which is a better city: Chicago or New York?

Globe - did you use to live in NYC?

Originally Posted by gdl203

Click to expand...

Globe - did you use to live in NYC?

no, and I don't live in chicago now, but I lived in a very close suburb to nyc and now I live in a very close suburb to chicago. and for about 20 years I'd get to nyc a few times a year for business.

my personal feeling is that the "culinary diversity" of nyc is vastly over-rated - nyc does some things very well, but they are new york things - pastrami and corned beef, bagels, ny style pizza, ny style chinese, etc. ny city gets some trends before the rest of the country - like soup dumplings, for instance. but in general I think that nyc is vastly overrated in terms of culinary diversity.

on top of that, even in greater ny - if you want really good chinese or indian or mexican, you end up leaving the city - nj has better chinese and indian than nyc, for instance.

Cool - I certainly don't have the palate you have for ethnic foods. I tend to stick to a handful of places I like and am pretty happy with in NYC (most of them are probably not very authentic either). I never really traveled to other neighborhoods or boroughs to seek authentic ethnic food, but I know that there are large communities coming from pretty much everywhere in the 5 boroughs and I hear people praise such and such restaurant in Flushing or in Spanish Harlem. I couldn't be bothered to go to such lengths.

Originally Posted by SField

Click to expand...

Pathetic.
It's funny how you think owning an apartment qualifies you as a local?? Your neighborhood is full of people with a little $$ from other cities, and is the most gentrified/fake place in Chicago. You're that dense? Do you really like hanging out like a creep at the hotel bars that much? Or just love all the tourists and great chain restaurants in your neighborhood??

Originally Posted by gdl203

Click to expand...

I tend to stick to a handful of places I like and am pretty happy with in NYC (most of them are probably not very authentic either.


I think that that is one of the huge strengths of NYC - its one of only a handful of cities in the world with so much available pretty much where ever you are in the city. in most of the world, you just assume that you aren't going to find ethiopian or vietnamese or senegalese food, when you are in NYC it is assumed that you will have it, and you get into discussions of the quality or authenticity of it.

that said, there are cities in the US with better food, in my opinion, or at least better ethnic food. it seems to me that NYC thinks it does ethinc food better than it really does.

finding good indian in nyc is tough. Hell, one has to hunt even in NJ to find good tasting Indian.

Originally Posted by feynmix

Click to expand...

finding good indian in nyc is tough. Hell, one has to hunt even in NJ to find good tasting Indian.

yeah, I used to go to Edison, and that was so so

Originally Posted by globetrotter

Click to expand...

yeah, I used to go to Edison, and that was so so
I grew up in Edison, and there is a total of 1 place I would go to get Indian food. Its a punjabi place right in the middle of Indiatown, but they don't serve punjabi food. Only parathas (aloo and mooli), samosa chats, chole bature, etc. Everything else in Edison/Iselin is crap. Damn I miss that place. What are the place you like in Chicago? I actually haven't had the chance to eat much Indian in Chicago, but I have heard that Tiffin on Devon is good. Any ideas?

Originally Posted by feynmix

Click to expand...

finding good indian in nyc is tough. Hell, one has to hunt even in NJ to find good tasting Indian.

Name me places in the US with GREAT indian food (I'm genuinely curious, I'm ok with Brick Lane level anyway).

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Click to expand...

Name me places in the US with GREAT indian food (I'm genuinely curious, I'm ok with Brick Lane level anyway).
Of all the places in the US where I have had eaten Indian food, only about 3-4 places come to mind that serve delicious food. Jassi's Sweets: Iselin, NJ (in the heart of India town). Very authentic, they serve the food exactly how it should be served. Parathas with raita, onions, chili, and pickle on the side. And to top it off, butter. Their aloo parathas are heavenly, and the portions are excellent. Laziz Biryani corner: Mom and pop shop here in Raleigh, NC. They have a small restaurant (not sure you can even call it that), literally inside another convenient store. The biryani served here is the best biryani I have ever had (and I grew up in India). At $6 and huge portions, this place might as well have the best deal in all of the US. I eat here about 4 times a week on average. There is a place that serves excellent and authentic South Indian food somewhere near San Fran. I think its in Fremont, but I don't exactly remember. The dosas are delicious, and served the way they are meant to be: with 3 different chutneys (tomato, coconut, some other concoction) + sambhar. I can find out the name of this place later. That's about it. Globe probably has more recommendations.

Originally Posted by gdl203

Click to expand...

No, why would I do that? I prefer to let you know directly, as I doubt you had seen Brian's post.

EDIT: oops, just saw that you've been timed out for either calling him a moron or for calling me a whiny *****, both being completely unnecessary. Conversation to resume in a couple days (assuming you can control your ITG compulsions)

Hhhmmm. Its one of those very rare times when I agree with a gdl203 post. Questioning Brians intelligence or calling gdl203 a "whiny *****" are both completely unnecessary.

Hopefully sfield will reflect on this during his timeout and no longer feel the need to say such things.

The system works, people!!!!!

Originally Posted by globetrotter

Click to expand...

I think that that is one of the huge strengths of NYC - its one of only a handful of cities in the world with so much available pretty much where ever you are in the city. in most of the world, you just assume that you aren't going to find ethiopian or vietnamese or senegalese food, when you are in NYC it is assumed that you will have it, and you get into discussions of the quality or authenticity of it.

that said, there are cities in the US with better food, in my opinion, or at least better ethnic food. it seems to me that NYC thinks it does ethnic food better than it really does.

