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View Poll Results: Which city has the most virant restaurant/food scene as of summer 2011
Boston 1 0.81%
Chicago 19 15.32%
Dallas 2 1.61%
D.C. 5 4.03%
Los Angeles 11 8.87%
Miami 3 2.42%
New Orleans 9 7.26%
New York 45 36.29%
Philadelphia 13 10.48%
San Francisco 16 12.90%
Voters: 124. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-08-2011, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix
11,054 posts, read 16,747,040 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dub King View Post
Fountain and LaCroix represent Philly's only 5-star and 4-star dining options? Hard to take the Mobil guide seriously based on that nugget. Insulting.
My contribution to this discussion is based solely off my dining experiences for the simple reason that you are absolutely correct: these guides generally only pander to the gourmet/five-star crowd.

Not that I haven't dropped my card on plenty of meals that have cost well over a hundred bucks for two people in a few of these cities... but I prefer to stick to midpack places. The thing about SF and the Bay Area is that it's midpack eats alive most other cities' high-end, and in many cases, so does its street level/sub-$10 food.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:00 PM
 
Location: The Bay
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k View Post
My contribution to this discussion is based solely off my dining experiences for the simple reason that you are absolutely correct: these guides generally only pander to the gourmet/five-star crowd.

Not that I haven't dropped my card on plenty of meals that have cost well over a hundred bucks for two people in a few of these cities... but I prefer to stick to midpack places. The thing about SF and the Bay Area is that it's midpack eats alive most other cities' high-end, and in many cases, so does its street level/sub-$10 food.

Completely agree. Even areas that are widely considered ghetto in the Bay Area have food options that simply don't exist in the equivalent areas in other regions. How many Tenderloins are there in Chicago/Philly/Boston? The South End in Boston has some great food but by comparison the Tenderloin has some of the best restaurants in the country in an area that is widely known for drugs and murder.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:03 PM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nineties Flava View Post
Completely agree. Even areas that are widely considered ghetto in the Bay Area have food options that simply don't exist in the equivalent areas in other regions.
Ironic cause that was my original point but in classic 18Montclair fashion, I get bogged down in upscale douchebaggery....LOL. Usually of my own devices.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:06 PM
 
46 posts, read 51,385 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nineties Flava View Post
Completely agree. Even areas that are widely considered ghetto in the Bay Area have food options that simply don't exist in the equivalent areas in other regions. How many Tenderloins are there in Chicago/Philly/Boston? The South End in Boston has some great food but by comparison the Tenderloin has some of the best restaurants in the country in an area that is widely known for drugs and murder.
How do you know?
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
1,335 posts, read 1,650,280 times
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I see that Le Bec Fin is currently without rating, based on their 2009 remodel plans or whatever. They have an excellent chance of earning 5 stars again if they stay open. Agreed all those other restaurants deserve consideration, and Talula's garden, too.

A real Philly sleeper that recently opened is 'Gemelli on Main' in Manayunk, went there last week. French influenced Italian, but that's not nearly specific enough, apparently Their sommelier pegged the style as reminiscent of the style of cuisine you get in the Nimes, France, and in general near the border of France and Italy along the Mediterranean,. Danya's write-up will be ready tomorrow and I'll post a link to it, but the experience was sublime, especially the wine pairings. Because of the location, 4 stars might be hard for them to come by but it's the single best thing in Manayunk. http://www.uwishunu.com/2011/06/now-...asta-and-more/

Quote:
Originally Posted by kidphilly View Post
Le Bec Fin dropped out with all the crap he had going on and Vetri not on the list is rediculous (actually Amis too) - many feel the best Italian restaurant in the country (widely discussed as such). One would also think Amada (Garces) would make the list or even Morimoto

This again has a strong French focus, hell to me I would take Bibou over any other french in philly

Last edited by Dub King; 08-08-2011 at 07:26 PM..
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix
11,054 posts, read 16,747,040 times
Reputation: 12942
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nineties Flava View Post
Greater Chicagoland really has nothing that compares to Oakland & Berkeley, let alone the entire Bay Area. This guy must not get out the house much.

Chicagoland is getting into the top 3 or top 5 purely off the strength of Chicago, and even then I'd have to wonder whether people are severely underrating LA which has barely been mentioned in this thread. IMO LA > Boston by a pretty sizeable margin
Yeah, my list overall would be something like this:

- SF
- LA/Boston tie (Boston for Italian, Middle Eastern; LA for Mexican, Asian)
- NYC
- whatever else, you guys duke it out for #5.

I'm also not jumping on the "NYC is #1" bandwagon here; from the time I lived there, I had absolutely NO good Mexican food, the Chinese wasn't anywhere close to SF's, the Thai wasn't anywhere good as LA's, Indian wasn't as good as Boston's and neither was the falafel/mediterranean (though both cities have it better than SF/LA). There's more of an abundance of good Italian in NYC as well as Boston, but the top-tier Italian in SF is better than the top-tier over there (probably due in part to the fact that basically everything used to make it was picked from a field a few days earlier, somewhere within a 75-mile radius). NYC does have infinitely better delis on the whole - the vast majority of sandwiches I've gotten out west have been blah. Organic/"healthy" food in NYC and Boston are often freakin' horrifyingly bad from my experience, whereas you can actually get cravings for it out here.

