ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Southern Living is recognizing St. Augustine for something natives have likely known all along: the oldest city is the best place in the South to savor a good meal.
The popular lifestyle magazine has named St. Augustine the South’s Best Food Town of 2019, leading an impressive list of 10 destinations that includes Brunswick, Georgia, and Winter Park, Florida.
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"St. Augustine, Florida, worked its way from the bottom to be our overall champion with their ever-burgeoning food scene anchored by restaurants like Preserved, which shows off the wealth of local ingredients in a modern way in the country’s oldest city," the author wrote.
Among other local institutions, the author recommended that visitors check out Preserved in historic Lincolnville, where you can enjoy some southern cuisine; or sip a cocktail and indulge in hearty dishes at The Ice Plant; or cool down with a variety of flavored ice pops at The Hyppo.
The city’s meteoric rise in the rankings comes as no surprise to Preserved founder and executive chef Brian Whittington, who told the St. Augustine Record that the county’s development has contributed to the city's thriving food scene.
"It’s brought more people, more money and more money to invest," Whittington told the Record. "That has allowed us to push forward with new concepts and make sure the workforce and the talent is there to be able to put out more refined food and know there’s support for it."