While I know ALL of us will disagree with the statement that “there’s only so much you can do with a pork belly,” I have to say I agree with the overall thrust of this New York Magazine article. I think he misses the larger point, that New York’s continuing transformation into an amusement park (to be sure, the world’s most expensive amusement park) is a big part of the problem. New York is losing out to Las Vegas because it is trying to play Las Vegas’ game — and when you play Vegas, the house always wins.
I, for one, absolutely believe that Seattle is far ahead of New York — on a per capita basis at least. As I have said many times, I would not trade Seattle for New York. (London, though… that might be another story!)