Zagat names Indy one of America's hottest food cities

It’s official. Indianapolis is one of the hottest food cities in America.

That’s according to Zagat. The widely respected national restaurant guide ranked Indianapolis No. 15 on its list of the 26 hottest food cities of 2016. Washington, D.C., nabbed the No. 1 spot. New York, Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles are also on the list.

“While neighboring towns like Chicago and Louisville have long stolen the Heartland culinary spotlight, the Indy food scene has evolved with serious, elevated precision,” Zagat writes.

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The guide doesn’t just throw accolades to widely acclaimed Milktooth, where chef Jonathan Brooks in 2015 graced the cover of Food & Wine magazine as one of the top 10 new chefs in the United States. Zagat also recognized other Fountain Square/Fletcher Place restaurants Bluebeard, Pioneer and Marrow.

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Restaurants in those neighborhoods always get a lot of attention, but Zagat also recognized Vida, Indy’s only AAA four-diamond-rated restaurant, in the Lockerbie Square area; Downtown’s Spoke and Steele; the Northside’s B. Burger Spot from celebrity chef Michael Symon; and Open Society Public House, a South American-influenced coffee house, restaurant and lounge in SoBro.

This is not Indy's first major culinary accolade. In May, Condé Nast Traveler called Indianapolis the "most underrated food city in the U.S." Plus, on Friday, four Central Indiana chefs, including three from Indianapolis, cook at the James Beard House in New York City. The dinner marks the second time ever and the second time in less than a year that the James Beard Foundation has invited Indiana chefs as a group to prepare a meal representing the state. The foundation annually presents the culinary world's coveted James Beard Awards, the so-called "Oscars of food and drink."

Zagat names Indy one of America's hottest food cities

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, Facebook and Pinterest. Call her at (317) 444-6264.