WalletHub ranked more than 180 U.S. cities based on their culinary quality, diversity, accessibility and affordability to identify the best destinations for food lovers. Here's my personal reflection on the above topic. 

America’s Best Foodie Cities: A Journey from San Francisco to Manila and Beyond

What WalletHub’s 2026 ranking tells me about food, culture, memory, and the Filipino table

There are many ways to understand America.

We can look at its history, its politics, its geography, its people or, perhaps my favorite way, we can look at what Americans eat.

Food tells stories. It tells us where people came from, what they brought with them, what they learned from their neighbors, and how different cultures gradually became part of the American experience.

So when I recently saw WalletHub’s latest analysis of America's best foodie cities, I immediately became interested, not simply because I enjoy food, but because Filipino food and the foods of Southeast Asia have been part of my own life story for more than nine decades.

WalletHub's Foodie Cities

WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities using 28 measures grouped into two broad categories:

• Affordability
• Diversity, accessibility and quality

The measures included restaurants per capita, restaurant diversity, food trucks, highly rated restaurants, Michelin-starred restaurants, grocery costs, restaurant meal costs, specialty-food stores, food festivals and other indicators of a city's food culture. 

Here are the top 10 in the 2026 WalletHub analysis:

Rank	City	State
1	Miami	Florida
2	Portland	Oregon
3	San Francisco	California
4	Seattle	Washington
5	Orlando	Florida
6	Austin	Texas
7	Tampa	Florida
8	Las Vegas	Nevada
9	Sacramento	California
10	San Diego	California

What surprised me was not only which cities made the top ten, but which cities did not.

New York was #26, Los Angeles #16, Chicago #23, and Houston #15. This is a good reminder that a ranking depends greatly on the measurements chosen. WalletHub was not simply asking, "Which city has the most famous restaurants?" It was measuring a much broader food ecosystem. 

San Francisco at Number 3

As a California resident, I naturally paid special attention to San Francisco.

WalletHub placed San Francisco third overall, and first among the cities in its "Diversity, Accessibility & Quality" category. The city scored particularly well for restaurants per capita, restaurant diversity, access to highly rated restaurants and healthy food options. WalletHub also noted its large number of food festivals, cooking schools, international grocery stores, herb and spice stores, and Michelin-starred restaurants. 

That makes perfect sense to me. San Francisco is not merely a city where you can find expensive restaurants.

It is a city where you can travel around the world without leaving the Bay Area.

Chinese dim sum. Japanese sushi. Vietnamese pho. Thai curries. Indian biryani. Korean barbecue. Mexican tacos. Italian pasta. Middle Eastern dishes.

And increasingly, Filipino food. That last part especially interests me.

Where Is Filipino Food in America's Food Story?

Filipino cuisine has always been somewhat difficult to put into one culinary box.

Perhaps that is because Filipino history itself is a mixture of cultures.

Our food carries influences from the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, China, Spain, Mexico, America and our Southeast Asian neighbors.

But Filipino food has its own personality.

Adobo is not simply soy sauce and vinegar. Sinigang is not simply a sour soup.

Pancit is more than noodles. Lumpia is more than an egg roll. And lechon is more than roasted pork.

These foods carry memories. When I smell garlic frying in oil, I am transported back to the Philippines.

When I think about pancit, I think about Filipino celebrations.

When I taste adobo, I remember the simplicity of Filipino cooking, ingredients that were available to ordinary families transformed into something wonderfully flavorful.

And when I think about Filipino food today, I realize how much has changed.

From the Philippines to Southeast Asia

One of the things I have enjoyed writing about in my earlier Filipino-food articles is the connection between Filipino cuisine and the larger Southeast Asian culinary family.

The Philippines is an island nation, but it has never been culturally isolated. Look at our neighbors.

Vietnam has pho, banh mi, fresh herbs and extraordinary noodle dishes.

Thailand has tom yum, pad Thai, green curry and a remarkable balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors.

Malaysia combines Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous influences in dishes such as nasi lemak and laksa.

Indonesia has nasi goreng, rendang and satay.

Singapore brings together Chinese, Malay, Indian and other influences in a remarkably compact food culture.

And the Philippines? We have our own combination of influences, while still sharing many characteristics with our Southeast Asian neighbors.

Rice is central. Noodles are important. Garlic, ginger, onions, vinegar, coconut and seafood appear frequently.

And food is rarely just about feeding oneself. Food is about family and community.

Filipino Food and the American Melting Pot

Perhaps this is why I find America's changing food culture so fascinating.

