Achatz thinks Chicago has no regional cuisine

Ok, so maybe he's being taken out of context, but after reading this, all I could think was "Has he never heard of LTHForum?"

http://boston.eater.com/archives/2013/0 ... achatz.php

People get caught up in the ambiance of making it posh, and I was just thinking "this is gritty and awesome." And the guy was yelling at customers. A five-top walked in the guy said, "I don't have a five-top, you gotta wait an hour. And it was awesome! We need that in Chicago. I want that. We have that with hot dogs. But the food that was coming out of that kitchen was delicious. I'm envious of that culture that you guys have here that we don't necessarily have in Chicago. You have these impeccable ingredients.

Is this what happens when chefs get myopic in their own circles, or is this a journalist making a story where there is none?

I mean, when I read this:

(incredulous) Wait wait wait wait. Are you saying that Boston chefs are friends? They're ... collaborative?

Does anyone think Doug Sohn wouldn't cooperate with Eddie Lakin? Food trucks go around sabotaging each other? I seem to have a different opinion of the Chicago food scene (as it is), but as I do not work in it, I've always gotten the impression that things were much more cordial here, at least for the most part. I'm sure Moto & Alinea might have the occasional dust up, but I have a problem believing Paul Kahan is trying to compete with *anyone* other than Paul Kahan. And while the ultra high end restaurants might be fighting tooth and nail, I don't see Paula Haney (a Trio vet, even) or Mindy Segal competing unfriendily [sic] with anyone.

Is there just some streetfighting, West Side Story-esque seedy underbelly to the Chicago food scene that most of us are unaware of that someone would be looking to the East Coast for how to be cordial?

Yeah, but look: Daily Catch is something awfully, awfully special. It's a natural phenomenon, a consequence of organic growth and development. That kind of place simply can't be built, it has to grow. It's like Uglesich's in New Orleans: rooted there, and only there.

So I don't think Achatz chose a useful example to begin with.

Geo

I worked w/some guys from daily catch in s.fla circa 93. they had their shit real tight. i'd do their business model in a minute.

I think the main issue is geography - just look at the GNR map. Everything is dispersed across the city.

I'm not too familiar with Boston, but I think what we're missing is the equivalent of Queens. Here, ethnic enclaves like Argyle or Devon are comparatively tiny; Mexican food is spread out pretty wide across the city.

madopal wrote:Is there just some streetfighting, West Side Story-esque seedy underbelly to the Chicago food scene that most of us are unaware of that someone would be looking to the East Coast for how to be cordial?

You ever see Anchorman? That street brawl was based on real events, yo. I can't say more, cuz they'd cut me.

We're not missing anything. People in NY say, essentially, Chicago's neighborhoods are great because they are all just like Queens. And I assume Achatz was just saying something nice about Boston. Great city, some nice restaurants, but it is comparatively tiny and does not have the breadth of Chicago or many other cities, for that matter. Seafood, of course, is strong (though not universally great, why would it be) and Portuguese exists there, which cannot be said for most of the US or North America with the notable exception of Toronto. Plus, it's a real early town, unless you have a friend who can get you into that all night Chinatown spot with the "white tea" served from repurposed Coke cans....

Portuguese restos in *Toronto*? Montréal whups TO all to pieces.

Geo

OK, I was thinking of Quebec as an extension of New England. I'm sure there's really badass Portuguese in the Maritimes too. Fair enough.

BTW, I have not had "great" Portuguese in NE, though I have had it in CAN. Maybe I have not seen the good places yet, but in my personal experiences, Portuguese is generally down at the Greek diner/Puerto Rican corner cafeteria level. Which can be extremely satisfying and great in the GNR way, but I have not seen it elevated in the sense of Chicago's fancy Mexican or Miami's (erstwhile) fancy Cuban etc. in Boston or elsewhere on the US side of the border. I'm sure I am forgetting someplace.

Josephine did a series once on New England Portuguese, but since I haven't tried any of them, I can't comment. We went to what everyone says is TO's best Portuguese—Chiado's—and enjoyed it a lot, but Montréal's best certainly compares.

LTHers have commented on the lack of Portuguese in Chicago—wonder how that happened??

But your point about the geographical differences between Boston vs. Chicago has traction: Chicago is BIG!

Geo

We don't have that for seafood, but "we have that for hot dogs."

That sounds about right.

Geo wrote:Josephine did a series once on [url=http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=20556]

LTHers have commented on the lack of Portuguese in Chicago—wonder how that happened??

Geo

They tried, but their caravels got caught in the ice coming up the St Lawrence, so they fashioned crude snowshoes out of bacalhau & made their way to the safety of Toronto.

I got the impression that Achatz as not talking about a lack of ethnic foods from around the globe, but more about a regional Chicago cuisine, like one might talk about a "New England" regional cuisine that would be seafood based.

There's been little/no historical immigration from Portugal to the US outside NE. I don't think it's much more complicated than that. Sorta like Mexican in Canada.

Yes, almost no Mexicans in MTL. But there are lots and lots of Salvadoreans and Peruvians. Go figger.

Geo