Pizza is, in my mind, separate from Italian - pizza is something you specifically call to order, specifically go out for, or what you bought for a buck twenty five at the place down the street from your school. You don't say to your girlfriend, "hey, let's get Italian!" and go order a pizza; you get pasta. You don't say to your bros, "hey, let's order pizza!" and get pasta. I prefer Chicago deep dish and Boston street pizza to NYC's even if it was made there.

I know I'm going against the grain with this statement and will probably catch hell for it, but these are just my personal observations and opinions. At the end of the day, I don't care how many places in NYC that some limp-wristed food nazi dropped $300 at. To me, that's less a measure of a city's cuisine than the quality of what you can get for the shrapnel in your pocket
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:10 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,671,844 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andover11 View Post
How do you know?

Because I've been to the other ones. Point out the Tenderloin equivalent in LA, Chicago, Miami or really even NYC for that matter. Hint: They don't exist. And by "options", I don't just mean good taquerias/chicken joints/chinese joints; I mean upscale dining and lots of it.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:12 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix
11,054 posts, read 16,747,040 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andover11 View Post
How do you know?
I can definitely vouch for the Tenderloin vs. Southie (though Southie is rapidly gentrifying and will doubtlessly bring some foodage with the changes).

One of the best pizzas I've ever had, though, was at an Irish owned-and-operated Italian/pizza place. Seriously. The pizza was freakin' amazing, and the total babe Irish girl (actually from Ireland) who was the waitress slipped me her number - which is also why we never went back... my girlfriend was less than happy, especially considering she was the one who took me there. Don't remember the name.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:24 PM
 
33 posts, read 43,571 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k View Post
Yeah, my list overall would be something like this:

- SF
- LA/Boston tie (Boston for Italian, Middle Eastern; LA for Mexican, Asian)
- NYC
- whatever else, you guys duke it out for #5.

I'm also not jumping on the "NYC is #1" bandwagon here; from the time I lived there, I had absolutely NO good Mexican food, the Chinese wasn't anywhere close to SF's, the Thai wasn't anywhere good as LA's, Indian wasn't as good as Boston's and neither was the falafel/mediterranean (though both cities have it better than SF/LA). There's more of an abundance of good Italian in NYC as well as Boston, but the top-tier Italian in SF is better than the top-tier over there (probably due in part to the fact that basically everything used to make it was picked from a field a few days earlier, somewhere within a 75-mile radius). NYC does have infinitely better delis on the whole - the vast majority of sandwiches I've gotten out west have been blah. Organic/"healthy" food in NYC and Boston are often freakin' horrifyingly bad from my experience, whereas you can actually get cravings for it out here.

Pizza is, in my mind, separate from Italian - pizza is something you specifically call to order, specifically go out for, or what you bought for a buck twenty five at the place down the street from your school. You don't say to your girlfriend, "hey, let's get Italian!" and go order a pizza; you get pasta. You don't say to your bros, "hey, let's order pizza!" and get pasta. I prefer Chicago deep dish and Boston street pizza to NYC's even if it was made there.

I know I'm going against the grain with this statement and will probably catch hell for it, but these are just my personal observations and opinions. At the end of the day, I don't care how many places in NYC that some limp-wristed food nazi dropped $300 at. To me, that's less a measure of a city's cuisine than the quality of what you can get for the shrapnel in your pocket
You just hate NYC. What did we ever do to you? Have you even ever ate at NYC? Please provide a list of where you ate....

SF Chinese food is too overrated. It's too Americanized. The stuff we get over here is the stuff Chinese people actually eat back in China, not General Tso's chicken or chop suey.

Has anyone from the West Coast actually ever eaten in Flushing? You guys don't corner the Asian market anymore Some of the BEST Korean and Indian food can be found in NYC.
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:27 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,671,844 times
Reputation: 3119
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysteriousRegion View Post
You just hate NYC. What did we ever do to you? Have you even ever ate at NYC? Please provide a list of where you ate....

SF Chinese food is too overrated. It's too Americanized. The stuff we get over here is the stuff Chinese people actually eat back in China, not General Tso's chicken or chop suey.

Has anyone from the West Coast actually ever eaten in Flushing? You guys don't corner the Asian market anymore Some of the BEST Korean and Indian food can be found in NYC.

Actually, I just ate in Flushing two days ago at this joint called Green Papaya Thai Cuisine. It was good. However, I've had better here in the Bay (see Soi 4 in Oakland and other sundry places throughout the peninsula).


And if you want non-americanized chinese food then go to Fremont, Cupertino, Oakland's Chinatown, authentic chinese places in SF's Chinatown, etc.
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