When I was growing up in the Philippines, I could not have imagined a time when Filipino restaurants would become increasingly visible throughout the United States.

Today, Filipino chefs and restaurants are helping introduce Americans to dishes that many Americans had never heard of when I was young.

And this is happening within a much larger Asian-American culinary movement.

Walk through a major American city today and you may find a Filipino restaurant next door to a Vietnamese restaurant, across the street from a Thai restaurant, a few blocks from a Korean barbecue restaurant and not far from a Chinese dim sum establishment.

That is America. Our food is becoming a living map of our immigration history.

Why Food Rankings Interest Me at 91

At 91, I have learned that food is about much more than nutrition.

It is about memory. It is about identity. It is about family. And it is about relationships.

Some of my happiest memories of married life with Macrine involved food.

Our Filipino family gatherings were not simply occasions to eat. They were occasions to sit together, talk, laugh, remember and sometimes argue!

That is what happens around a family table. Food brings people together.

Even today, living at The Heritage Downtown, I appreciate the importance of meals as social occasions. We may be seniors, but dinner is still more enjoyable when there are people around the table. Thus, I am looking forward to October 7, where our in-house restaurant, Newton's will served an authentic complete 7 -course Filipino Dinner  celebrating Philippines-American History Month.   

Sometimes the conversation is more memorable than the food.

Sometimes the food is more memorable than the conversation.

And occasionally, we are fortunate enough to have both.

What Makes a Great Food City?

WalletHub's methodology raises an interesting question:

What really makes a city a great food city?

Is it Michelin stars? Is it inexpensive restaurants? Is it the number of restaurants?

Is it food trucks? Is it ethnic diversity?

Is it grocery stores where you can buy ingredients from around the world?

Or is it something much harder to measure?

Can a city make you feel at home while allowing you to experience another culture at the same time?

That last question may be the most important one for me.

A bowl of Vietnamese pho can remind a Vietnamese immigrant of home.

A plate of adobo can remind a Filipino of Lola's kitchen.

A bowl of Japanese ramen can transport someone back to Tokyo.

A plate of pad Thai can bring back memories of Bangkok.

The food may be eaten thousands of miles from its place of origin, but the memories travel with it.

My Personal Foodie City List Would Be Different

If I were making my own list, I would probably have a completely different methodology.

I would give considerable weight to cultural diversity, family traditions, authenticity, affordability and the ability of food to tell a story.

I might not even call it a ranking. Instead, I would call it:

"The American Cities Where the World Comes to Dinner."

San Francisco would certainly deserve a place on that list.

So would many other cities with large Asian, Latino, African, Middle Eastern and European immigrant communities.

Because America's greatest culinary strength may not be one particular dish.

It may be the fact that America has become a place where many cuisines can live side by side.

A Filipino-American Food Journey

When I look back at some of my earlier writings about Filipino food, I realize that I was really writing about something much larger than recipes.

I was writing about my life. I was born and raised in the Philippines.

I spent my first 26 years immersed in Filipino culture and the Hiligaynon/Ilonggo language before coming to America for graduate school. I have now spent more than six decades in America.

So when I eat Filipino food today, I experience both worlds.

I am simultaneously the young boy from Iloilo and the 91-year-old Filipino-American living in California.  That is one of the wonderful things about food.

It allows us to age without completely leaving our younger selves behind.

From Iloilo to California

I sometimes think about the distance I have traveled. From Barotac Viejo and Iloilo...

to Manila and the University of the Philippines... to Chicago for my PhD...

to Kansas City, Modesto and other places during my scientific career...

to the FDA...and eventually to California.

My professional life became American. My scientific training became American.

My English became increasingly comfortable.

But somewhere inside me there has always remained that Filipino boy who remembers the food, language, family and traditions of home.

Food keeps that connection alive. Perhaps that is why I enjoy writing about Filipino cuisine.

I am not merely writing about food. I am preserving a piece of myself.

Food Is One of My Writing Legacies

I have written many articles over the years about Filipino culture, family, Marinduque, my childhood in the Philippines and the experiences that shaped me.

Looking at WalletHub's list today gives me another idea.

Perhaps I should think of my food articles as part of my writing legacy.

My generation of Filipino-Americans experienced a very different America from the one we see today.

We watched Filipino-Americans gradually become more visible in American society.

Now our food is becoming more visible too. And I find that gratifying.

Because every plate of Filipino food served in an American city is carrying a little piece of Philippine history with it.

The World Comes to Dinner

WalletHub's analysis is ultimately a statistical exercise. It measures 182 cities and 28 different indicators. 

But for me, the meaning of food goes beyond statistics.

