SC has among best small cities for food in US, Food & Wine says. A condiment helps it shine
Eugenia Duke operated her mayonnaise company in Greenville for 12 years in the early 1900s and died 58 years ago in Oakland, California, and yet, she has never been forgotten in her adopted hometown.
Greenville was named 6th best small city for restaurants in the United States by Food and Wine magazine and who was mentioned first?
Eugenia Duke, also known as the Mayonnaise Lady, of course.
“Duke’s Mayonnaise alone could draw hungry travelers to Greenville, especially since a Mayo Trail leads to dishes featuring Eugenia Duke’s famous condiment, like a brisket-friendly coleslaw at Bobby’s BBQ and crab cakes with maque choux at trailblazing Soby’s New South Cuisine,” Food and Wine editor Adam H. Callaghan wrote.
The Mayo Trail was created by VisitGreenvilleSC after a successful Duke Day in 2023. More than a dozen restaurants offered dishes made with Duke’s.
Duke started selling sandwiches made with her homemade mayonnaise in 1917.
The egg salad, chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches were a hit for people as different as soldiers at Camp Sevier to society matrons enjoying tea and finger sandwiches at the Otteray Hotel in downtown Greenville.
The mayonnaise, with a higher concentration of egg yolks and a hint of vinegar, is what sets it apart.
The success led her to open a manufacturing plant in a former coach factory paint shop in downtown Greenville in 1922 and sold the company to C.F. Sauer Co. in 1929 and moved to California to be closer to her daughter.
It’s now owned by global private equity firm Advent international of Boston.
“Greenville, South Carolina, has refreshed its connection to a beloved condiment created by a pioneering female entrepreneur while simultaneously revitalizing its downtown,” Callahan said.
But Duke’s is not all Greenville has going for it, he said.
The magazine also mentions The Commons, a food hall along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which Callaghan called “a joy to wander.” And of course Falls Park gets a nod as being “restored to glory by the removal of a highway bridge.”
“The food scene reflects diverse entrepreneurship and the region’s fruitful terrain; taste many highlights easily every October when downtown excludes cars to prioritize people during Fall for Greenville,” Callaghan said. “Expect live music across many stages and dozens of local vendors like Georgian khachapuri expert Keipi and Califas, whose birria tacos have taken top honors at the free-to-attend festival.”
“More and more small cities are developing big restaurant energy,” Callaghan said,
The No. 1 city was Portland, Maine, with a working waterfront, a lively arts district and what he called a genuine off season.
“It’s evident in the Japanese American fusion at Norimoto Bakery, whose owner, Atsuko Fujimoto, learned her craft at James Beard Award–winning chef Sam Hayward’s hallowed Fore Street before winning her own Beard Award. Or at Mr. Tuna, where 2025 F&W Best New Chef Jordan Rubin’s very New England dedication to sustainably sourced Atlantic bluefin tuna makes him a fitting neighbor for world-class oyster bar Eventide Oyster Co.”
The other cities on the list were:
2. Healdsburg, California
3. Asheville, North Carolina
4. Hudson, New York
5. Santa Fe, New Mexico
7. Burlington, Vermont
8. Ojai, California
9. Kingston, New York
10. Traverse City, Michigan
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "SC has among best small cities for food in US, Food & Wine says. A condiment helps it shine."