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There are dozens of pages of debate on this, and I've noticed the Chicago group is actually a bit "nerdy" in the fact stance
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It's all just OPINION anyway. You can state facts, and everyone has done that for Chicago and Philly, but at the end of the day it's all human desire on what they want out of life and where they want to live. What are the "facts" for Philly?
Nice - I like nerdy (Chicago posters generally = ). Facts > opinion, but what I also love about some topics for debate is the fact that some things can never be substantiated by fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintainschaos
The boardwalk is nice but it absolutely has no comparison to the Lake Michigan lakefront.
The cuisine thing is a bit of a stretch to say that it's obvious that Philly food is better known than Chicago food, because you can't substantiate that. In terms of high cuisine, Chicago is generally considered one of the top three cities in the U.S. along with NYC and SF. Chicago also has one restaurant in particular that has been voted several times the best restaurant in the world (Alinea).
And isn't the SEPTA 24/7 subway thing just a pilot program without any guarantee of future funding or sustainable ridership?
Nice, nice, and nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu
Being older does not prove you have more range of architectural styles. It means it's possible to have it - it's not a given.
So true. Chicago, from my experience there, has more styles and represents so many so well. But going back to a few other threads and other people's points, it doesn't really "own" any styles like Philly arguably does, or like Boston, Miami Beach, Charleston, New Orleans, or San Francisco do. "Prairie" architecture is pretty common throughout the Midwest, even into Denver, and even down into Florida. The Modernist styles used for skyscrapers is pretty common in Chicago, but with a skyline that large, the relative few examples of that style get drowned out amongst 20+ other styles equally commonly used.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu
The Italian food is good in both cities - I've had better Italian food in Chicago than I've had in Italy itself. I haven't had it in awhile in Philadelphia but I remember the same being true.
Chicago has a lot of good ethnic food too - a lot of tourists have no idea about that.
Chicago is definitely more of an international city, and offers a much wider variety of food, not to mention a more notable fine dining scene. I love some of the Philly staples, though, and I don't care for deep dish.
The Italian food is good in both cities - I've had better Italian food in Chicago than I've had in Italy itself. I haven't had it in awhile in Philadelphia but I remember the same being true.
Chicago has a lot of good ethnic food too - a lot of tourists have no idea about that.
Yeah Chicago definitely rules in a lot of categories of food compared to Philadelphia. Philly excels in random ethnic categories such Jamaican, Vietnamese, and Halal Muslim things. I always thought having a Morton's, Palm and Capital Grille in Philly was a plus but I guess these days it is not special to have these since they have franchised themselves out even more. We do have our own home grown steakhouses, one of which ,Barclay Prime, has... you probably guessed it, cheesesteaks lol. $100 for one though.. so count me out.
In a Chicago vs. Philadelphia comparison, it's certainly an advantage for Philadelphia.
For older architecture? Yes, that's a big given. Chicago has better modern architecture IMO - and though there's much of it downtown, the average person not from Chicago never sees all the lower scale modern architecture in areas like Ukrainian Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, etc.
Chicago is definitely more of an international city, and offers a much wider variety of food, not to mention a more notable fine dining scene. I love some of the Philly staples, though, and I don't care for deep dish.
Agreed - I love Philly Cheesesteak (when done right) and I'm not a fan of deep dish (many, many Chicagoans are not big fans of it. Big myth about the residents of the city is that they love it. Funny enough at my office in Chicago, whenever pizza is ordered it's usually about 5 thin crust pizza to 1 deep dish. The thin crust gets all eaten up, but not many people ever eat the deep dish).
Philly has some good ethnic food, though I think Chicago overall has it better for that. Philly is not a crappy food city, but it's not on the same level as Chicago is.
