good point, let me rephrase. when i mean "best chef", i essentially mean, which one of the well known chefs in boston, who have not yet expanded their restaurants to other cities, would be most likely to survive in a more competitive restaurant environment, such as new york. as far as my thinking goes, i feel that Ana Sortum of Oleana has the level of food necessary, as well as the specific style of cuisine, to be successfull in New York. Chefs like Jody Adams I feel though, don't quite have what it takes to be successfull in New York. Even Ming Tsai I think, lacks the "refinement" necessary. generally, i almost feel like there is a vicious cycle which takes place, which limits reknown food from appearing at obscure parts of the globe. having just eaten in Kansas City, Boston, New York, and Paris, i can safely say that the level of refinement and sophistication taking place is occuring in reverse order of the cities i listed. Paris is ultimately more advanced overall. New York is trailing a couple of minutes behind, Boston following, then ultimately newcomers like Kansas City. This expansion of ideas and refinement can be seen in many things. Subtleties in service, plating of food, even how the menu is written. Ultimately too, the overall price has been an indication. The nicest meal one can buy in Kansas City will be inherently cheaper than its equivalent in Boston, and so on and so forth. Because of this, it seems that many chefs are gravitating to the concentric center of these levels of food. The vast majority of the big names always gravitate to places like New York and Paris, while Kansas City is a breeding ground for rising stars. I may be wrong, but i have been consistently amazed by the differing levels of high end, reccomended restaurants in many of these cities. Any thoughts?