The Local Palate, a magazine that covers the food culture of the South, unveiled its cover for The Best Culinary Towns in the South showcasing Readers’ Poll Winner: Lafayette, Louisiana. Through a Readers’ Poll that was open during the month of June, the public was encouraged to vote from a list of the Top Ten Culinary Towns in the South; the selection was narrowed to the Top Three towns, which included Runners-Up Alpharetta, Georgia and Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Best Culinary Towns in the South issue features 20 towns, which also included Auburn, Alabama; Bentonville, Arkansas; Boerne, Texas; Cary, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina; Ellicott City, Maryland; Florence, Alabama; Huntington, West Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Lockhart, Texas; Macon, Georgia; Oxford, Mississippi; Pensacola, Florida; Roanoke, Virginia; St. Augustine, Florida; and Wilmington, North Carolina.

To determine the 20 Best Culinary Towns, the editors of The Local Palate researched more than 40 small towns across the South—from Maryland and Washington, DC down to Florida and over to Texas with populations under 450K—looking at everything from the restaurant, bar, and café scene to the towns’ farmers markets, educational  classes, coffee shops, kitchen and home goods retailers, wine shops, and more to determine which towns would make the Top Ten.

The winner of the Reader’s Poll, Lafayette, Louisiana is featured on the cover of The Local Palate’s new, annual issue, which is on newsstands on October 29, 2024.

“We were thrilled with our first Readers’ Poll turnout, which included thousands of responses over the course of the poll. Clearly, the food scene in Lafayette, which is infused with Cajun spirit, is a place our readers love,” said Erin Byers Murray, Editor in Chief of The Local Palate. “We’re thrilled to present this issue to our readers, and look forward to starting our research for next year’s issue.”

The Best Culinary Town in the South issue can be found on newsstands, via subscriptions through www.thelocalpalate.com and is available for purchase at www.localpalatemarketplace.com. Follow the magazine on Instagram and Facebook for details. For more information, contact Amanda