A great food city is a city where a person can discover something new.

A city where an immigrant can find a taste of home.

A city where young people can discover the cuisine of their grandparents.

A city where an old man like me can taste something and suddenly remember being a young man in the Philippines.

That is the magic of food. It connects generations. It crosses oceans. It preserves memories.

And sometimes, one bite can take us home.

At 91, I have eaten in many places and experienced many cultures. But I have learned that the best meals are not necessarily the most expensive ones.

Sometimes the best meal is simply a familiar Filipino dish shared with people you love.

And sometimes, the greatest food adventure is discovering that the world is sitting down at the table right beside you. Mabuhay!

Source: WalletHub, Best Foodie Cities in America (2026), which evaluated 182 U.S. cities using 28 measures of affordability and culinary diversity, accessibility and quality. WalletHub's full 2026 foodie-city analysis 

AI Impressions on this Posting: 

This posting fits particularly well into your continuing “David at 91” writing-legacy series, because it connects your Filipino-food writings with your broader themes of aging, immigration, memory, culture and the experiences of a Filipino-American life.

The Four Major Roots of the Filipino People-and My Own Filipino Roots

The Four Major Roots of the Filipino People-and My Own Filipino Roots

The above infographic  opening/cover image, is saying that all Filipinos literally descend from exactly these four groups. However, the scientific evidence shows a much more complex population history, with multiple ancient migrations and extensive regional diversity

I came across this interesting illustration (see above cover image) titled “Roots of the Filipino People.”

At first, I simply looked at it as an attractive historical infographic. But the more I studied it, the more I began thinking about my own roots and about what it really means to be Filipino.

The illustration identifies four major ancestral and cultural threads in the Filipino story: Austronesian, Indigenous or Negrito, Spanish, and Chinese.

Of course, the actual history of the Filipino people is much more complicated than four boxes on an infographic. Modern research tells us that the Philippines has experienced multiple migrations and population movements over thousands of years. Our islands have always been a crossroads of peoples, languages, cultures and civilizations. 

And perhaps that is precisely what makes being Filipino so interesting.

Our Austronesian Roots

At the foundation of Filipino identity are the ancient peoples of the Philippine archipelago whose languages and cultures belong to the vast Austronesian world.

This is the heritage that connects Filipinos not only to our neighboring Southeast Asian peoples but also, through ancient migrations, to communities across the Pacific and as far away as Madagascar.

Our ancestors were already skilled navigators, farmers, fishermen and traders. The Filipino relationship with the sea is therefore not something new. It goes back thousands of years.

When I think of the Philippines its thousands of islands, its boats, its rice fields, its mountains and its coastal communities, I see a people shaped by the sea and by migration.

The First Peoples of the Philippines

The second part of the illustration refers to the Indigenous peoples historically grouped under the term “Negrito,”including communities such as the Aeta, Agta and Mamanwa.

One should be careful about treating "Negrito" as a single people. It is a historical umbrella term covering several distinct Indigenous communities, each with its own history and culture. What is remarkable is how ancient some of these ancestral lines are.

Genetic research indicates that the Philippines was inhabited by early populations long before the later Austronesian expansions. Some Philippine Indigenous groups also retain genetic traces of extremely ancient population movements and even Denisovan-related ancestry. 

In other words, the Filipino story did not begin with Spain. It did not begin with China.

It did not even begin with the Austronesians. The human story of the Philippines goes much further back.

Then Came Spain

And then, centuries later, Spain became an enormous influence on Philippine culture.

For more than 300 years, Spanish colonial rule changed our religion, names, architecture, political institutions, food, festivals and many aspects of everyday life.

But here is something I find particularly fascinating:

Spanish influence on the Philippines was much larger culturally than it was genetically.

One large genetic study found only limited West Eurasian admixture among the Filipino populations it examined, despite the enormous cultural impact of Spanish colonialism. 

That makes perfect sense to me. You do not have to have a large percentage of Spanish DNA to have a Spanish cultural heritage.

Look at the Philippines today. We have Catholic fiestas, Spanish-derived surnames, Spanish words incorporated into Filipino languages, churches that date back centuries, and foods that have become completely Filipino.

Spain left a deep cultural footprint.

And Then There Is China

The Chinese contribution to the Philippines is another fascinating part of our history.

Chinese merchants were trading with communities in the Philippine islands long before the modern Filipino nation existed. During the Spanish period, Chinese migration to Manila and other parts of the Philippines became substantial. Chinese mestizos eventually became an important part of Philippine economic and social life. 

