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L.A. is far too polarizing to take any popularity polls seriously (note the guy with one post in this thread who picked Chicago; that's not a coicidence). Chicago does have an edge in fine dining, but that type of dining is hardly representative of a city's culinary scene. Those places are outliers.
Ask any foodie, and they'll tell you huge ethnic populations are crucial to re-creating a nation's cuisine, and L.A. has those in amounts that even a big metro like Chicago can't match. Huge Mexican, Chinese(serving every style you can think of in the SGV, not just Cantonese), Japanese, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Central-American, Armenian, Iranian, Thai, Korean populations. I would wager that there are 7-8 million foreign born residents in Greater L.A.--absurd totals. Then you have the region's big contributions in hamburger/hot dog/deli/fusion/food truck/Californian/American-style Japanese dining--L.A. is underrated in a lot of categories, but food is probably the area where it is most underrated.
Last edited by RaymondChandlerLives; 11-05-2011 at 05:16 PM..
Location: Pittsburgh (via Chicago, via Pittsburgh)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spaceboyzero
I'm shocked that Chicago isn't taking names in this poll. Chicago isn't the best in a lot of things, but there is one thing that Chicagoans like to do, and that's eat. It currently has some of the best ranked restaurants in the country/world, and ranks up with NYC, SF, and New Orleans for biggest food cities. And the argument about LA's diversity fueling ethnic cuisine can also be said about Chicago.
Sorry LA, you'll win in other things, but not this... That's not to say that LA isn't a great restaurant city, but rankings and polls are overwhelmingly in favor of Chicago. Let's look quantitively...
6. Alinea (Chicago)
10. Per Se (NYC)
11. Daniel (NYC)
18. Le Bernardin (NYC)
24. Eleven Madison Park (NYC)
40. Momofuku Ssam Bar (NYC)
56. The French Restaurant (SF)
62. Jean Georges (NYC)
65. Momofuku Ko (NYC)
69. Manresa (SF)
75. Coi (SF)
81. WD~50 (NYC)
85. The Bazaar by Jose Andres (Los Angeles)
91. Blue Hill at Stone Barns (NYC)
95. Masa (Boston)
L.A. is far too polarizing to take any popularity polls seriously (note the guy with one post in this thread who picked Chicago; that's not a coicidence). Chicago does have an edge in fine dining, but that type of dining is hardly representative of a city's culinary scene. Those places are outliers.
Ask any foodie, and they'll tell you huge ethnic populations are crucial to re-creating a nation's cuisine, and L.A. has those in amounts that even a big metro like Chicago can't match. Huge Mexican, Chinese(serving every style you can think of in the SGV, not just Cantonese), Japanese, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Central-American, Armenian, Iranian, Thai, Korean populations. I would wager that there are 7-8 million foreign born residents in Greater L.A.--absurd totals. Then you have the region's big contributions in hamburger/hot dog/deli/fusion/food truck/Californian/American-style Japanese dining--L.A. is underrated in a lot of categories, but food is probably the area where it is most underrated.
It would be cool if some chef in LA would combine the Meso-American, East Asian, and Middle Eastern cuisines into some type of great fusion food. Personally, I HATE fusion cuisine, but I'm starting to somewhat warm up to it again.
Honestly, I think LA is AWESOME when it comes to low-end hole in the wall places up to middle priced restaurants (basically anywhere less than $15/dish). It's the higher end that LA is lacking, which is what a lot of these rankings are focused on.
I haven't eaten in Chicago, so I can't say how good it is. I'm EXTREMELY interested in trying out Lou Malnatis for deep dish, have a true Italian beef, etc.
I'm a pretty cheap guy, so it's not very often I like to drop more than $20/person at a restaurant.
It would be cool if some chef in LA would combine the Meso-American, East Asian, and Middle Eastern cuisines into some type of great fusion food. Personally, I HATE fusion cuisine, but I'm starting to somewhat warm up to it again.
Honestly, I think LA is AWESOME when it comes to low-end hole in the wall places up to middle priced restaurants (basically anywhere less than $15/dish). It's the higher end that LA is lacking, which is what a lot of these rankings are focused on.
I haven't eaten in Chicago, so I can't say how good it is. I'm EXTREMELY interested in trying out Lou Malnatis for deep dish, have a true Italian beef, etc.
I'm a pretty cheap guy, so it's not very often I like to drop more than $20/person at a restaurant.
