East -West divide

[anil]

I have come to know many folks who are loath to cross from

oneside of the city to another - When picking a dining place - And having no problem going from one end of London to another, or rally travel far when in HKG.

Upper Eastsiders who groan when suggesting a restaurant closer to the theatre-dist. or after Lincoln Center drinks close by. Not to be outdone, Folks living on our side of CP avoiding some really nice places on the east side.

Have y'll noticed this too ?

Is there a cultural or Urban anthropological reasons for this ?

Is there a cure/treatment for it  

[Steve Plotnicki]

Sure. The West Side stinks. Aside from Ouest which is a fish out of water, the food sucks there (exluding brunch places of which good choices abound.) And the people are whack too. Those lox-slicers at Zabar's set the example for everyone. Everytime I go there, after 2 hours I get the West Side heebie jeebies and have to leave.

The East Side is much better. The food sucks there also, but the people are much more civilized. I mean Steve Shaw and I live there. And the 4,5 and 6 trains are much better than the 1,2, or 3. Do any of those trains go to Yankee Stadium?

I can make a list of ways the east side is better than the west side that is wider than the Island of Manhattan. But no need to bother because everyone already knows it. And it pains me to say that this wasn't always true. Before its gentrification, the west side was a wonderful place, full of lots of neighborhood type restaurants and shops. Dommage.

Now give me Greenwich Village, Little Italy or the Lower East Side. Now those are neighborhoods.

[anil]

Sure. The West Side stinks. ...but the people are much more civilized. I mean Steve Shaw and I live there. And the 4,5 and 6 trains are much better than the 1,2, or 3. Do any of those trains go to Yankee Stadium?

............

Sheesh   I did not say UWS or UES did I ? In my opinion they are both a bit snooty for many folks tastes.

Have I touched on a raw nerve here 8-P

[Ruby]

Being a native New Yorker, I enjoy all parts of Manhattan and other boros as well. IMO, people don't like to cross east to west or west to east because it takes longer to go crosstown than it takes just staying within a 20-block radius from where you start from.

If I know I'm going to the theater (Times Square area or Lincoln Center) on the West Side, I'll eat in that general area as well; perhaps on 9th or 10th Avenue.

If I'm on the East Side and doing something specific in that area, I'll stay there. But it's not because I prefer one area over another. I don't find either the West or East Side snooty at all. The Upper East Side that I know doesn't begin or end at Fifth or Madison Avenue. There are still many good neighborhood restos in the East 50s through 90s and it's fun to walk, explore and find them.

The West Side has its own charm - especially after a nice long walk in Riverside Park. It doesn't start or end on Columbus Avenue. Personally, I don't bemoan the gentrification of the Upper West Side - I lived in the West 80s (this was pre-Lincoln Center) and I was afraid to go to school or even walk around the neighborhood. There were lots of school gangs, drugs and a threat of danger on what seemed like every street on Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus. I'll take some mediocre restaurants anytime over what existed then. Been there, done that, no fun.

Now going from the West Village to the East Village is no big deal - I walk it. It's also fun to walk from Chinatown through Little Italy, Nolita-Soho and wind up in the East or West Village or keep walking into Chelsea. I've never heard anybody complain they didn't want to travel from one of those areas.

So, what's my point? I think there's too much of a black and white mindset about superior neighborhoods--an 'us against them' mentality and I just don't buy into that. Guess I like New York City too much.

[Mao]

I have no problem going to the West side.  hell, I eat in hell's kitchen at Grand Szechuan Intl and Esca with some regularity.  Its the culinary desert above 66th St that I am loathe to wander into for fear of encountering a bad meal.  Are there any good restuarants on the UWS?

[jaybee]

Sure. The West Side stinks. Aside from Ouest which is a fish out of water, the food sucks there (exluding brunch places of which good choices abound.) And the people are whack too. Those lox-slicers at Zabar's set the example for everyone. Everytime I go there, after 2 hours I get the West Side heebie jeebies and have to leave.

Gee Steve, were you scared by a lox slicer as a child?  This must be a terrible burden.