The Triangle is named one of America’s most underrated food regions. Here’s why
A hugely influential figure in food media just tagged the Triangle as the most underrated food regions on the East Coast.
The chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern shouted out the Triangle’s food scene as the most underrated on the East Coast.
In an Instagram post this month, Zimmern put the Triangle in the company of dining destinations like Portland, Maine; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charleston, South Carolina, saying those cities were once underrated themselves and are now foodie capitals.
“I spent a weekend in Raleigh-Durham this last year and when you have as much great food as is going on right now in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, I’m going to say Raleigh-Durham is the most underrated,” Zimmern said in a video. “They punch above their weight and are ridiculously underrated. Shout out to Ashley Christensen for putting that city on the map.”
First off, bless his heart. Let’s forgive Zimmern for the faux pas of mixing up The Triangle and RDU International Airport. He means well, even though he used a hyphen like a dagger.
The Zimmern shout-out comes on the heels of multiple major spotlights on the Triangle dining scene recently.
Last month, The New York Times featured Raleigh in a 36 Hours column, spotlighting restaurants and bars like Ajja, Poole’s Diner, Figulina, Edit Beer, Sam Jones BBQ and St. Roch. In 2023, Durham got the same 36 Hours treatment.
Is the Triangle underrated?
It kind of feels like yes.
There’s a difference between undiscovered and underrated. The Triangle is hardly undiscovered.
The dining boom in the Triangle has been decades in the making. In 2008, Bon Appetit declared Durham the foodiest city in America, but the honor was owed more to its farmers markets and farmers than its restaurants.
Since then, Triangle chefs have won three James Beard awards and a thriving dining scene has emerged.
Especially for Durham.
Food & Wine called Durham one of America’s Next Great Food Cities, Garden & Gun called it the South’s Newest foodie city, and Southern Living declared Durham the Tastiest Town in the South in 2013.
Where’s the hardware?
But Zimmern may be the first on the national stage to point out that the Triangle’s dining scene demands a closer look than it’s gotten recently.
It’s not homerism to spotlight restaurants like Nanas in Durham or Ajja and Peregrine in Raleigh and know that something greater is going on.
But there’s not much hardware to show for it.
In the last year, the inaugural Michelin Guide for the American South rated 19 Triangle restaurants, but awarded no stars. Also, the Triangle missed out on a James Beard finalist for the second straight year.
In his shout-out, Zimmern said Triangle restaurants are doing important work outside the spotlight, blending North Carolina culinary identity and global influence.
“This is where serious chefs are doing thoughtful, ingredient-driven work without the noise,” he wrote. “Where global flavors and Southern roots actually mean something on the plate. Where you can eat incredibly well without fighting for a reservation three weeks out. Don’t wait for the headlines to catch up. Get there now.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 1:10 PM.