I'm cheap also. With that in mind: I just ate at a surprisingly good and inexpensive (most lunch plates under $10) Peruvain place in North Long Beach (after the Veterans Day Parade). "Imperial Puruvian", Atlantic Blvd. Don't let the K-Fry looking exterior deceive you. In my experience, these pleasantly-surprising cheap eats can be found all over LA.
I've been to Chicago only once, and I never need to eat deep dish again. Everything else was good, but did not blow my socks off. Need to make another trip.
I'm cheap also. With that in mind: I just ate at a surprisingly good and inexpensive (most lunch plates under $10) Peruvain place in North Long Beach (after the Veterans Day Parade). "Imperial Puruvian", Atlantic Blvd. Don't let the K-Fry looking exterior deceive you. In my experience, these pleasantly-surprising cheap eats can be found all over LA.
I've been to Chicago only once, and I never need to eat deep dish again. Everything else was good, but did not blow my socks off. Need to make another trip.
There are so many good and cheap places all around LA that I don't feel the need to go to one of the more haute-cuisine places to eat most of the time, except to impress a date. Hell, I feel pretty ripped off whenever I do, in fact. I remember my girlfriend and I at the time decided we wanted to try an expensive 5-star restaurant in Santa Monica, and I literally spent $120 on a bottle of wine, rosemary chicken, some sort of compote, and an appetizer dish. The ambience was GREAT, but the food itself was meh.
Maybe I don't know how to appreciate higher end food yet. I had a HUGE problem doing that in the Bay Area (though for the most part, they have plenty of good lower-middle end options)
I will say that I did eat at this Brazillian place (Fogo de Chao) on Sunset a few months ago with a friend visiting from NJ and another friend, and I gotta say I was deeply impressed by it. But it brought up something else in my mind: "how do BRAZILIANS afford to eat this everyday? "
The SFV is FULL of good cheap eats. From places like Shamshiri (not the cheapest, but the portions are freaking amazing!), Taco Llama (waaaay better than King Taco, IMO!), Jerry's Deli, Garden Wok, Johnny Pacific's Empanadas, amongst others.
The whole LA area has some surprisingly awesome hole-in-the-wall places that are just delectable, but are mostly in some non-descript strip mall that can be easily missed most of the time. Hell, half of the places I listed above are usually between a 7/11 and some Checks Cashed place.
I'm sure Chicago is the same way. I'm a HUGE Italian food freak, and sort of wished LA had more in the way of really great Italian food. If I ever get out there, I'll try at least one of the higher end restaurants to see what the food is like.
L.A. is far too polarizing to take any popularity polls seriously (note the guy with one post in this thread who picked Chicago; that's not a coicidence). Chicago does have an edge in fine dining, but that type of dining is hardly representative of a city's culinary scene. Those places are outliers.
Ask any foodie, and they'll tell you huge ethnic populations are crucial to re-creating a nation's cuisine, and L.A. has those in amounts that even a big metro like Chicago can't match. Huge Mexican, Chinese(serving every style you can think of in the SGV, not just Cantonese), Japanese, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Central-American, Armenian, Iranian, Thai, Korean populations. I would wager that there are 7-8 million foreign born residents in Greater L.A.--absurd totals. Then you have the region's big contributions in hamburger/hot dog/deli/fusion/food truck/Californian/American-style Japanese dining--L.A. is underrated in a lot of categories, but food is probably the area where it is most underrated.
There are nowhere NEAR 7-8 million foreign born people in Greater L.A.
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Probably depends on the cuisine. Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Armenian/Middle Eastern, Fusion, Vegetarian, probably LA, Chicago for American, European cuisines like Italian, German, Polish.
The article focuses on Chinese food in the San Gabriel Valley (more on that later). This little blurb caught my eye:
THERE are probably more Chinese in Los Angeles than in any metropolitan area outside of China. (The same very likely could be said of Mexicans, Iranians, Koreans, Japanese and more, which is what makes Los Angeles the best international eating city in the world.)
And this:
In these stores (Chinese supermarkets), announcements are made first in Mandarin, then in Korean, then Vietnamese; then Spanish, and last English. Really.
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It currently has some of the best ranked restaurants in the country/world, and ranks up with NYC, SF, and New Orleans for biggest food cities. And the argument about LA's diversity fueling ethnic cuisine can also be said about Chicago.
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