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...and I don't disagree. But, hey, come back in 5-10 years and I'm sure you'll be thoroughly impressed with the improvement. Houston has just now arrived at a point in its history where its working on an identity that it can export. We know we have a great city, but we've finally decided that we want everyone else to know, too. Part of that process is the cultivation of our culinary scene.
My personal opinion is that Houston is top tier, when it comes to taste and variety alone. We lose points for innovation and accessibility.
I absolute agree with most of what you said. And like I said, Houston is a fine food city. Its better than most cities when it comes to food. However, it might take longer than 5-10 years for it to become a top tier in my opinion. The idea of eating in Houston needs to change far more. Cities like NYC, SF, LA are cities where the people are willing to always try new things and experimentation is encouraged. Those are innovative food cities because the consumer welcomes those dining experiences. Houston is getting there, and is a top 10 in my book.
I absolute agree with most of what you said. And like I said, Houston is a fine food city. Its better than most cities when it comes to food. However, it might take longer than 5-10 years for it to become a top tier in my opinion. The idea of eating in Houston needs to change far more. Cities like NYC, SF, LA are cities where the people are willing to always try new things and experimentation is encouraged. Those are innovative food cities because the consumer welcomes those dining experiences. Houston is getting there, and is a top 10 in my book.
Well, I wasn't suggesting that we would have "arrived" in 5-10 years. I was simply saying you'd likely be impressed by the amount of improvement you'd see at the end of that time frame.
When I say "top tier" in taste and variety, I don't mean it's the best, but certainly among the best. I only say that because, out of all the traveling I've done, many of the best tasting meals I've ever eaten have been in a Houston establishment. These meals may not have been the most creative, and they may not have used the finest ingredients that can be obtained, but the taste was explosive, nonetheless. The variety speaks for itself, as Houston's demographics have blessed it with a wide range of ethnic cuisines that are only outdone by a handful of American cities.
I know that there are many Sephardic Jews in NYC, but there are still far more Ashkenazi. When my family moved here from Palestine our next door neighbor was actually a Syrian Jew who was born in NYC. NYC used to have a large concentration of Syrian Jews. I thought that most new Jewish immigrants to NYC were actually Eastern European and that the Sephardic Jews arrived in the 19th and early 20th century.
My point was that most Jews in the US, of which most are Ashkenazi, don't know what Middle Eastern food is outside of the stereotypical dishes like falafel.
That maybe true, but many in NYC are quite unamericanized and insular. Queens in particular is like 50% foreign born...Pretty much all the Bukharians which total 50,000 were not born in the U.S. as they were exiled from Uzbekistan then all left after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90s and continue to pour in.
Jews in NYC, especially in Brooklyn and Queens, are heavily Sephardic. This means that Middle Eastern food is Jewish food in most of NYC.
Contrary to popular stereotype, if you go to a hard-core Jewish area of Brooklyn and Queens, you will not find "deli food". This is not really Jewish food. You will find, however, tons of Middle Eastern food, since Sephardic Jews dominate. Everything with saffron and olives and cumin and the like.
Back in the 50's, when these neighborhoods were less religious, and more Ashkenazi Jews from Central Europe, you could find the stereotypical "deli" food. But this migrated to the burbs along with the assimilated Reform Jews of the era.
If you visit an area like Kings Highway in Brooklyn in 2014, you will see dozens of kosher sushi bars, kosher indian restaurants and even kosher Argentine steakhouses before you see a place to get pastrami on rye. Strange but true.
Interesting. I actually worked at a Kosher restaurant in The Bronx (Riverdale) and they had deli food and middle eastern food. The owner was actually from Israel.
I've always seen NYC, San Fran and Chicago as the top three, pretty much everywhere I've noticed it listed.
The other two are a toss up, although I would think LA and New Orleans are obvious options.
**Just googled "best us restaurant cities" and looked at the first 5-6 I found with legit sources and they all listed NYC, San Fran and Chicago without fail, and in almost all the next were LA and New Orleans.
A huge fight for 5
NOLA- best vernacular cuisine in the US, Houston- great variety, Seattle/Boston- extraordinary seafood, Philly, good at nearly everything, great at none, ABQ- superb but limited local food, Miami- great Caribbean food. You could add a few others: Vegas, KC /Memphis/Austin for BBQ?
The top 4 for me are unarguable, number 5 who knows?
A huge fight for 5
NOLA- best vernacular cuisine in the US, Houston- great variety, Seattle/Boston- extraordinary seafood, Philly, good at nearly everything, great at none, ABQ- superb but limited local food, Miami- great Caribbean food. You could add a few others: Vegas, KC /Memphis/Austin for BBQ?
The top 4 for me are unarguable, number 5 who knows?
I think New Orleans is good for #5
For #6 I'd probably put Philadelphia, #7 I'd probably put Houston, #8 Boston, #9 Portland, #10 Miami or Seattle.
1) New York. Nobody comes close.
2) San Francisco - Arguably best Asian cuisine in the country. Seafood is also terrific, and decent Mexican.
3) Los Angeles - Better Mexican food than San Fran, but I don't think the Asian food is quite as good.
4) San Antonio - Awesome place for Tex-Mex.
5) Kansas City - BBQ.
This of course, is a very subjective list. There's plenty of other great cities that offer great cuisine. Heck, even many medium-sized cities offer unique regional or ethnic dishes - Omaha has its steaks, Des Moines has pork tenderloin and loose-meat sandwiches, Basque food in Boise, etc. And of course, while many Southern cities pride themselves on their BBQ, many of them offer their own unique flavor.
I'm one of the few people on these boards that finds New York to be a very overrated food city. Yes, I am only familiar with Manhattan and Brooklyn, but with the dozens upon dozens of meals I've had in those boroughs- many of them recommended by locals, I've found that for every decent meal I've had, I have 5 poor/fair meals. I see why NYC is so acclaimed as a food city- it has the most restaurants and most diverse food scene as its the most diverse city in America. And of course that counts for a lot. But I feel like there are a handful of cities, Chicago, LA, SF, maybe even Philadelphia- where you have better odds of wandering into a restaurant and getting a good meal, without having to spend tons of $$$$ for a Michelin Star rated restaurant. I think NYC is good for low-end(though LA takes the crown for that) and completely dominates for high-end(though most can't afford a high-end dining experience every week), but you don't have that healthy middle-end that you see in Chicago, LA or SF.
I'm one of the few people on these boards that finds New York to be a very overrated food city. Yes, I am only familiar with Manhattan and Brooklyn, but with the dozens upon dozens of meals I've had in those boroughs- many of them recommended by locals, I've found that for every decent meal I've had, I have 5 poor/fair meals. I see why NYC is so acclaimed as a food city- it has the most restaurants and most diverse food scene as its the most diverse city in America. And of course that counts for a lot. But I feel like there are a handful of cities, Chicago, LA, SF, maybe even Philadelphia- where you have better odds of wandering into a restaurant and getting a good meal, without having to spend tons of $$$$ for a Michelin Star rated restaurant. I think NYC is great for low-end(though LA takes the crown for that) and completely dominates for high-end(though most can't afford a high-end dining experience every week), but you don't have that healthy middle-end that you see in Chicago, LA or SF.
Well, they're smaller than New York is and are no doubt more concentrated. NY is massive, so of course all of the great restaurants are going to separated by some fluff.
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