Tokyo is the hottest city for food lovers for a second consecutive¹ year because of its abundance of innovative² 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 cuisine³ and vibrant⁴ 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 remains⁵ top-notch, Murphy explained, "Right now, there's no new excitement to the food scene there."

The global dining scene, meanwhile, has been adversely⁶ affected⁷ by the economic downturn. For example, Moscow was in contention⁸ 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.

据美国一家美食杂志日前公布的一项排行榜，东京凭借其林立的创意餐厅和一流的菜式，连续第二年被美食爱好者评为最佳美食城市。

巴塞罗那位居第二，其次是哥本哈根、伦敦和纽约。这是《美食与美酒》杂志第四次公布最佳美食和活力美食文化城市年度排行。

杂志旅游编辑珍•莫非说：“东京是当之无愧的最佳美食之都，是厨师们实现创新的地方。而且东京的美食传统文化源远流长，远在我们之上。”

莫非说，在上榜的所有城市中，食客们都能品尝到“各种价位的美食”。

让人惊讶的是，去年的亚军得主、拥有很多米其林星级餐厅的巴黎今年竟然跌出了排行榜。

对依然堪称世界一流的法国美食而言，这并非什么打击，但莫非解释说：“如今，法国美食没有什么新的活力。”

同时，全球美食业受到了眼下经济衰退的冲击。据莫菲介绍，莫斯科也参与了今年排行榜的角逐，但因俄罗斯经济衰退未能入选。

尽管如今人们外出就餐减少，但世界各地的厨师们仍在尝试用各种不同寻常的食材来制作美食。

莫非说：“总是会有一些铁杆美食爱好者千里迢迢地飞往哥本哈根去品尝美食。”

Vocabulary:

hands down:unquestionably （毫无疑问地；简单地）

die-hard:stubbornly resisting change or clinging to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause（ 顽固地）