I'm sure there are other cities that do a type of ethnic food better than in nyc. In nyc, though, one can find truly any type of ethnic food-good or bad-which other cities would be hard pressed to match.

for the indian people folks, i've dined in jackson heights with a bengali friend of mine. I personally dislike indian food, but from what he tells me, it is very authentic.

The guys next to us were eating with their hands, which i am told is the traditional way. I thought was kinda interesting and tried not to stare.

The one thing that confuses me is that there are so many Indians living in NYC (5 boroughs). Where do they all go when they want to eat out good authentic Indian food? There's nothing here at all for this segment of the population? I'd think that with the dozens of thousands of restaurants in NYC, basic supply/demand principles would result in adequate supply for that demand.

Originally Posted by gdl203

Click to expand...

The one thing that confuses me is that there are so many Indians living in NYC (5 boroughs). Where do they all go when they want to eat out good authentic Indian food? There's nothing here at all for this segment of the population? I'd think that with the dozens of thousands of restaurants in NYC, basic supply/demand principles would result in adequate supply for that demand.


The thing is, gdl, most Indians living in NJ/NYC area are consigned to eating at these places because there is nothing else available. I can't speak for NYC much, but in NJ, most Indians know the food is ****, but they still end up going because thats all there is available. Its not even that one Indian restaurant does it better, its that all of them have ****** service and terrible food.

The demand isn't there from the people, hence there is no supply. A lot of them like eating mediocre food.

Originally Posted by chorse123

Click to expand...

I grew up and Chicago and went to school in New York. There was no question in my mind where I was going to make my life: New York. Almost everything Chicago does, New York does better. Well, maybe not corruption. Chicago is a great city in many ways, but it is a regional city, and every time I visit, I can't get away from the sense that it is the capital of the midwest. It pulls from the area, where as New York pulls from the world.

This sums up my opinion perfectly.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

Click to expand...

chicagoland has more for kids, in a reasonable range - greater nyc is a 3 hour circle. chicagoland is a 90 minunte circle.

There's *nothing* to do outside of Chicago, which is a huge bummer. The three hour circle around NY really extends much further when you consider all the interesting places there are to go.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

Click to expand...

nyc has a few things that are marginally better than chicago - the museums and other cultural institutions are top tier, there are only a handful of museums in the world that can compete with the met. the top end resteraunts. the business enviroment for very specific things.

I actually prefer the Art Institute to the Met, as have many of the folks I've taken there. Nobody involved was an art snob, though.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Click to expand...

If you are saying that how much a place costs has an affect on how nice a restaurant it is, I don't even know what to tell you. NYC is an amazing food city. As is Chicago. You can make the claim either way, and either is arguable, but what I was taking offense to was your use of "OBVIOUSLY" when describing how much better NYC's restaurant scene is than Chicago's.

It is OBVIOUSLY more affordable to eat well in Chicago.

Originally Posted by Crane's

Click to expand...

Anyway Chicago pizza is way better than NY's hands down so there. LOL.

And to think I once considered ordering a bag from you.

Originally Posted by Flambeur

Click to expand...

Unless money was no object, your lifestyle will be a lot more comfortable in Chicago. You can live pretty comfy on a 100K budget, while in NYC that would be pretty damn tough.

A few of my friends have moved from Chicago to NY and have expressed this opinion. They claim to have lived more comfortably on a grad student budget in Chicago than on substantially higher salaries now. I think they're exaggerating, but there's something to this.

Originally Posted by Cavalier

Click to expand...

It's funny how you think owning an apartment qualifies you as a local?? Your neighborhood is full of people with a little $$ from other cities, and is the most gentrified/fake place in Chicago. You're that dense?

Do you really like hanging out like a creep at the hotel bars that much? Or just love all the tourists and great chain restaurants in your neighborhood??

Uh, I've lived in Chicago for five years, and Gold Coast is on the short list of places I'll move to if I stay in the city after graduation.

Originally Posted by JSC4President

Click to expand...

In terms of academia (i am super geek boy, so this $hit concerns me)... i tend to think University of Chicago is better than Columbia and NYU. Although Columbia and UofC are pretty close. ok.. just my 2 cents. More Nobel Prizes in Economics out of Univ Chicago than anywhere else.

Originally Posted by Xiaogou

Click to expand...

NYC for academics and better culinary diversity.

Originally Posted by SField

Click to expand...

Wouldn't Northwestern and UChicago be superior to NYU and Columbia?

The range of things U of C is good at is very narrow. While the education you get (as an undergrad--grad programs are too variable to include in this discussion) in those fields is as rigorous as can be, you really ought to know what you want to study before coming to the U of C.

Originally Posted by Milhouse

Click to expand...

There is something else I've noticed. Every time I went out in New York, the girls that were in their mid to late 20s looked about 10 years older. I started looking around at women in general, and it seemed to hold true for all of them. I'm not sure if it is pollution, or stress, or something else, but damn, New York seems to really prematurely age women.

It's all the promiscuity. Sex ratio is much more favorable to men in NYC. If you are a single dude, NY > Chicago.