Culinary Perfection

Incredible shopping, theater and year-round sunshine — but Costa Mesa's on the map as a culinary destination, too.

Thanks to Costa Mesa restaurateurs' innovative dishes and diverse cuisine, Costa Mesa made the ascent to a legitimate culinary destination in 2011.

The city was named a finalist in the Rand McNally/USA Today Best of the Road competition for "Best in Food" category.  The Road Rally is part of Rand McNally and USA TODAY's search for the best small towns in America. Visitors to the website can vote for their favorite small towns in a variety of categories, and judges made the ultimate road trip around the country to visit each finalist. Costa Mesa, CA competed with 5 other towns around the country.

Mayor Gary Monahan proclaimed Wednesday, July 13, 2011, "Best of the Road Day" in recognition of the national competition highlighting the Costa Mesa food scene.

The Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau spent several days taking the judges around to top Costa Mesa restaurants like Mastro’s Steakhouse, Old Vine Café, Eat Chow, Golden Truffle and more – even throwing a special food/wine tasting at Anne’s Boutique Wines. The judges also got to visit top destinations in the city – including a private tour of Segerstrom Center for the Arts and behind-the-scenes look at the Orange County Fair.

While Costa Mesa was not chosen the winner (the winner of the Best in Food category was Lafayette, LA) for its category, the Bureau was pleased to be able to showcase the culinary excellence of Costa Mesa on a national stage – and looks forward to continuing to promote Costa Mesa as a culinary destination with events like Costa Mesa Restaurant Week and much more.