What is Chicago missing (lease, small businesses, cheap)

[mas23]

trolling season I see....

[quigboto]

Originally Posted by hs2716

I don't get it, why are you guys so offended. I think srx makes some good points. any other new yawrkers here disagree?
moving from NY to chi came with similar feelings to me. after 3 yr of denial, 1 year of anger, 2 years of bargaining and 5 years of depression came acceptance. Hang in there srx
tip: just cook/eat at home...way better

Since when does strongly disagreeing with someone = Offense?

What points did he make that were particularly poignant? All I saw was a litany of complaints wrapped in an "I ♥ New York" T-Shirt.

I'm not knocking New York, but to dismiss the culinary culture of Chicago out of hand is going to be treated like pretentious drivel around here (because that's what it is)

PS: Perhaps you should both consider a change if Chicago makes you so unhappy. It's been said before but bears repeating: Chicago isn't for everybody.
Best of luck to you.

[sxr71]

Well, I'm not at all offended by comments that I like to eat late and the insinuation that eating out late is somehow abnormal. It's just the mentality here. Hardworking types who eat dinner at 6, cook at home and sleep by 11:30. But IMHO it doesn't really lead to a vibrant multicultural city with options 24/7. That's something I miss and native chicagoans wouldn't really know how it feels to live in a city with such a vibrant scene because they've never experienced it.

Now native nyc "cuisine" is really nothing to write home about either since it boils down to hot dogs and pizza like Chicago. But the differentiating factor is just the ethnic food scene which is very highly developed there.

For those who say I should get out of river north/Lincoln park/lakeview more - you are absolutely right. I've found great food upon spending 30 minutes in the car. Now if you took all those good places and put them all in a 2 square mile radius it would start to rival nyc. So the problem to me is just how sprawled out this city is and how segregated it is. It's a completely different dynamic here. Most people here could not understand how a cosmopolitan city operates and feels.

But whatever it could be worse.

[tonythetuna]

Take the leap already.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by sxr71

Well, I'm not at all offended by comments that I like to eat late and the insinuation that eating out late is somehow abnormal. It's just the mentality here. Hardworking types who eat dinner at 6, cook at home and sleep by 11:30. But IMHO it doesn't really lead to a vibrant multicultural city with options 24/7. That's something I miss and native chicagoans wouldn't really know how it feels to live in a city with such a vibrant scene because they've never experienced it.

Now native nyc "cuisine" is really nothing to write home about either since it boils down to hot dogs and pizza like Chicago. But the differentiating factor is just the ethnic food scene which is very highly developed there.

For those who say I should get out of river north/Lincoln park/lakeview more - you are absolutely right. I've found great food upon spending 30 minutes in the car. Now if you took all those good places and put them all in a 2 square mile radius it would start to rival nyc. So the problem to me is just how sprawled out this city is and how segregated it is. It's a completely different dynamic here. Most people here could not understand how a cosmopolitan city operates and feels.

But whatever it could be worse.

I'm not sure that you will ever be convinced that Chicago has good dining/is cosmopolitan/has no density (all of which you seem to use interchangeably), even in the face of staggering evidence otherwise. As you can see, nobody who lives in Chicago (with the exception of you) wants it to be like NYC and making comparisons is pretty useless. If you aren't happy in Chicago, then why don't you move?

[quigboto]

Originally Posted by sxr71

Well, I'm not at all offended by comments that I like to eat late and the insinuation that eating out late is somehow abnormal. It's just the mentality here. Hardworking types who eat dinner at 6, cook at home and sleep by 11:30. But IMHO it doesn't really lead to a vibrant multicultural city with options 24/7. That's something I miss and native chicagoans wouldn't really know how it feels to live in a city with such a vibrant scene because they've never experienced it.

Now native nyc "cuisine" is really nothing to write home about either since it boils down to hot dogs and pizza like Chicago. But the differentiating factor is just the ethnic food scene which is very highly developed there.

For those who say I should get out of river north/Lincoln park/lakeview more - you are absolutely right. I've found great food upon spending 30 minutes in the car. Now if you took all those good places and put them all in a 2 square mile radius it would start to rival nyc. So the problem to me is just how sprawled out this city is and how segregated it is. It's a completely different dynamic here. Most people here could not understand how a cosmopolitan city operates and feels.

But whatever it could be worse.

Having everything stacked in a 2 mile radius has its upsides and downsides. Personally, I don't enjoy being asses to elbows with everyone constantly, and the wait times for dining (or anything else for that matter) in NYC are ridiculous because there's a million frickin people trying to do the same thing as you.

I enjoy NYC in small doses. Heck, I'll take a New York Style slice over Chicago Style most times, but arguing that that level of density doesn't have a number of drawbacks would be specious.

[Craziaskowboi]

Mike Ditka.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Eating chain food is so uncool that doing it makes you cool, know what I mean?

That sounds very "hipster" of you, Irishtom.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by sxr71

Really? So does every other podunk town in the country. You Chicago folk really like your chains. Go on ahead for your overcooked, flavorless burgers. Great fries though.

Actually, the one time I tried Five Guys I thought it was the juiciest burger I'd ever had. Cooked just right. In contrast, the burgers I've had at little independent grills in Chicago have been all the same and rather boring. Maybe it's because I just haven't been to the right places, but I'm calling it as I see it.

Five Guys fries aren't really my thing -- I'm not much into fries with the skins on them -- but I can see how many people would like them.

Look, ever since the crash of 2008, I've seen more empty storefronts -- even in the "good" parts of town, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, etc. -- than I've ever seen before. I do a lot of walking up and down Broadway, Clark, etc., and I do notice those things. It would be nice if more mom-and-pops opened up and filled some of the vacancies, but it takes an enormous amount of capital to open a business and I imagine they find it a lot harder to get financing since the credit crunch. Personally, I'd much rather see a few chains move in than for those storefronts to continue sitting empty.

[sxr71]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Actually, the one time I tried Five Guys I thought it was the juiciest burger I'd ever had. Cooked just right. In contrast, the burgers I've had at little independent grills in Chicago have been all the same and rather boring. Maybe it's because I just haven't been to the right places, but I'm calling it as I see it.

Five Guys fries aren't really my thing -- I'm not much into fries with the skins on them -- but I can see how many people would like them.

Look, ever since the crash of 2008, I've seen more empty storefronts -- even in the "good" parts of town, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, etc. -- than I've ever seen before. I do a lot of walking up and down Broadway, Clark, etc., and I do notice those things. It would be nice if more mom-and-pops opened up and filled some of the vacancies, but it takes an enormous amount of capital to open a business and I imagine they find it a lot harder to get financing since the credit crunch. Personally, I'd much rather see a few chains move in than for those storefronts to continue sitting empty.

This place called Del Seoul opened up on Clark and Wrightwood. It is one of those places I really respect. Good Korean "fusion" as in they do things like a Kalbi taco or a Kalbi sandwich (in Bahn mi style). They say its a take on the food truck movement that's becoming big in LA. Simple, good food, by people who honestly want to serve good food at a good price. Just four kinds of meat on the menu and 12 derivative things on the menu that they do well. I would be thrilled if the whole street filled up with restaurants like that. My only gripe is the 9PM closing time and lack of delivery.

The fact that many storefronts are empty makes me wonder what is going on here. Do people not eat out enough here? I mean there are condos and apartments galore out here and the dearth of good cheap restaurants really surprises me. One would think it would be a no brainer to start a restaurant along the lines of Del Seoul and cash in, but for whatever reason that doesn't seem to be the case.