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A bit of a tanget, but - I'd like to challenge your idea that LA is the undisputed king of Thai food. Both Seattle and the Bay Area have an insane number of thai restaurants of all regional varities, and the quality is really high. I'd probably put LA in the same tier, but if you think Chicago or Houston come anywhere close to these three in terms of Thai, you are flat our wrong. I've travelled through Thailand and have eaten Thai food in all of these places (albeit, only two places in Houston) and Seattle and SF (and to a slightly lesser extent, LA) have way higher standards for what quality Thai food is than the other cities. And the truly top notch places in these cities will blow your mind if you're used to Chicago or Houston Thai.
You either completely misread my post or didnt read it at all.
The only thing you got out of it is that I said that LA was the undisputed king of Thai food. I strongly standby that. I have been to Thailand on many occasions (as recently as last month), my wife is Thai, and my enlaws who dont even speak english and used to own a Thai joint in Long Beach live with us. Based on my experience with Thai food, LA is by far number one. They have the largest Thai community (estimates put it at 1/2-2/3 of the entire Thai community in the US) and the only Thai town in the US. There is no dish which cannot be found in the LA area whether were talking about Southern Thai food, the food in Bangkok, or food from smaller northern and central provinces (like Nakhon Ratchasima or Nakhon Sawan where my wife is from).
I have eaten Thai in the Bay Area and Seattle and yes they are both better than Houston or Chicago for Thai food.
As for the whole Chicago/Houston Thai cuisine, I actually said that I have had better Thai food in Dallas and DC than either Chicago or Houston. In fact, I thought the Thai food in Houston was terrible based off of the 9 or 10 places I have eaten there. In Chicago, I thought it was too Americanized based off of the 7 or 8 places I ate there. For the most part, most Thai joints in Dallas are pretty Americanized, but I have had much better luck here finding authentic Thai food than in Chicago or Houston. In DC, Northern Virgina has some great authenic Thai places.
American food - Chicago's got the edge here. They're more inventive and creative. Exception is for barbecue.
Latin/Mexican food - Houston, definitely. Now, Chicago's got some great places, but Houston has more great places.
Asian food - Chicago. Feels more authentic, so to speak. (This is coming from an actual Asian immigrant.)
European food - Chicago, hands down.
African food - Can't really tell.
Overall - Chicago, although Houston does have its strengths.
Chicago has more culture in its food (hot dogs, polish, Indian yumm) then Houston yummy southern food and texmex, honestly both cities are good but Chicago has a slight edge in food!
American food - Chicago's got the edge here. They're more inventive and creative. Exception is for barbecue.
Latin/Mexican food - Houston, definitely. Now, Chicago's got some great places, but Houston has more great places.
Asian food - Chicago. Feels more authentic, so to speak. (This is coming from an actual Asian immigrant.)
European food - Chicago, hands down.
African food - Can't really tell.
Overall - Chicago, although Houston does have its strengths.
By Latino you mean Mexican? Because Chicago IMO prolly beats Houston in Puerto Rican, Cuban, Peruvian and Argentine.
This thread is making me hungry. I grew up in chicago and there is amazing mexican food in pilsen. Aleo greek italian chinese african etc. I have only ate at a colombisn restaurant in houston which was delicious. Both cities i am sure have better food than where i live in pensacola florida.
They share some similarities but also have many notable differences.
In Vietnamese cuisine vegetables are often left raw, dishes are less rich and heavy with fewer curries and coconut milk, it is sweeter and not as spicy, there is a stronger French and Chinese influence. The distinct flavor of Vietnamese cuisine come primarily from: mint leaves, coriander, lemon grass, shrimp, fish sauces (nuoc nam and nuoc cham), star anise, ginger, black pepper, garlic, basil, rice vinegar, sugar, and green onions. Vietnamese cuisine also uses less meat and more fish and vegetables
Thai food is all about combining five flavor sensations: sweet, sour, salty, hot and bitter. Thai food also has more Indian & Malay influences. They use more chilies, garlic and onions, curry mixtures, coriander, coconut cream, basil, as well a few of the other ingredients mentioned above.
If you've eaten both types of cuisine at good places, you'd definitely notice the differences. Houston has excellent Vietnamese food, and you cannot argue that the Thai food in Chicago somehow makes up for the fewer Vietnamese options there.
American food - Chicago's got the edge here. They're more inventive and creative. Exception is for barbecue.
Latin/Mexican food - Houston, definitely. Now, Chicago's got some great places, but Houston has more great places.
Asian food - Chicago. Feels more authentic, so to speak. (This is coming from an actual Asian immigrant.)
European food - Chicago, hands down.
African food - Can't really tell.
Overall - Chicago, although Houston does have its strengths.
Chicago has decent African food, evident by the Ghanian and Nigerian and Ethiopian population
American food - Chicago's got the edge here. They're more inventive and creative. Exception is for barbecue.
Latin/Mexican food - Houston, definitely. Now, Chicago's got some great places, but Houston has more great places. Asian food - Chicago. Feels more authentic, so to speak. (This is coming from an actual Asian immigrant.)
European food - Chicago, hands down.
African food - Can't really tell.
Overall - Chicago, although Houston does have its strengths.
Chinese food?
Possibly, but its pretty darn close. I think Chicago's authenticity comes from the fact its Chinatown is urban & Houston's suburban. The food is the same IMO. Neither city comes close to NYC, SF, or even LA.
Vietnamese food?
Nope, Chicago can't hold a candle to Houston no matter how you dice it.
Indian food?
Chicago easily
Last edited by Metro Matt; 09-25-2013 at 01:41 PM..
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