Houston is a town of high-rollers when it comes to dining out, and now there is data that proves it's true. A new study called the "Top U.S. Cities for Restaurant Spending" puts Houston at No. 9, with residents spending nearly $800 on dining out every year.

The study is by Escoffier.edu, the website of the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, who conducted an analysis of 22 major U.S. metro areas, pulling data from surveys on food and consumer spending by the USDA and the U.S. Bureau of Labor, to form some conclusions about the dining-out habits of Americans around the country.

They looked at what percentage restaurant spending consumes in total spending versus discretionary spending, as well as restaurant spending per capita.

Houston is well known as a place where people dine out, so it was a tiny bit disappointing that it did not come in at No. 1 on the list. Instead, that spot was taken by Honolulu, Hawaii, where locals spend a little more than $1,260 per year on dining out at restaurants, the report says.

Houston's not too far behind: We spend up to $776 per year, or about $65 per month. That total sum is nearly a third of a resident's total food expenditures for the year.

"While Houston has the lowest per capita spending of the top cities, it leads in restaurant spending as a percentage of total food expenditures, at 31.72 percent," the report's author writes.

Houston is full of Michelin-star-worthy eateries, so it's not hard to see why Houstonians wouldn't want to support local restaurants. There are so many new spots opening around the city that it can be hard to keep track of them all, but that's where CultureMap comes in to keep locals informed about the latest openings, closings, and other dining news.

"The city’s diverse and multicultural food scene, featuring influences from around the world, makes dining out a regular part of life for Houstonians," the report said.

Houstonians will also have to reconcile that their home city wasn't at the top of the list in Texas with the biggest dine-out budgets. That goes to Dallas-Fort Worth, which came in at No. 6. North Texans spend about $1,008 per capita on dining out annually, or nearly $84 monthly.

The top 10 U.S. metros where residents spend the most on dining out are:

• No. 1 – Honolulu, Hawaii
• No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
• No. 3 – St. Louis, Missouri
• No. 4 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• No. 5 – Baltimore, Maryland
• No. 6 – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
• No. 7 – Denver, Colorado
• No. 8 – San Diego, California
• No. 9 – Houston, Texas
• No. 10 – Tampa, Florida