To be a great food city, it helps to have a large body of water nearby, a classic dish or three, and a population with a fondness for drink.

Those are among my impressions after spending more than 60 days on the road this year, visiting more than a dozen destinations, then measuring them against a set of standards — for creativity, community and tradition, among other criteria — to come up with a Top 10 list of America’s Best Food Cities.

Not every trip produced fruit. (Maybe next year, Nashville and Seattle?) And there were plenty of surprises on the journey. I can’t wait to eat in Houston again, but New York let me down, at least for the present.

Let the debate begin! But remember: I didn’t just parachute into these cities, try a few bites and fly home. Before rating my subjects, I ate, drank and shopped in 271 restaurants, bars, food stores and farmers markets.