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18Montclair, you are entitled to your own opinion.
Obviously this is all personal opinion.
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The East Bay doesn't have food that I want to write home about.
I personally would have a difficult time putting LA above Oakland/ Berkeley as far as great restaurants. LA has more restaurants and more famous restaurants-but the quality of the food in the East Bay duo of cities I mention as one entity(cause their connected geographically and gastronomically) is better on average in my experience.
Oakland especially has turned into quite the foodie destination in recent years-Berkeley seems to always have been a foodie capital. Chez Panisse by itself is perhaps one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the world-let alone here in the US. And if you've ever eaten there, you'd understand why.
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SF food is the thing of the past.
I'm sorry, but to praise the faddishness of Las Vegas's restaurant scene and then try to belittle SFs multi-generational and far more established scene is really laughable. Las Vegas away from the immediate strip, has some of the worst food I've ever eaten--I own property down there and am cursed to eat some of their food away from the strip on many a business trip. And their claim to fame is *gulp* cheap buffets. The words budget and foodie in Las Vegas are not to be found in the same sentence. Sure the strip offers awesome dining options, but that's a few blocks and that's it.
As far as fine dining I think the bay area holds its own to chicago and new york, though maybe not with as much grandure. It is a smaller metro, and as a result fewer dining options, but only slightly.
I think places like SF are really lacking in the hole in the wall places, but the east bay and san jose make up for it. You just can't get mexican like you can in fruitvale anywhere else. The mission is way too pricey these days as it has gotten so trendy over there.
Speeddemonz, if you aren't having a good experience in Alpharetta no problem. GA is not for everyone. Why not compare GA cities to cities with high crime rates and or with similar size? I've already posted the highest crime areas. I can post the crime in the bay area too, like Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, San Francisco, Vallejo, etc. Their numbers are higher than Atlanta. You live in Alpharetta, please tell me where are the rednecks there? Alpharetta is a very affluent part of GA with very low crime. The home invasions in GA I will give you that though they mainly happen in the intown areas and not the burbs, it seems odd to me that, that is going on; it seems pretty bizarre but odly enough the evasions happen during the day when people are at work and usually don't end up with murders/shootings. Wonder if we have any here? Also, College Park and all the other places listed are far enough from the city of Atlanta and or the nice parts of town to the North.
No Atlanta is not better than LA, NY, Miami or Chicago when it comes to dining, didn't say that. But they are all better than the bay area.
GA to me (if you haven't noticed already) is very special. Especially since you can live cheap and save your money and visit any place you want to. It is a great place to raise a family especially since you actually see people with kids rather than dogs, although the fascination with dogs are there too.
Grapico, the produce and livestock are not superior here in CA. Have you been to other countries? The livestock and produce are out of this world in other places. It trips me out that when I am here if I walk into a supermarket I rarely can smell a banana or mango, when I go to my parents countries the smell hits you right when you walk in the room. The meat quality here is poor and hate how they die everything. I've had better veggies in New York believe it or not. GA has a very good climate, not too cold and not too hot. I think that is why they too have good quality of produce and their meat tastes so different (I eat chicken and fish (hardly chicken), my husband eats the meat, so it is mainly according to him and his friends).
18Montclair, yes everthing we are communicating is based off of personal opinion. The quality of the food in the East Bay has given me food poisoning. Berkeley and Oakland ranks higher than LA, are you outta your mind? Those places put together couldn't hold a candle to even Napa or SF. LA, has better healthier options, real innovators, and very creative chefs that make the dining experience memorable, not to mention the good service and how nice the restaurants are.
Will the food scence be a fad in Las Vegas, who knows? As long as people go there for the hotels, shopping, and entertainment I think those restaurants are there to stay. People didn't give Vegas a chance even when Sinatra and Davis were entertaining there but it is still a destination spot. Also, why would you want to go away from the strip?
Have been to Chez Panisse restaurant (was on a month's waiting list, thank goodness I didn't have to foot the bill). Didn't say there aren't any good places to eat here but not as good as people have been talking about and they are not in abundance. I've tasted some of the best and again I don't think they are here.
As far as fine dining I think the bay area holds its own to chicago and new york, though maybe not with as much grandure. It is a smaller metro, and as a result fewer dining options, but only slightly.
I think places like SF are really lacking in the hole in the wall places, but the east bay and san jose make up for it. You just can't get mexican like you can in fruitvale anywhere else. The mission is way too pricey these days as it has gotten so trendy over there.
Yeah, there is just more of it, its bigger, so, it would be expected. How many restaurants can one actually eat at?
Grapico, the produce and livestock are not superior here in CA. Have you been to other countries? The livestock and produce are out of this world in other places. It trips me out that when I am here if I walk into a supermarket I rarely can smell a banana or mango, when I go to my parents countries the smell hits you right when you walk in the room. The meat quality here is poor and hate how they die everything. I've had better veggies in New York believe it or not. GA has a very good climate, not too cold and not too hot. I think that is why they too have good quality of produce and their meat tastes so different (I eat chicken and fish (hardly chicken), my husband eats the meat, so it is mainly according to him and his friends).
Hrrm... only about 30 :/
I didn't say that though...
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As far as the quality of the ingredients chefs use and you have easy access to for consumption, bay area is #1 in the entire u.s. in my experience.
No question other countries have better food quality, particularly meat and dairy. Tropical food is going to be better in africa/south america for sure. No disagreements there.
Yeah, there is just more of it, its bigger, so, it would be expected. How many restaurants can one actually eat at?
