DC is a "second tier city"

[ggw]

Fedora-clad DC restaurateur and TV food personality Spike Mendelsohn proclaims that it's "nice to be in a second-tier city where you can be a big fish in a small pond."

Local bloggers get snitty.
http://www.thehillishome.com/2011/05/get-over-yourself-mr-mendelsohn/
http://donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=16359
http://dcist.com/2011/05/spike_mendelson_dc_is_a_second-tier.php

Discuss.

[godsshoeshine]

i like that spike was like third best dc contestant on top chef allstars. guess that makes him second tier

[Frank Gallagher]

So DC moved up a notch then?

[Justin Tonation]

New York City: 468.9 sq mi, pop. 8,175,133
Los Angeles: 498.3 sq mi, pop. 3,833,995
Chicago: 234.0 sq mi, pop. 2,695,598

Washington, DC: 68.3 sq mi, pop. 601,723

[vansmack]

New York City: 468.9 sq mi, pop. 8,175,133
Los Angeles: 498.3 sq mi, pop. 3,833,995
Chicago: 234.0 sq mi, pop. 2,695,598

Washington, DC: 68.3 sq mi, pop. 601,723

So what?

San Francisco, CA: 46.7 sq mi, pop. 805,235

Nobody thinks this place is second tier, especially not chefs.

[fatskippy]

Is DC not a 2nd tier city?  It's certainly not on the level of NYC, Chicago, SF, and LA.

[Got Haggis?]

José Andrés > Spike

[godsshoeshine]

andres is an unfair bar to clear

mike isabella > spike

[ggw]

I think Mendelsohn's quote is pretty accurate.  He would be a nobody in NY, Chicago, SF, or LA.  Judging by the amount of words he gets on local blogs, he is a relatively big fish in DC.  But it is probably best not to point that out to the residents of a city that attracts so many self-important types.

[Relaxer]

How are cities being tiered? If it's population, then of course DC and SF aren't 1st tier.

And just because DC is the nation's capital, that doesn't necessarily make it Tier 1. That's like saying Albany, NY is on the same level as NYC because it's where the governor sleeps.

[Relaxer]

And what exactly makes SF a Tier 1 city? What does SF have that, say, Seattle doesn't?

[ggw]

Sometimes the governor of NY "sleeps" in more places than just Albany.  

nudge-nudge-wink-wink

[ggw]

And what exactly makes SF a Tier 1 city? What does SF have that, say, Seattle doesn't?

vansmack.

[godsshoeshine]

I think Mendelsohn's quote is pretty accurate.  He would be a nobody in NY, Chicago, SF, or LA.  Judging by the amount of words he gets on local blogs, he is a relatively big fish in DC.  But it is probably best not to point that out to the residents of a city that attracts so many self-important types.

maybe

i'd still know who he is either way

top chef is pretty popular

[reggie]

DC is a world class city, a cultural tastemaker like Paris, London,Tokyo, and Berlin.