USA TODAY 10Best
Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail Wins Best Food Trail!
Best Food Trail (2015)
America's many food trails turn road trips into a mouthwatering culinary adventures where the flavors of the USA are the main attractions. We asked 10Best and USA TODAY readers to vote for their favorite food trails from a pool of 20 nominees, and after four weeks of voting, we have a winner!
According to our readers, there's nothing quite as American as sinking your teeth into a juicy green chile cheeseburger (New Mexico green chile previously won the title of Best Iconic American Food). The southwestern state's Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail (which includes nearly 100 restaurants serving the dish) earned the most votes and the title of Best Food Trail.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Food Trail are as follows:
Photo courtesy of Lydia Schrandt
No. 10: Texas BBQ Trail
Cattle mad Texas is made distinct from the various BBQ trails across the South by its love of slow smoked beef brisket, the Lone Star barbecue staple. But the region also features unique sausages showcasing German and eastern European immigration, as well as less common specialties like smoked prime rib. The trail links the state’s major regional barbecue hubs of Lockhart, Luling, Elgin and Taylor, making for a route that is very concise and drivable by Texas’ vast standards, mainly centered around Austin and San Antonio. There are twelve eateries in all, including some of the famous BBQ names in Texas – or the world – like Kreuz Market, Louie Mueller Barbecue and Black’s.
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
No. 9: Beer Brewery Trail - Vermont
Vermont claims to have more brewers per capita than any other state, and it is hard to drive more than few miles without encountering an example. These have been loosely grouped into the Beer Trail, more of a map to assist thirsty wanderers, with over 30 breweries ranging from tiny to small, and a couple of larger producers like Harpoon and Long Trail that are still very small compared to national breweries. Most offer tastings, some full-blown tours, and several have full-service restaurants and outdoor beer gardens. The breweries stretch from one end of the state to the other and the trail is useful to those visiting any region.
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
No. 8: Oregon Cheese Trail
It’s one of the highest profile dairy states, and the Oregon Cheese Guild has put together a well-organized trail of 15 cheesemakers open to the public for visits. The map and trail are divided into five regions, including greater Portland, the wine country of the Willamette Valley, the Coast, the South, and Central/Eastern Oregon. Cow, sheep and goat cheeses are all represented, as are American, French, Mexican and Italian styles, plus the famed blue varieties of award-winning Rogue Creamery. The Guild’s site also lists farmer’s markets and restaurants specializing in local Oregon cheeses.
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
No. 7: Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail - New York
New York’s Finger Lakes region is known as one of the country’s top wine country tours, but less famed for its sweets. This trail promises to change that by combining nearly a dozen local craft producers of everything from sticky buns to peanut brittle, dessert wines to honey. The trail includes places that focus on using local ingredients like berries, honey, fresh milk and maple syrup, and includes plenty of ice cream, sherbets and Italian ices, and even a craft brewery making beer-based desserts. This trail is seasonal, spring through fall.
Photo courtesy of kentuckytourism.com
No. 6: Kentucky Bourbon Trail
America’s favorite homegrown spirit, a corn-based whisky always aged in new wood barrels, bourbon has been popular for centuries, but the Kentucky Bourbon Trail has only been in existence for 16 years. The trail is comprised of nine distilleries, between 5 and 81 miles apart, roughly connecting Louisville and Lexington, and all offer tours. A partnered tour company operates shuttle buses on the trail for those who opt not to drive themselves. It is among the best organized of all food trails and includes a passport that when validated at each stop can be redeemed for free T-shirt. There is also a bar-based “Urban Bourbon Trail,” spinoff for visitors to Louisville.
Photo courtesy of Personal Creations / Flickr
No. 5: Sweet Tea Trail - South Carolina
While long an institution across the South, the origin of sweet (iced) tea is murky at best, and while Summerville, SC’s claim as the birthplace of the drink is highly dubious, it was home to he nation’s first tea plantation, and now, more than twelve decades later, it is also home to the self-proclaimed Sweet Tea Trail. This is one of the shortest food trails in the nation, limited entirely to Summerville, complete with a Sweet Tea Trolley, linking the city’s five neighborhoods. Ranging far beyond its namesake beverage, the trail includes antique shops and golf courses, plus cupcakes and cinnamon rolls made with sweet tea, sweet tea brined pork chops, and even spa treatments using sweet tea.
Photo courtesy of susi.bsu / Flickr
No. 4: Hoosier Pie Trail - Indiana
It may not be well known outside the area, but in 2009 the legislature declared Hoosier Pie (aka Sugar Cream Pie) the state’s official pie. Sweet and simple, it is a pie shell topped with a layer of creamed butter and sugar, then filled with vanilla cream and baked. But in pie mad Indiana, the trail is not limited to the namesake style, and includes all kinds, from apple to coconut to chocolate. One of the stops, Storie’s in Greensburg, makes as many as fifty different kinds of pies daily. It’s more a pie trail of the Hoosier state than a trail of Hoosier pie per se, thought you’ll find plenty of that too. There are more than a dozen stops all across Indiana for dessert round the clock.
Photo courtesy of Denny Culbert
No. 3: Cajun Boudin Trail - Louisiana
Food trails don’t get much more specialized – or have less competition – than this one, focused on a favorite traditional style of Cajun sausage. Boudin is a pork based sausage made unique by both its inclusion of rice and cooking with steam, but today it also comes in seafood and other versions, and is sometimes smoked. Once often made with blood (red), the more common style today is blanc (white), but you can still try both. Several of the eleven included butchers and restaurants that comprise the trail also serve other delicious regional specialties including pork chop sandwiches, other sausages, pork cracklins (fried rind), and the state’s famous Natchitoches meat pies.
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
No. 2: Mississippi Gulf Seafood Trail
The Gulf of Mexico is the richest fishery in the Continental United States, especially famous for its wild caught sweet shrimp that command the world’s highest prices, along with lots of other delicious seafood. To celebrate this bounty, the State created a trail of 52 specialty restaurants stretching 360 miles from the Delta to the Gulf Coast and featuring shrimp, oysters, crab and fish (especially drum and flounder). The trail is uniquely sortable by the dish you crave as well as by region, and includes everything from fine dining to oyster shacks to po boy sandwich shops.
Photo courtesy of nmtourism.org
No. 1: Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail - New Mexico
Few foods are as heavily associated with a region as green chile and New Mexico, and while it is used in many ways, the green chile cheeseburger is the state’s semi-official and most beloved food. The dish has been served here for decades, and serval venerable roadside joints claim to be the original, including the Owl Café in San Antonio and the original Blake’s Lotaburger in Albuquerque, but it hardly matters: you can find delicious examples all across the state. The Tourism Department’s downloadable map lists nearly 100 specialists in the dish, with many clustered around the tourist destinations of Taos, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, but they are found in every corner, from UFO hotspot Roswell to bat-mad Carlsbad caverns.
A panel of experts picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Eric Grossman, Megy Karydes, M. Linda Lee (10Best), Larry Olmsted (Great American Bites) and Kim Sunee were chosen based on their extensive knowledge of food and travel.
Other nominated food trails included the Alabama BBQ Trail, Arizona's Salsa Trail, Connecticut Chocolate Trail, Hawaii Kona Coffee Belt, Mississippi Hot Tamale Trail, North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail, South Carolina BBQ Trail, Tennessee Whiskey Trail, Vermont Cheese Trail and the Wisconsin Cheese Tour.
10Best and USA TODAY extend their congratulations to all the winners.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/.