With 700,000 k Sf is the type of city one can figure out pretty quickly if one wants to. Chicago is simply massive. Its got nearly 3 million people jammed into that city. Its the type of place you live there your whole life and you still find established places that you never knew existed. It is truly grandeur. Very much like LA in that sense but less spread out.
With 700,000 k Sf is the type of city one can figure out pretty quickly if one wants to. Chicago is simply massive. Its got nearly 3 million people jammed into that city. Its the type of place you live there your whole life and you still find established places that you never knew existed. It is truly grandeur. Very much like LA in that sense but less spread out.
Chicago is definitely urban for much farther distances, and more offerings. I think they are both pretty on par though for their "gems", and you would have a tough time in either city eating at every good place. Now you might run out of good (insert ethnic) places in Chicago for instance, or good (insert another ethnic) place in SF, but for every one it lacks, there is another good cuisine to replace it. Both places have their merits, SF has better seafood and chinese options in my opinion, while Chicago has better german/polish just as an example.
While Chicago has more fine dining options compared to the bay, it is missing an area like Napa for instance. Hard to go wrong in either. Both have big foodie populations.
18Montclair, yes everthing we are communicating is based off of personal opinion. The quality of the food in the East Bay has given me food poisoning. Berkeley and Oakland ranks higher than LA, are you outta your mind?
From Chinese, to Thai, to Mexican, to American, to California to French to BBQ and so on-I have yet to be impressed by LAs food in the same way food in the East Bay impresses. More authentic, more flavorful, more attention to detail. Like I said earlier, the Bay Area's biggest advantage over everywhere else is cheap eats. Eat REALLY great and don't pay an arm and a leg. What a concept?
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Those places put together couldn't hold a candle to even Napa or SF.
Napa has world class invidual restaurants-a handful-quite a handful but a handful nonetheless. Oakland and Berkeley have to-die-for food all over the place. Last week I ate at Marzano on Park Bl in the Glenview District-it would be considered one of LAs best if it were there, but there it is, in a quiet little village in the heart of Oakland. LOL
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LA, has better healthier options, real innovators, and very creative chefs that make the dining experience memorable, not to mention the good service and how nice the restaurants are.
Its been a really long time since LA has been considered a restaurant town in the same league as SF. Maybe the mid 80s perhaps. Obviously LA has excellent restaurants-no argument. But SF is usually more highly regarded as a restaurant town and I happen to agree that its deservedly so.
The quality of the food in the East Bay has given me food poisoning. Berkeley and Oakland ranks higher than LA, are you outta your mind? Those places put together couldn't hold a candle to even Napa or SF. LA, has better healthier options, real innovators, and very creative chefs that make the dining experience memorable, not to mention the good service and how nice the restaurants are.
Will the food scence be a fad in Las Vegas, who knows? As long as people go there for the hotels, shopping, and entertainment I think those restaurants are there to stay. People didn't give Vegas a chance even when Sinatra and Davis were entertaining there but it is still a destination spot. Also, why would you want to go away from the strip?
Have been to Chez Panisse restaurant (was on a month's waiting list, thank goodness I didn't have to foot the bill). Didn't say there aren't any good places to eat here but not as good as people have been talking about and they are not in abundance. I've tasted some of the best and again I don't think they are here.
OK, we get it. You don't like the Bay Area food and 18Montclair loves it. What I don't get is your reasoning. You can get food poisoning anywhere. You seem to be one of a few who don't care too much for the dining options offered here in the Bay Area. Fine. Don't eat here. I find the options dizzying and mouth watering.
Aren't most restaurants on the strip in Vegas copies of restaurants that the chefs have in other places? If they aren't exact copies, then they are heavily based on other restaurant ideas. In other words, there is nothing unique about the food in Vegas. If a chef can't find an investor with millions of dollars, then they can't open a restaurant in Vegas. That sounds like a sure-fire way of snuffing out any rising stars. You yourself state that the only reason people eat at the restaurants is because they are there for the hotels, shopping, and entertainment (a sentiment with which I agree, BTW). To me, restaurants in Vegas are like the Disco Dance studios in the second-tier cities and 'burbs back in the 70s and early 80s. They are designed for people who would never venture into the "Big City" to get a taste of the real thing, so they go to places that are designed to replicate the real thing and make it easy and convenient for them to experience.
But back to the OP. Why do you feel that you need to buy a home in order to feel like you are settling down? To me, if you find a place that you love, then live there, even if it means you have to rent. You can always take the money you would've used to buy a house and invest it in something else. Atlanta and the Bay Area are 2 totally different places and if you select one based solely on your ability to buy a house then I would think you are missing the forest for one single tree.
I personally prefer the Bay Area and would rent a place here long before I would buy a place in or near Atlanta. But that's just me.
18Montclair, we should do a poll on the CA forum about LA not being considered in the same league as the bay restaurants. Again, I think people have been told for years that SF/Bay area had this wonderful and amazing food and people believed the hype. At one time I'm sure it was great but I don't think so. It is not up to par with some of the other major cities.
PeixeGato, why people read more into these posts I don't know. But never said there weren't any good places to eat here. But not on the scale that people rave about and or like I thought it was going to be when I moved here. Also, most of the restaurants that were fabulous here have closed down.
Most of the restaurants on the strip are copies and inspirations from chefs around the nation and world. Nothing wrong with that. You can share the same sentiments about restaurants that are here. You think that a chef has one restaurant in SF and doesn't have another in Texas or NY? Vegas is unique for many reasons that is why it is such a tourist destination.
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