Agreed - I love Philly Cheesesteak (when done right) and I'm not a fan of deep dish (many, many Chicagoans are not big fans of it. Big myth about the residents of the city is that they love it. Funny enough at my office in Chicago, whenever pizza is ordered it's usually about 5 thin crust pizza to 1 deep dish. The thin crust gets all eaten up, but not many people ever eat the deep dish).
Philly has some good ethnic food, though I think Chicago overall has it better for that. Philly is not a crappy food city, but it's not on the same level as Chicago is.
You can say it until you're blue in the face, but no one here will ever listen - Chicago has great pizza, in my opinion the best in the country, but "deep dish" is for tourists. I don't know any locals who go on about deep dish pizza or recommend it when you ask for a favorite spot.
You can say it until you're blue in the face, but no one here will ever listen - Chicago has great pizza, in my opinion the best in the country, but "deep dish" is for tourists. I don't know any locals who go on about deep dish pizza or recommend it when you ask for a favorite spot.
I agree, been here 13 years and Chicago has amazing pizza, but for locals deep dish is an afterthought. I've been in some very heated debates on "where are we ordering from" over the years, although never once has anyone even suggested deep dish.
Had it once about 10 years ago for an office outing downtown, and then when family (tourists) come to visit. It would actually be funny to walk into a deep dish place - do you think there are more than 5% locals?
In a recent sort through takeout pizzas ordered, mostly in neighborhoods around the city, a full 91% of pizza orders were thin crust, with 9% being deep dish or stuffed.
Chicago is definitely a tavern-style square cut thin crust pizza town as opposed to deep dish. At least for locals.
Not so sure about that. Citizen's Bank Park is located in one of the best sports complexes in North America. It's great to have all the teams play in the same area. A lot of cities can't say that. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ph...2720a24ebcd35d
Are… are you serious? You just showed me a sea of parking spaces, and you think that's better than Wrigleyville?
But if having sports teams play in close proximity to each other marooned in a sea of asphalt trumps a lively neighborhood with a stadium… I don't know what to say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
Philly just built a new boardwalk and the city doesn't need a lake when it's not that far from the bay and ocean.
Apparently there is not only a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania… but also:
-Philadelphia, New Jersey
-Philadelphia, Delaware
I mean there's only Chicago, Illinois. How can a lakefront, beaches, and water activities actually inside the city and within walking distance possibly compare to driving 30+ minutes to reach Philadelphia, New Jersey or Philadelphia, Delaware?
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
That's true but there's no denying that Philadelphia cuisine is more popular around the country than Chicago cuisine.
I can't deny it, because I don't know. But you know what? If you show me a source/survey/whatever that proves Philadelphia cuisine is more popular around the country than anything Chicago has, I'll believe you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
Philly offers 24-hour service on all its subway lines and the PATCO and Trolley Green Lines run 24/7. Philly offers better 24-hour subway service than the Chicago L.
Y- Chicago has great pizza, in my opinion the best in the country, but "deep dish" is for tourists.
Now this is a definite homer statement.
Chicago, on average, is not really a good pizza city. There are plenty of good pizza places, because it's a big and diverse city, with a thriving dining scene, but it isn't a pizza city. There are more good by-the-slice street-corner pizzerias in Bay Ridge or Bensonhurst, Brooklyn than in all of Chicago.
Pretty much anywhere within 100 miles of Manhattan will have, on average, vastly better neighborhood pizza than anywhere in Chicago. Even Philly and Boston are much better pizza cities than Chicago.
And deep dish is VERY popular with Chicago locals. There are deep dish pizzerias everywhere, all over Chicagoland, 90% of which are nowhere near tourist locales. Deep Dish pizza is obviously the famous Chicago pizza export. Everything else is an afterthought.
Now, again, you can get very good non deepdish pizza in Chicago, and from a lot of places, because you are talking about a very big metro area. But the average neighborhood pizza ranges from medicore-to-bad, as in most of the rest of the U.S.
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). Facts > opinion, but what I also love about some topics for debate is the fact that some things can never be substantiated by fact.
