People who don't like Austin......because of the restaurants???

[TexasHorseLady]

Gee, you think you're the only one here that has traveled the world?

[Jaipur]

Additionally to my first comment and along side the list that the op posted I'd just like to mention that CNN did a poll online of what cities had the best food and of the peoples choice Austin ranked #3, 2 was New Orleans and 1 was New York City. I'd also just like to add on that that list was complied in 2005. I can't find it at the moment but I am sure if you go to CNN money and search it, it would be somewhere on there. I am not saying Austin is the third best and I myself believe that that is a bit high but it was voted on by the people, and if I must add when polled you were given a list as well as the option to type in any other city that you wanted to. It just seems like to me that the op is a little close minded and Austin is just not the right place for him overall. I'm glad he's enjoying Houston, but to me my description of home does not include concrete in it.

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Thanks for the link, it's pretty much in line with the arguments I've already been making... I'm not saying Austin is in the top 10 "restaurant cities" in the US (don't know how you could interpret it that way).. but, I am saying the Austin scene is very much not abysmal and Houston and Dallas aren't in NYC's league. The actual description of the H-Town restaurant scene is pretty accurate, especially as they point to San Antonio in the very first words of their review of Houston as a restaurant town:




I'm not gonna argue the breadth and depth of of H-Town's restaurant scene.. as that is a given, because it is so big. Think Atlanta, Las Vegas, and LA on this list.


Austin only has the chain restaurants like Fleming's because of the media hype of the city. Every chain feels like it has to be here now. My point is that those places will NEVER be considered top 10 in the city, when the Austin has it's own, independent places that are beloved in their own right. In that sense, you actually can compare Austin to NYC... you will never see a Flemings or Ruth Chris as one of the top restaurants in Manhattan. It just won't happen, although it might in H-Town or DFW. Does that make Austin part of the top-10 restaurant cities in the nation? No. Does a Forbes list make Houston in the same league as NYC? I think not.

This phenomenon is not unique to Austin, or to NYC. Houston has the same kind of mom-and-pop restaurants that are beloved to locals, as do many places.

And funny, your explaining away the presence of chains in Austin. If they're there, there must be people eating at them, no?

Why is it whenever Austin doesn't rank, Houston is suddenly elitist? There are a lot of things you could call Houston, but elitist isn't one of them. Must be that annoying old Austin exceptionalism at play. (It's like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism, only local to Austin, i.e. "Look at me! I'm so special, unique, and different!")

[AK123]

Originally Posted by atxcio

...Austin has it's own, independent places that are beloved in their own right. In that sense, you actually can compare Austin to NYC... you will never see a Flemings or Ruth Chris as one of the top restaurants in Manhattan. It just won't happen, although it might in H-Town or DFW. Does that make Austin part of the top-10 restaurant cities in the nation? No. Does a Forbes list make Houston in the same league as NYC? I think not.

Houston has plenty of mom and pop places, probably a lot more than Austin. You mentioned city size, remember? Wouldn't you think this would come along with it?
Have you ever been to Houston's Chinatown? Montrose?

Houston's not in the league with NYC, no one ever said that. But it's only a few steps behind. And I never said the Austin restaurant scene was "abysmal" though others may have. Though I will say this - when I moved from Austin to Houston (yes, I've lived in both so know both quite well) I couldn't get over how much better the restaurant scene was in every way you can pretty much imagine (but especially the food).

Originally Posted by Jaipur

I'm glad he's enjoying Houston, but to me my description of home does not include concrete in it.

I don't get this.

[kittymama]

It seems to me that when I've visited Austin has LOTS of restaurants. I know that right now I'm comparing it to Fairbanks, Alaska, which has very few and they're all overpriced. Every time I come to Texas, I eat out as much as possible because there's so much more variety and it's so much cheaper. I did used to live in Boston and eat out a lot there. I don't know that I really see a lot less restaurants in Austin than in Boston. There are more Mexican restaurants and less Italian and Seafood restaurants in Boston. However, I noticed that both cities supplied every variety.