
Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for Read More
Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines. Caroline is also a Certified Master Gardener.
Caroline Potter

Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines. Caroline is also a Certified Master Gardener.
Eric Grossman
Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer... Read More
Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer who has visited more than 60 countries. Always up for an adventure, Eric is constantly searching for new and inspiring experiences, with a keen interest in luxury travel and urban exploration. Memorable experiences have run the gamut from discussing the future of food with Ferran Adrià to sharing a stage with Coldplay.
Eric Grossman

Eric Grossman is a travel and food/drink writer who has visited more than 60 countries. Always up for an adventure, Eric is constantly searching for new and inspiring experiences, with a keen interest in luxury travel and urban exploration. Memorable experiences have run the gamut from discussing the future of food with Ferran Adrià to sharing a stage with Coldplay.
Megy Karydes
Megy Karydes has spent more than 20 years as a... Read More
Megy Karydes has spent more than 20 years as a professional writer and most of her life in Chicago. While she’s traveled extensively internationally, visiting each of the 50 states is on her bucket list. An adventure seeker, she’s game for anything from mixed martial arts training to competing in obstacle course races. A self-proclaimed coffee snob and “greenie” who loves farmer-grown food and locally-grown craft beers & wine. She’s yet to find an outdoor beer garden she doesn’t like. Mixing writing and food/drink is her specialty, especially when it involves travel. To read her work, visit http://karydesconsulting.pressfolios.com/.
Megy Karydes

Megy Karydes has spent more than 20 years as a professional writer and most of her life in Chicago. While she’s traveled extensively internationally, visiting each of the 50 states is on her bucket list. An adventure seeker, she’s game for anything from mixed martial arts training to competing in obstacle course races. A self-proclaimed coffee snob and “greenie” who loves farmer-grown food and locally-grown craft beers & wine. She’s yet to find an outdoor beer garden she doesn’t like. Mixing writing and food/drink is her specialty, especially when it involves travel. To read her work, visit http://karydesconsulting.pressfolios.com/.
M. Linda Lee
As Senior Editor for Michelin Travel Publications... Read More
As Senior Editor for Michelin Travel Publications for 17 years, Linda worked on the Michelin Guide (the acclaimed red guide to restaurants and hotels), as well as on Michelin’s series of North American travel guides. Now a freelance writer, she is a contributing editor to TOWN magazine, based in Greenville, SC. Her passion for food and travel shines through in her articles in TOWN and in publications such as The Local Palate, Edible Upcountry, Tempus, Southwest Spirit, US Airways Magazine, and on USAToday.com. In her spare time, she promotes "good, clean and fair" food practices through her volunteer work as Co-Chair of Slow Food Upstate.
M. Linda Lee
As Senior Editor for Michelin Travel Publications for 17 years, Linda worked on the Michelin Guide (the acclaimed red guide to restaurants and hotels), as well as on Michelin’s series of North American travel guides. Now a freelance writer, she is a contributing editor to TOWN magazine, based in Greenville, SC. Her passion for food and travel shines through in her articles in TOWN and in publications such as The Local Palate, Edible Upcountry, Tempus, Southwest Spirit, US Airways Magazine, and on USAToday.com. In her spare time, she promotes "good, clean and fair" food practices through her volunteer work as Co-Chair of Slow Food Upstate.
Akila McConnell
Akila McConnell's mind (and waistline) expands as... Read More
Akila McConnell's mind (and waistline) expands as she travels and eats her way around the world. Currently, she’s eating mule-ground grits and sweet fuzzy peaches in Atlanta, Georgia, where she introduces guests to the diversity and history of Southern cuisine on food tours with Atlanta Food Walks. You can find her food and travel writing at The Road Forks and About.com Food Travel, as well as numerous magazines and websites.
Akila McConnell

Akila McConnell's mind (and waistline) expands as she travels and eats her way around the world. Currently, she’s eating mule-ground grits and sweet fuzzy peaches in Atlanta, Georgia, where she introduces guests to the diversity and history of Southern cuisine on food tours with Atlanta Food Walks. You can find her food and travel writing at The Road Forks and About.com Food Travel, as well as numerous magazines and websites.
Larry Olmsted
Larry Olmsted is the weekly Great American Bites... Read More
Larry Olmsted is the weekly Great American Bites columnist for USA TODAY, covering regional cuisine and restaurants across the nation. He also writes frequently on culinary travel topics for his Forbes.com Great Life column. He is the Contributing Travel Editor for Cigar Aficionado magazine and has written extensively on food and travel topics for a wide variety of publications, including American Way, Celebrated Living, Rhapsody and Hemispheres. His New York Times bestselling book Real Food/Fake Food takes readers on an enlightening (and sometimes disturbing) journey deep into the food industry. Larry has traveled extensively all over the globe; attended cooking classes in Italy, England, Mexico and the United States; and is certified as competition barbecue judge by the Kansas City Barbecue Society.
Larry Olmsted

Larry Olmsted is the weekly Great American Bites columnist for USA TODAY, covering regional cuisine and restaurants across the nation. He also writes frequently on culinary travel topics for his Forbes.com Great Life column. He is the Contributing Travel Editor for Cigar Aficionado magazine and has written extensively on food and travel topics for a wide variety of publications, including American Way, Celebrated Living, Rhapsody and Hemispheres. His New York Times bestselling book Real Food/Fake Food takes readers on an enlightening (and sometimes disturbing) journey deep into the food industry. Larry has traveled extensively all over the globe; attended cooking classes in Italy, England, Mexico and the United States; and is certified as competition barbecue judge by the Kansas City Barbecue Society.
Kim Sunee
Kim Sunée was born in South Korea, adopted, and... Read More
Kim Sunée was born in South Korea, adopted, and raised in the Southern U.S. She is the author of the national bestseller, “Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home” and “A Mouthful of Stars.” She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Ladies’ Homes Journal, People, ELLE, and Glamour. She ate and lived in Europe–mostly France–for ten years before working as a food editor for Southern Living magazine and Cottage Living magazine. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, The Oxford American,Cooking Light, and Asian American Poetry and Writing. Sunée has appeared several times as a guest judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. She is currently a food columnist for Alaska Dispatch and a freelance recipe tester, editor, and food stylist. For more food and travel, please visit kimsunee.com and instagram/kimsunee.
Kim Sunee

Kim Sunée was born in South Korea, adopted, and raised in the Southern U.S. She is the author of the national bestseller, “Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home” and “A Mouthful of Stars.” She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Ladies’ Homes Journal, People, ELLE, and Glamour. She ate and lived in Europe–mostly France–for ten years before working as a food editor for Southern Living magazine and Cottage Living magazine. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, The Oxford American,Cooking Light, and Asian American Poetry and Writing. Sunée has appeared several times as a guest judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. She is currently a food columnist for Alaska Dispatch and a freelance recipe tester, editor, and food stylist. For more food and travel, please visit kimsunee.com and instagram/kimsunee.