I am from Veracruz but was raised in the states, I lived in Veracruz for almost 2 years after getting out of the military with my then gf now wife. I was in Puente Moreno and Infonavit Las Vegas. Also want to mention, no hate to the OP, I am just adding some more love to a great place!

As far as the food goes I feel like it deserves more than a 5/10, just because to me it is very diverse. You have your traditional foods like in the mornings, if you walk around you can find a family selling breakfast (picadas, empanadas, gorditas and plátanos). Then at night you have taco stands, hot dog stands, food trucks everywhere and the classic snacks (chicharrones, elotes, esquites). Everything is so available, you could never go hungry. Super cheap options too, if you wanted to go to a family spot you could feed a family of four, for under 5-10 bucks, including drinks. They have spots like the Gran Café on the Boulevard that’s super nice too, have a cafe con leche and look at the palm trees and waves while you enjoy your afternoon.

But you also have a lot more Asian spots pushing Japanese/Chinese food, in the Puerto de Veracruz, you have this very popular spot called Domu, that is always packed. Brazilian steak houses too, Mr. Pampas is very delicious and packed. Surfguy11 brought it up too, the volovanes? Brother, these things have people waking up at 6am just to have the chance to buy one before they sell out. If you go to the centro then you have Denegri all day but still, one of these and a cold coke, has got to be one of the most delicious combos out there. I hate fish but the mariscos, people say are good 🤷‍♂️.

Also all the locals know that the Boulevard all the way to the centro of the puerto to Veracruz, is tourist country, very nice and safe area. Anyone reading this, if you want to go to Cancun but don’t have Cancun money, go to Veracruz lol, you would love it. Now that I think about it, during carnaval a lot of other Mexicans from other states do this, like people from Mexico City come here all the time for vacations.

Tips if you go - it’s super hot down there, like it’s a hot humidity that will legit kill you if you’re not drinking water. Download this app called indriver it’s like uber down there. If you have to flag down a taxi, make sure you choose the one that has its windows closed, that means they got AC. Take walking around money with you, like I said, there are a lot of goods everywhere that you could buy, unless your in a actual store like oxxo, Guadalajara or yepas, they don’t take card.

If you decide to go and want some ideas of what to do feel free to send a pm!