Decatur Holding 8th Place In 'Tastiest Town' Competition

With about a month of voting left, Decatur holds eighth place in Southern Living's "Tastiest Town" competition.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, Decatur had collected 2,325 votes and now leads Raleigh and Baltimore.

The voting ends Jan. 31. It would be hard for Decatur to catch up to leader Lafayette, La., which holds the No. 1 spot with a whopping 28,600 votes.

Judging from comments around town, Decatur is kind of proud just to be incuded in the competition.

Southern Liivng picked 10 towns in the Southeast with strong food scenes and set up an online contest.

The magazine said it made the list based on the following criteria: Food as a cultural identity, growth of a culinary minded community, diverse cuisine at a variety of price points, local and sustainable food practices, hot chefs on the rise, and an abundance of buzz-worthy food events.

That certainly describes Decatur.

The magazine characterized Decatur as "an emerging mecca for foodies who relish and destinations like , , and the ."

The competition also includes Birmingham, Charleston, Charlottesville, Va.; Houston; Louisville, Ky.; and New Orleans.

In fairness, it must be pointed out htat Decatur is the least populous town, with about 20,000 people. Charlottesville is next smallest, with about 43,000 people.

Yet Charlottesville now holds third place in the voting.

If you want to vote, click on the Southern Living website. You are allowed to vote daily.