| Travel to most city websites around the net | | | | capita," which is perhaps clever psychology |
| and you'll be surprised by how many purport | | | | as the city has never indicted which is top. |
| to have more restaurants per capita than | | | | With a population of 335,000 the city claims |
| anywhere else. This is claimed by San | | | | to have 265 Italian, French, Greek, East |
| Francisco; Madison, Wisconsin; Washington DC; | | | | Indian, Vegetarian, German, Dutch, Mexican, |
| and Shreveport, Louisiana. At least Canadian | | | | Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai |
| cities stake the same claim. | | | | eateries. That means Victoria has a |
| | | | restaurant per 1,264 people. But with its |
| So which cities do have a legitimate claim to | | | | spectacular location halfway between |
| the title of "Most Restaurants Per Capita?" | | | | Vancouver and Seattle, you'd hardly care if |
| The National Restaurant Association (NRA) | | | | its claim is a little off. |
| does publish a list of restaurants per capita | | | | |
| per state. According to the Association, | | | | In New York City no one cooks at home and by |
| California has by far the most restaurants | | | | the time you've heard of a restaurant it has |
| with a staggering 87,225 dining | | | | probably closed. Restaurants open and close |
| establishments. New York State comes in at a | | | | with alarming alacrity in the Big Apple. On |
| paltry 58,027. The top five is rounded out by | | | | average, the city of New York can claim 6,650 |
| Texas (53,631), Florida (41,901) Pennsylvania | | | | dining places from the chic Lespinasse to the |
| (31,466). | | | | greasiest corner diner -- the most |
| | | | restaurants in any one place on the |
| In terms of per capita per state, Washington | | | | continent. Yet with 8,168,338 people, New |
| DC tops the list according to NRA. The US | | | | York can only claim to have 1, 228 people per |
| capital region boosts some 0.4 restaurants | | | | restaurant. It might seem that every second |
| per 100 people. Second is, surprisingly, | | | | building in New York is a restaurant but they |
| Montana at .354 restaurants per 100 people. | | | | have to cater to a lot of vertically housed |
| Rounding out the NRA's top five are Rhode | | | | residents. That explains why it is hard to |
| Island (0.304 per 100) Vermont (.303 per 100) | | | | find a table some nights. |
| New York (.301 per 100). If you are a little | | | | |
| hungry you might want avoid the three states | | | | The one Canadian city that can make a great |
| with the fewest restaurants Mississippi, | | | | claim to have the most restaurants per capita |
| Kentucky and Utah. | | | | is Montreal in the province of Quebec. With |
| | | | just over 5,000 restaurants in the metro |
| In terms of North American cities, it is a | | | | island area, is appears there are at least |
| little harder to ascertain who can claim the | | | | one restaurant on every street corner. With |
| title of city with most restaurants per | | | | its diverse immigrant population and French |
| capita. | | | | majority, the city has every type of cuisine |
| | | | available from Lebanese to continental French |
| Here are ten cities with more than 100,000 | | | | to native Canadian. Some 3,720,000 Quebecois |
| people that have made the claim. But who has | | | | live in the metro area making Montreal the |
| the real claim? Who offers the cuisine | | | | second largest French speaking city in the |
| searcher or just plain hungry shopper the | | | | world. Giving it a restaurant per capita |
| most choice? Who can claim the title of The | | | | number of 744. |
| Restaurant City. | | | | |
| | | | When you leave Austin you enter Texas so the |
| The city of San Francisco is a city of | | | | saying goes. This funky city in central Texas |
| 744,230 people and claims to have 2,662 | | | | has 1,088 eating places to enhance its |
| restaurants within the city boundaries. There | | | | reputation as Music City USA. That list |
| is no doubt that the standard of restaurants | | | | includes 128 establishments in or around the |
| in the city of the bay is exceptional. If you | | | | University of Texas alone. Austin's |
| just include San Francisco properly your | | | | burgeoning population is currently 690, 252 |
| density is 279 people per restaurant. But | | | | making their people to restaurant ratio 634. |
| because costs of housing the number of people | | | | |
| living in the city proper has declined while | | | | Louisville, home to the Kentucky Derby, is a |
| the number of businesses including | | | | small city of just over half a million |
| restaurants, San Francisco is a distorted | | | | people. Pap John's Pizza and Yum Brands, the |
| number. If you count the metro area, the | | | | parent company of A&W, KFC, Pizza Hut and |
| number of restaurants climbs to 4,300 | | | | Taco Bell, both make Louisville their |
| restaurants (we won't include hundreds more | | | | corporate home so it is not surprising that |
| in the nearby wine country of Napa and | | | | that this city on the Ohio River has 1,089 |
| Sonoma). If you consider the metro area | | | | restaurants. That makes for 510 people per |
| population of 7,168,176 and divide by 4,300 | | | | restaurant. |
| you get a per capita density of 1,667 people | | | | |
| per restaurant. | | | | Madison owns the rights to the title of "city |
| | | | with the most restaurants per capita" and the |
| Winnipeg is a city on the edge of the | | | | capital makes the claim throughout its |
| Canadian prairies that boasts a broad cross | | | | literature. However, pining down the actual |
| section of immigrant communities all of whom | | | | number of restaurants is pretty hard. The |
| have their local ethnic cuisines. If you want | | | | best list available points to 437 restaurants |
| French toast for breakfast, perogies and | | | | that caters to 221,551 people in the |
| sauerkraut for lunch , and Vietnamese | | | | Wisconsin city. But that makes for only 506 |
| imperial rolls for dinner then this is the | | | | people for each restaurant. Good for only |
| place to come. This city regularly claims to | | | | third on this list. |
| have more restaurants per capita than any | | | | |
| other city. Some websites claim the city has | | | | Wichita, Kansas is not usually a city that |
| 900 restaurants but in reality there are just | | | | leaps to mind when one thinks of cuisine. But |
| 478. With a population of 619,544 Winnipeg | | | | with an ethnically diverse work force, the |
| can claim only one restaurant per 1,296 | | | | largest city in Kansas has a reputation for |
| snow-bound Canadian. | | | | cultural diversity and is located in the |
| | | | breadbasket of America. The 739 restaurants |
| Victoria. This city on Vancouver Island and | | | | in town have only to cater to 360, 715 |
| capital city of British Columbia, Canada | | | | people. That translates into 488 people per |
| regularly makes the claim that it has the | | | | restaurant, good for second on our list. |
| "second highest number of restaurants per | | | | |