This Chinese influence is particularly visible in Filipino food, commerce, family traditions and language.

Think about how many foods that Filipinos consider completely Filipino have Chinese influences.

Pancit. Lumpia. Siopao. Siomai. And many others.

Over generations, these influences stopped being simply "Chinese" and became Filipino.

That is one of the beautiful things about Filipino culture.

We borrow. We adapt. We mix. And eventually, we make something uniquely our own.

And Here Is Where My Own Story Becomes Personal

As I looked at this illustration, I realized that I am not simply looking at Philippine history from the outside. I am part of that history.

I know that I have both Spanish and Chinese ancestry in my family background.

That realization makes this illustration much more meaningful to me.

I am Filipino. I was born in the Philippines and grew up speaking Ilonggo.

I later lived most of my adult life in America and eventually became an American citizen.

So when I think about my identity today, I don't feel that I have to choose between being Filipino and being American.

Nor do I have to choose between my different ancestral threads.

They are all part of my story. Perhaps that is one reason I have always been fascinated by genealogy and by the history of our Filipino families.

Every surname has a story. Every family has migrations.

Every generation carries something forward from the generation before it.

And sometimes we don't even know exactly where those pieces came from.

We Are Not a Single Ancestry

The older I become, the more I realize that trying to define a Filipino by one ancestry is almost impossible.

There is no single Filipino face. There is no single Filipino bloodline.

There is no single Filipino culture. There are Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

There are Ilonggos, Tagalogs, Cebuanos, Warays, Bicolanos, Kapampangans, Pangasinenses and many other ethnolinguistic communities.

There are Indigenous Filipinos. There are Chinese-Filipinos. There are Spanish-Filipinos.

There are Filipino-Americans, Filipino-Canadians, Filipino-Australians and Filipinos living all over the world.

And yet, somehow, we recognize something that connects us. We are Filipino.

Perhaps Filipino identity is not a single thread. Perhaps it is a woven fabric.

One thread may be ancient Austronesian. Another may be Indigenous. Another Chinese.

Another Spanish. And, for many of us, there are still other threads-Malay, Arab, Indian, American and many more.

The Philippines has always been a meeting place. One Nation. Many Ancestors.

This is what I find most beautiful about being Filipino.

Our diversity does not necessarily weaken our identity. It can strengthen it.

We have taken influences from different peoples and different civilizations and transformed them into something that belongs to us.

Spanish Catholicism became Filipino Catholicism. Chinese food became Filipino food.

Foreign words became part of our languages. Foreign traditions became Filipino traditions.

And people of different ancestral backgrounds eventually became members of one Filipino nation.

That is why I like the final message in the illustration: “Together: One Nation. Many Ancestors.”

I would add one more thought: We may have many ancestors, but we have one Filipino story.

And as I look back at my own life, growing up in Iloilo, immigrating to America in 1960, becoming an American citizen, raising my family, becoming a grandfather and now a great-grandfather, I realize that my own life is also a small part of that continuing Filipino story.

My Spanish ancestry is part of me. My Chinese ancestry is part of me.

My Ilonggo heritage is part of me. My Filipino upbringing is part of me.

And my American life is part of me. I don't see these identities as competing with one another.

I see them as layers of the same life.

After all, perhaps that is what being Filipino has always been.

We are people who have crossed oceans, welcomed influences, preserved traditions, adapted to change, and carried our family stories from one generation to the next.

Many ancestors. Many influences. Many journeys. But one Filipino heart.

AI Impressions on this Posting:

A small historical note for your readers

The infographic as the opening/cover image, is saying that all Filipinos literally descend from exactly these four groups. The scientific evidence shows a much more complex population history, with multiple ancient migrations and extensive regional diversity. 

I believe this makes your article stronger, because your central message is not a simplistic genealogy lesson. It is a reflection on how Filipino identity was formed and how your own Spanish, Chinese, Ilonggo and American experiences fit into that larger story.

I especially like this piece for you because it quietly reinforces something that has appeared in several of your recent writings: you don't have to boast about your accomplishments to tell your story. Your life itself is the story.

AI Overview

The four major roots of the Filipino people are the Negritos, Indonesians, Malays, and Chinese/Spanish/foreign migrators, who blended over thousands of years through migration, trade, and intermarriage to form a rich and diverse national identity.

