東京獲評全球最佳美食城市

Tokyo is the hottest city for food lovers for a second consecutive year because of its abundance of innovative restaurants and superb ingredients, according to a US food magazine.

Barcelona came in second, followed by Copenhagen, London and New York in Food & Wine Magazine's fourth annual list of top cities to go for cutting-edge cuisine and vibrant food scenes.

"Tokyo is the best food city hands down," Jen Murphy, the magazine's travel editor, said. "That's where chefs are going for innovations. There's also a history of food traditions. They are so far ahead of us."

All the top cities on the list offer "fantastic food at all price points," Murphy added.

In a surprise move, Paris with its abundance of Michelin-star restaurants fell off the list after placing second last year.

While this was not a slam against French cuisine, which remains top-notch, Murphy explained, "Right now, there's no new excitement to the food scene there."

The global dining scene, meanwhile, has been adversely affected by the economic downturn. For example, Moscow was in contention for a spot on the magazine's list this year, but it dropped out of the running as the Russian economy soured, according to Murphy.

While diners may be eating out less, chefs around the world are still creating dishes with unusual ingredients.

"There will always be die-hard foodies who will fly to Copenhagen to taste them," Murphy said.

據美國一家美食雜誌日前公佈的一項排行榜，東京憑藉其林立的創意餐廳和一流的菜式，連續第二年被美食愛好者評爲最佳美食城市。

巴塞羅那位居第二，其次是哥本哈根、倫敦和紐約。這是《美食與美酒》雜誌第四次公佈最佳美食和活力美食文化城市年度排行。

雜誌旅遊編輯珍•莫非說：“東京是當之無愧的最佳美食之都，是廚師們實現創新的地方。而且東京的美食傳統文化源遠流長，遠在我們之上。”

莫非說，在上榜的所有城市中，食客們都能品嚐到“各種價位的美食”。

讓人驚訝的是，去年的亞軍得主、擁有很多米其林星級餐廳的巴黎今年竟然跌出了排行榜。

對依然堪稱世界一流的法國美食而言，這並非什麼打擊，但莫非解釋說：“如今，法國美食沒有什麼新的活力。”

同時，全球美食業受到了眼下經濟衰退的衝擊。據莫菲介紹，莫斯科也參與了今年排行榜的角逐，但因俄羅斯經濟衰退未能入選。

儘管如今人們外出就餐減少，但世界各地的廚師們仍在嘗試用各種不同尋常的食材來製作美食。

莫非說：“總是會有一些鐵桿美食愛好者千里迢迢地飛往哥本哈根去品嚐美食。”

Vocabulary:

hands down:unquestionably （毫無疑問地；簡單地）

die-hard:stubbornly resisting change or clinging to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause（ 頑固地）