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I live in Houston, but I am not blown away by the food scene here. It is very good, but I would not call it great. Houston is kind of a weird city. There is a lot of upscale dining, Tex-Mex, and then authentic ethnic food. Houston lacks a lot of the quirky, hole in the wall joints you would expect a city of this size to have. Now, there are plenty of ethnic holes in the wall. You just need to be brave enough to go hit them up. To me Tex-Mex is terrible. There is great MEXICAN street food here however. Houston has incredible taco trucks. The only bad part is that many non-Mexicans won't journey out to find them. Also, the food truck scene is growing here (not to the scale of Miami, NYC, or Austin obviously). The only bad part is that many owners are trying to go "upscale" from a truck. Spending $40 from a truck just seems ridiculous to me.
I know you are probably the most not biased person on this site but some things you say are just wrong.
Give me 3 reasons how SF beats Philly in foods? Also who's side are you on?
They are both tied to me when I think about it and personally Philadelphia has more of a variety of ethnic foods than San Francisco. The only reason people are saying San Francisco is just because they know San Francisco is noted as a world class city therefor what ever it is, it's better than any other city in "insert item". That's not true though. Any foodie who travels this country would know that Philly is at least tied with San Francisco, if not BETTER. They're no negative views of our food most of the time anyway.
OH And look at that, Philly just took 3rd place. But I'm sure SF will catch back up.
I know you are probably the most not biased person on this site but some things you say are just wrong.
Give me 3 reasons how SF beats Philly in foods? Also who's side are you on?
They are both tied to me when I think about it and personally Philadelphia has more of a variety of ethnic foods than San Francisco. The only reason people are saying San Francisco is just because they know San Francisco is noted as a world class city therefor what ever it is, it's better than any other city in "insert item". That's not true though. Any foodie who travels this country would know that Philly is at least tied with San Francisco, if not BETTER. They're no negative views of our food most of the time anyway.
OH And look at that, Philly just took 3rd place. But I'm sure SF will catch back up.
It's not just a world class city though. SF is known for its great food, and I don't think this is up for argument. Philly is nowhere close to being tied because SF's establishments are far more varied and there is a much more discerning clientele. The food in SF has been so much better than Philly's in variety and opportunity that I'm curious as to how anyone would think otherwise. You can check the hoi polloi (and better) crowd sourced systems like chowhound and yelp or you can check established professional guides like Michelin and they will tell you without a doubt that SF is better. Better yet, you can check yourself and go to both places and see how the general quality of food in SF is really high for most joe-schmo restaurants. It is a very careful attention to what is good and unique in SF that makes it so wonderful. It is the far more diverse city and metro area of SF/Bay Area that gives you more variety than what Philly offers.
I'll say that Philly is pretty good, but SF/Bay Area is better.
LA is less established than SF and Chicago, but it's still great.
The Bay Area has had an undeniable influence on US's food scene. Thomas Kellor's The French Laundry is responsible for training many of the best chefs today including the chef of Alinea. The Bay Area actually has more Michelin stars than Chicago does.
Arguably the Bay Area has had the most influence of any city in how america eats. But Thomas Keller doesn't come close to being the most influential the bay area had to offer. Chez Panisse, with the whole California cuisine/organic locavore movement was the last great food movement of the United States having an effect in this country and overseas. Basically there is no living American chef that comes close to the influence Alice Waters had on American cuisine. She revolutionized America's relationship with food.
I know you are probably the most not biased person on this site but some things you say are just wrong.
Give me 3 reasons how SF beats Philly in foods? Also who's side are you on?
They are both tied to me when I think about it and personally Philadelphia has more of a variety of ethnic foods than San Francisco. The only reason people are saying San Francisco is just because they know San Francisco is noted as a world class city therefor what ever it is, it's better than any other city in "insert item". That's not true though. Any foodie who travels this country would know that Philly is at least tied with San Francisco, if not BETTER. They're no negative views of our food most of the time anyway.
OH And look at that, Philly just took 3rd place. But I'm sure SF will catch back up.
I am not on anyones side. I love Philly and the food scene but on this aspect overall find SF to be better. That isnt a slight against Philly. Especially on higher end foods. SF is the real deal; to me only surpossed by NYC and Chicago in this category.
I have lived in SF and still visit a few times a year for work and always have a great meal while there. Also the sorrounding areas of SF are better in general than Philly; not saying the sorrounding areas are bad in Philly, they are not but again feel is ahead and to me it is pretty cleanly ahead. I do think Philly is closing the gap pretty quickly but honestly am not sure it will ever surpass. Both are great food cities; and as someone who likes to eat the more the merrier.
I am not on anyones side. I love Philly and the food scene but on this aspect overall find SF to be better. That isnt a slight against Philly. Especially on higher end foods. SF is the real deal; to me only surpossed by NYC and Chicago in this category.
I have lived in SF and still visit a few times a year for work and always have a great meal while there. Also the sorrounding areas of SF are better in general than Philly; not saying the sorrounding areas are bad in Philly, they are not but again feel is ahead and to me it is pretty cleanly ahead. I do think Philly is closing the gap pretty quickly but honestly am not sure it will ever surpass. Both are great food cities; and as someone who likes to eat the more the merrier.
Well, considering that the surrounding areas of Philadelphia are NYC and DC, and the surrounding areas of SF less populated, I think it is sort of an unfair comparison.
What about SF particularly makes it better than Philadelphia, in your opinion?
Well, considering that the surrounding areas of Philadelphia are NYC and DC, and the surrounding areas of SF less populated, I think it is sort of an unfair comparison.
What about SF particularly makes it better than Philadelphia, in your opinion?
Freshness, diversity, offerings, and care to detail in general. Oh and taste; again Philly has tremendous food I just personally find SF better and many agree with me; but for everyone it is preference. I just SF in general is better
Both have more than than their fair share of great places I just personally find SF a step above and overall a little more diverse and consistent
The amount of Philly boosting going on on this website is quite hilarious at times. It's a good food city, but overall it really isn't better than SF, and I'm not sure it's better than LA either.
As kidphilly said, SF has the edge on diversity of food options, not to mention the close proximity to year-round fresh produce is a big plus. And there are tons of good places at all price ranges, from cheap street food to ultra expensive places with Michelin ratings. The same can be said for LA, though to a lesser extent on the high-end of things.
The amount of Philly boosting going on on this website is quite hilarious at times. It's a good food city, but overall it really isn't better than SF, and I'm not sure it's better than LA either.
When I look at the voting, with a few exceptions, most people are voting for the city where they live.
Imagine that happening on CD.
Last edited by Pine to Vine; 03-20-2012 at 04:19 PM..
Reason: correct misspelling
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