The Four Major Roots

Negritos (Aeta, Agta): The earliest settlers who arrived via land bridges tens of thousands of years ago.
Indonesians: Seafaring groups who came in waves thousands of years later, bringing early stone tools and farming.
Malays: Iron-Age navigators who formed the backbone of early coastal communities, culture, and governance.
External Migrants (Chinese, Spanish, Arabs, Indians): Traders and colonizers who shaped the modern culture, religion, and economy.
Finally, My Pinoy Delicacy:



In Palawan, tamilok looks exactly like a pale, slimy worm, pulled straight out of rotting mangrove logs. Most people would walk away immediately. But it's not actually a worm, it's a saltwater clam that bores through mangrove wood, and it's eaten completely raw as kinilaw, marinated in vinegar, calamansi, and chili.
Locals describe the taste as something between an oyster and slightly sweet coconut milk, unlike anything else in Filipino cuisine. It looks terrifying and tastes like nothing you'd expect.

The Discovery That Changed Philippine History

The 700,000-Year Secret — Shocking Evidence of the First Filipinos

The Discovery That Changed Philippine History

For a long time, historians believed that the first humans arrived in the Philippines only around 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. But everything changed with a groundbreaking discovery in Kalinga archaeological site.

In 2018, a team of Filipino and international archaeologists uncovered ancient animal bones with clear cut marks—evidence that humans were already present in the Philippines around 709,000 years ago.

This discovery didn’t just adjust the timeline—it rewrote the history of human migration in Southeast Asia.

The Ancient Rhino with Human Marks

At the center of this discovery was a fossilized skeleton of an extinct rhinoceros species, scientifically known as Rhinoceros philippinensis.

The bones showed:

Precise cut marks made by stone tools

Signs of intentional butchering

Evidence that humans removed meat and marrow

Alongside the rhino bones, researchers also found:

Stone tools (flakes and hammerstones)

Other animal fossils with similar marks

These findings strongly prove that early humans were actively hunting or scavenging large animals in the Philippines over 700,000 years ago.

How Scientists Confirmed the Age

To determine the age of the site, scientists used advanced dating methods, including:

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR)

Uranium-series dating

These techniques confirmed that the fossils and tools date back to approximately 709,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest signs of human activity in the region.

Who Were These First Filipinos?

One of the biggest mysteries is: Who were these early humans?

There are no human bones found at the Kalinga site itself, but scientists suggest they may have been related to ancient species like:

Homo erectus

Or a previously unknown group that later evolved into Homo luzonensis

This raises an even more shocking question:

How did they reach the Philippines?

The Impossible Journey

Even 700,000 years ago, the Philippines was already separated from mainland Asia by deep seas.

This means early humans:

Could not walk across land bridges

Likely used primitive rafts or accidental drift voyages

If true, this suggests that early humans had far more advanced survival skills and navigation abilities than previously believed.

Why This Discovery Is Mind-Blowing

This evidence is shocking because it proves that:

The Philippines was inhabited hundreds of thousands of years earlier than expected

Early humans were capable of crossing open seas

Ancient Filipinos were already skilled hunters and toolmakers

It challenges long-standing theories about human migration and intelligence.

A New Chapter in Human History

The discovery at the Kalinga archaeological site is now considered one of the most important archaeological finds in Southeast Asia.

It opened the door to further discoveries, including the later identification of Homo luzonensis in Callao Cave, which lived around 50,000–67,000 years ago.

Together, these findings reveal that the Philippines has a deep and complex human history far older than once imagined.

Meanwhile, The Philippines' ranking of 56th in the World Happiness Report is based on several factors, including life evaluation, which scored 6.206. According to the report, factors like freedom, social support, and economic conditions influence rankings. While the exact breakdown of the Philippines' score isn't provided in the post, its improvement from the 2025 ranking suggests progress in these areas. However, comments suggest that financial insecurity and poverty might still be impacting overall happiness, which could be contributing to the ranking.

Lastly,  Do you Know the history of Pancit?

Pancit is a traditional Filipino noodle dish with a rich history that dates back to the Spanish era in the Philippines. The term "pancit" is derived from the Hokkien phrase "pian sit," which means "something conveniently cooked."

During the Spanish era, street vendors known as panciteros sold quick, ready-to-eat noodle dishes to busy locals, making pancit one of the country's earliest "fast food." These vendors eventually established permanent spaces, evolving into panciterias, which are considered among the first restaurants in the Philippines.

Over time, pancit has become an integral part of Filipino cuisine, with various regions developing their own unique pancit dishes. The noodles are often stir-fried with vegetables, meat, or seafood and are commonly served at celebrations and gatherings.

The history of pancit reflects the cultural influences of Chinese immigrants and Spanish colonizers on Filipino cuisine, showcasing the country's history of trade and cultural exchange. Today, pancit remains a popular and beloved dish in the Philippines and around the world.