New Yorker goes to Chicago for a food tour
- Thread starter GameOver
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I live in Chicago and adore the food here. It's an excellent city to eat in.
NYC is a scene on a different scale. The breadth of options is just wider, straight up.
Our hotdogs are better, though.
NYC is a scene on a different scale. The breadth of options is just wider, straight up.
Our hotdogs are better, though.
Chicago has some amazing food and I know it's sacrilege but Portillo's is a better hot dog than I've had at a dozen different food trucks and hot dog stands in NYC.
That said, having traveled to both cities more than a dozen times each, it's New York. Everything from the dollar slice to $300 steaks, and every food truck and unique cuisine you can imagine in between.
That said, having traveled to both cities more than a dozen times each, it's New York. Everything from the dollar slice to $300 steaks, and every food truck and unique cuisine you can imagine in between.
Oh hey, they actually got tavern style pizza. Also, Old Town ale house is legit. I'll definitely give this a watch later.
That said, the food scene in Chicago is so diverse and so incredibly deep that you could probably make a full hour video like this for every single neighborhood. The city is a food paradise. I haven't experienced enough of New York to make a direct comparison, but Chicago sets an extremely high bar.
That said, the food scene in Chicago is so diverse and so incredibly deep that you could probably make a full hour video like this for every single neighborhood. The city is a food paradise. I haven't experienced enough of New York to make a direct comparison, but Chicago sets an extremely high bar.
Mostly grew up in Chicago, but lived most of my life in PA and TX. Visiting family in Chicagoland is always a food binge, more than anything. Some Rosati's Pizza locations have opened in Harris County recently (two afaik, with another opening sometime this year), and that's been nice.
Native New Yorker here. I've been to Chicago twice and I think they have better Mexican food than what I've seen here. Most of the Mexican cuisine here hails from Puebla which is pretty homogenized. And I'm pretty sure Puerto Rican food is about on par if not better. I've never had Puerto Rican food as I'm of Dominican descent but it's similar.
The one reason I'd give the edge to NY is on Queens alone due to the sheer diversity of cuisine. Jackson Heights alone is a beautiful tapestry of food. I'm not the biggest fan of hotdogs but I had Portillo's once when I was in Chicago and it was cool. Deep dish pizza also grew on me; I don't have it here in NYC.
Now I'm getting nostalgia for Chicago and it's making me a bit sad. I miss the hell out of a bunch of friends who live there. I haven't been back since 2019 for Star Wars Celebration. :(
The one reason I'd give the edge to NY is on Queens alone due to the sheer diversity of cuisine. Jackson Heights alone is a beautiful tapestry of food. I'm not the biggest fan of hotdogs but I had Portillo's once when I was in Chicago and it was cool. Deep dish pizza also grew on me; I don't have it here in NYC.
Now I'm getting nostalgia for Chicago and it's making me a bit sad. I miss the hell out of a bunch of friends who live there. I haven't been back since 2019 for Star Wars Celebration. :(
Surprisingly enough there was a good spot for Italian beef sandwiches in San Diego. I'm in Connecticut now and I don't think they even exist here. That combined with missing S.D. taco shops...
The pizza is good here though.
On topic, I'm in the why not both category.
The pizza is good here though.
On topic, I'm in the why not both category.
NYC has about 3x the restaurants just due to size from what I can see.
My experiences in Chicago have been better but I'm only a few hours away and have friends/relatives in Chicago, so I'm not relying on online reviews or just going to the touristy areas of Manhattan.
My experiences in Chicago have been better but I'm only a few hours away and have friends/relatives in Chicago, so I'm not relying on online reviews or just going to the touristy areas of Manhattan.
Chicago runs through my veins so I'm biased here but you can't beat Chicago beef, hot dogs or pizza. When you want to go upscale, you're hardly starved for options there either.
That said, New York does have a really great sense of diversity that spreads across the whole landscape whereas Chicago's best restaurants are divided largely based on the area you're in. You're not going to get something like Superdawgs in the Loop, but you're also not going to be finding somewhere like Everest near Superdawgs. In comparison, New York has a healthy mix of everything within a fairly close proximity.
I'm still going to go with my own city, of course, but I'd never pretend that New York cuisine isn't top notch too.
That said, New York does have a really great sense of diversity that spreads across the whole landscape whereas Chicago's best restaurants are divided largely based on the area you're in. You're not going to get something like Superdawgs in the Loop, but you're also not going to be finding somewhere like Everest near Superdawgs. In comparison, New York has a healthy mix of everything within a fairly close proximity.
I'm still going to go with my own city, of course, but I'd never pretend that New York cuisine isn't top notch too.
You know what you did here, and I want you to know that I do not appreciate it.
As someone from Chicago who hasn't ever been to New York I feel like New York is going to win simply by virtue of scale, they have more people and thus more options so if we take the top 10 of each New York naturally has the advantage just on the basis of statistics. That said it's kind of a pointless question when both have such a wealth of options that you'd likely be hard pressed to find someone who has ever eaten every good dish from every good restaurant either city has to offer
I'm going to be moving to Chicago in a few months here from outside LA and have been dying to try any of the food there. Not the biggest fan of fish or poke so itching for a great dog or deep dish
I use this video as source material for New Yorkers being insecure about their pizza.
Chicago people, is Rick Bayless's food any good? He's a TV personality I actually find kind of charming and his food always looks great, and I've always said if I go to Chicago I'm going to eat there but I also have a feeling it's actually a tourist trap.
Edit: holy shit how is this charming man in anyway related to Skip I just learned this!!
Edit: holy shit how is this charming man in anyway related to Skip I just learned this!!
This. When I worked at the national lab and we got our international visitors and Texans in. They would always comment how the Mexican food around Chicago was always some of the best they've ever had.
Just moved to Chicago 2 months ago from the LA area as well and you're going to love it. I've been trying new restaurants every weekend for 8 weeks now and it.is.amazing.
