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"As a karate expert, I will not talk about anyone up here...because our children can't afford to live anywhere. Nowhere. And you know why that is, people? That's right. You said it. It's because the rent is too damn high!"
I'm still waiting to hear why San Francisco has better Asian and Latin American food than Manhattan...
As far as Latin American, San Francisco wins as far as Mexican food by far-otherwise Im willing to give Manhattan the landslide win for Caribbean cuisine, SF for Central American(I think--I know that SF has terrific Salvadorean, Guatemalan and Honduran) and probably Manhattan for Brazilian, SF for Peruvian(not sure about Peruvian tho) and Chilean. Obviously this is my opinion and I havent eaten at every single Latin American restaurant in Manhattan or SF to compare.
As far as Asian, Manhattan really is not as wholly influenced by Asian culture as SF is--I think Manhattan might win as far as Middle Eastern fare(except Persian) and maybe even Japanese even tho Ive had extremely good Japones in both SF and Manhattan, but Chinese? I dont think so, SF has nearly as many Chinese alone as Manhattan has Asians in sum and there are extremely authentic chinese restaurants in nearly every SF neighborhood from hole-in-the-walls to opulent palace looking restaurants.
And Im sure Manhattan probably has better South Asian food too. San Francisco also has much better Filipino and Vietnamese. I think they are probably tied as far as Thai is concerned.
Manhattan also wins Kosher hands down but Korean is a toss up.
Its a really big continent so there's a lot of places to talk about.
As far as authenticity, to question the authenticity of either city's Asian cuisine is foolish at best and extremely small minded. Let's not be ridiculous.
As far as Latin American, San Francisco wins as far as Mexican food by far-otherwise Im willing to give Manhattan the landslide win for Caribbean cuisine, SF for Central American(I think--I know that SF has terrific Salvadorean, Guatemalan and Honduran) and probably Manhattan for Brazilian, SF for Peruvian(not sure about Peruvian tho) and Chilean. Obviously this is my opinion and I havent eaten at every single Latin American restaurant in Manhattan or SF to compare.
It is speculation. I'm not a "foodie," but I fail to see how SF would have better Latin American food than Manhattan since Manhattan's (and NYC Metro's as a whole) Latino population is more diverse than SF's. Given the number of Mexicans in SF, you could make a legitimate claim that SF has better Mexican food. But there's a lot more to Latin American cuisine than enchaladas and burritos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
As far as Asian, Manhattan really is not as wholly influenced by Asian culture as SF is
What's that have to do with food? Boston is not as influenced by AA culture as Atlanta, but the best soul food restaurant I've ever had was in Boston. This would only make sense to me if the numbers disparity was heavily skewed in SF's favor...like, if SF has 260,000 Asians and NYC had 3,000. But the numbers of Asians in both metropolitan areas is similar (with NYC having the edge).
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
SF has nearly as many Chinese alone as Manhattan has Asians in sum and there are extremely authentic chinese restaurants in nearly every SF neighborhood from hole-in-the-walls to opulent palace looking restaurants.
This has no bearing on the restaurants that are in SF or Manhattan. If anything, I bet that the restaurant owners in both places don't even live in SF or Manhattan. Those Burmese shop owners in SF probably live in SJ or the East Bay. An Indian restaurant owner in Manhattan probably commutes in from Queens or Jersey.
So given the numbers of Asians in both places, I don't think you can say one is definitely better than the other. SF has its strong spots in Asian cuisine and also its weak spots. The same applies to Manhattan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
As far as authenticity, to question the authenticity of either city's Asian cuisine is foolish at best and extremely small minded. Let's not be ridiculous.
I'm not questioning the authenticity. I was just making a point. If NYC's Chinese are to be ridiculed as "ethnocentrists" who have come straight out of the rice patties, then it stands to reason that they are much closer to the "authentic" Chinese experience (which includes cuisine) than more assimilated Chinese Americans.
So what? If anything, that fact works against SF having the most "authentic" cuisine because they've been more Americanized. Wouldn't you say that immigrants fresh from Fujian province would make more authentic food than a second-generation Chinese American (or even someone originally from China who's been in America for 20 years)?
This actually does work against them. There was a big foodie posture saying some of the recent mexican immigrants here actually cook a more authentic meal, even if it is not what people are used to.
This actually does work against them. There was a big foodie posture saying some of the recent mexican immigrants here actually cook a more authentic meal, even if it is not what people are used to.
Yeah, I've never been much into the "our food is better than yours" type of deal. One of my friends used to live in Arizona, and when I told him I wanted to come out there to have some "real" Mexican food, he replied: "Yuck! Have you ever had 'real' Mexican food before? It's not what you think. It stinks."
I'm a bit cautious to say that one place has "much better ____ food" than another unless the numbers are so skewed in one city's favor that that becomes the only sensible conclusion. If Chicago has a Polish population of 1 million, and Phoenix has a Polish population of 10,000, then yeah, I'd say Chicago for the win. But if both cities have a critical mass (let's say 200,000), then I don't think you could reach that conclusion as easily. It would be like saying Atlanta blows the Bay Area out of the water when it comes to soul food. It all tastes the same to me in my very, very expert opinion.
Yeah, I've never been much into the "our food is better than yours" type of deal. One of my friends used to live in Arizona, and when I told him I wanted to come out there to have some "real" Mexican food, he replied: "Yuck! Have you ever had 'real' Mexican food before? It's not what you think. It stinks."
I'm a bit cautious to say that one place has "much better ____ food" than another unless the numbers are so skewed in one city's favor that that becomes the only sensible conclusion. If Chicago has a Polish population of 1 million, and Phoenix has a Polish population of 10,000, then yeah, I'd say Chicago for the win. But if both cities have a critical mass (let's say 200,000), then I don't think you could reach that conclusion as easily. It would be like saying Atlanta blows the Bay Area out of the water when it comes to soul food. It all tastes the same to me in my very, very expert opinion.
You can make fried chicken, collards, white rice and gravy and corn bread the same pretty much anywhere... Now, the cornbread might not bake the same at high altitude, but everything else can be done authentically. Also it is a misnomer that only AA's eat soul food, the southern white populations also eat soul food fairly regularly. One decent cook is all it takes to bring the food to a different place. They also need not be from said ethnic origin. Rick Bayless for instance is a mexican afficianado, and cooks amazing mexican and travels there for long periods of time regularly. Probably more authentic than 1/2 the mexicans catering to american palates.
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