Walking and eating neighborhoods...

[touaregsand]

We've talked about countries, regions and cities, not neccesarily exhaustively but it's been discussed. I don't know if neighborhoods have been though. When I travel it's on business or vacation with the family (two small children). When I'm traveling or even in my home town I prefer to eat out where I or we as the case may can walk before and after eating.

Alas, my biggest gripe about Los Angeles is that of all the big cities I've been to it is the least pedestrian city.

I can do a little breakdown of walking and eating neighborhoods in Los Angeles with a bit of history attached a little later. Alot of these neighborhoods or areas have undergone dramatic changes in the last 30 years or so since I've lived here with some "off" time in other countries of course.

So where are the walking and eating neighborhoods in your city or cities you've visited?

Perhaps you can share a little oral, well internet, history as well.

Let's not limit this to just the big cities. I've been to some smaller cities for business trips so I'd interested in those too. We're not all jet setters on egullet or are we?

[nr706]

So where are the walking and eating neighborhoods in your city or cities you've visited?

Here in Chicago - two streets/areas come to mind - Devon around Western for amazing Indian (food, groceries, retail etc.) and Argyle St. for SE Asian (some people call it a 2nd Chinatown, but it's not really Chinese - more Vietnamese/Laotian/Cambodian - the Chinese stuff is mostly around 22nd St & Wentworth). All are great walking destinations.

[jgarner53]

San Francisco abounds with walking/eating neighborhoods: Chinatown (and its cousin, Clement St), North Beach (Italian, mostly), Japantown/Fillmore, the Castro.

[touaregsand]

Los Angeles is really spread out so I'll cover it in several posts rather than tackling it all at once... Othe Los Angelenos please feel free to add. PLEASE.

Downtown:

Major rejuventation project over the years. Probably started with the Art's district over 20 years ago. I lived in a loft there over 10 years ago, the are is still growing but the new lofts are more yuppy, if you can believe they still exist. So there are quite a few galleries around here and the rest of downtown, a few "artsy" coffee houses, etc...

Chinatown has lost alot of it's vibrancy to SGV, but it's still what I would consider a walking and eating area.

Little Tokyo or J-Town as we call it-

Very touristy, postcard sort of place. The Japanese-American Museum is there. Alot of the restaurant owners are Korean.

Heading west Koreatown. Probably the biggest "ethnic" presence in the middle of the City. People walk here, but it's not what I would consider a fun walking and eating area. Better to drive.

North/West of downtown:

Vermont Blvd a few blocks north of Hollywood. Not a significant walking and eating area. But fun if you want to watch the freaks who are sometimes cool and sometimes trying really hard to be cool, either way who cares what's cool? But it's amusing LA people watching. And a few places have outdoor seating and don't really care how long you stay. Funky, skanky clothing shops and what not.

[Pan]

For SF, how about the Mission, for taquerias?

[Daddy-A]

I resist the temptation to wave the flag for my home town, Vancouver ...

While I've only ever been twice, I find Portland to be a terrific walking city. We usually stay in The Pearl district and then either walk or take the trolley downtown. The Park Blocks are pretty great too ... especially the end that has the Farmer's Market (North?). We're going back in July and I'm already looking forward to the ribs at Lowe's!

A.

[mizducky]

San Diego: lessee, there's the Gaslamp District--though you really need a good guide, either human or book, to know which places are the real deal and which are the tourist traps and hype palaces. Old Town: ditto. Pacific Beach/Mission Beach: ditto. Hillcrest: much higher percentage of real-deal places to hype-o-ramas. Ocean Beach: mainly downscale hippy/beachy joints, but my personal favorite neighborhood for walking, window-shopping, and grazing. La Jolla--lots of really great, and often really $$$, restaurants, in a lovely downtown area totally ideal for exploring on foot.

Seattle: A city with a bazillion little neighborhoods, all studded with restaurants. Just a few: Pioneer Square--another highly touristed area with some genuinely nice places scattered among the hype-o-rama. International District (Chinese/Japanese/Vietnamese): some touristy joints but a high percentage of great places, from holes-in-the-wall to huge dim sum emporia. Capitol Hill--three different clumps of walkable restaurant areas--along Broadway, along 15th Ave., and down the Pike/Pine corridor, running the gamut from semi-refined bistros to unrestrained punko-funko. Ballard: what used to be known as a sleepy Scandinavian neighborhood has developed a low-key but really fun restaurant/cafe/bar scene, especially down Ballard Ave. Belltown: some of the trendiest upscale joints can be found here, as well as some of the funkiest. Queen Anne: both Lower and Upper have a goodly collection of dining choices--but be prepared to take bus or car between Lower and Upper (the Counterbalance rivals some of the steepest urban hills in San Francisco).

And on the smaller side ...

Nyack, NY: I was surprised and delighted when, a couple of summers ago, I went back to what I think of my hometown, Nyack (20 miles upstate from NYC, on the west bank of the Hudson where the Tappan Zee Bridge/NYS Thruway crosses). Nyack's downtown has turned into a truly enjoyable place, full of little restaurants and cafes as well as shops selling crafts and antiques and the like--a far cry from the battered little mostly-out-of-business scene going on when I left for college in 1975.

[Pan]

I should add some props for Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown. Just walk past all those stalls; you're bound to find something(s) to please you! Good stuff in the Mamak (Indian Muslim) neighborhood around Masjid India, too.

[touaregsand]

SF-

I'd add Union Street and The Wharf, the kids love it. Does SF have one of the "best" tourist wharfs in the States?

DaddyA tells us more about Vancouver...

[Busboy]

Athens: the Plaka and adjoining neighborhood of Monastiraki. OK, maybe the food isn't the greatest, but if you look close, you can eat well. And if a tacqueria neighborhood is a viable destination -- and I belive it is -- so is a gyro neighborhood.

Lights, some of history's most beautiful and important sites; tourists, locals, musicians, gypsies, shills; beautiful weather nine months a year; the way the locals push tables into every beautiful nook and comfortable cranny so that no seat seems like less than a movie set; an incredible energy that runs almost until dawn.

And, believe me, you have no choice but to walk.

Oh, yeah. It's a non-stop party every night, all year.

[scase805]

I'm sooooo not the expert on this (Holly Moore and Katie Loeb come to mind), but since no one has mentioned Philly yet, i've got to mention two amazing areas in Philly:

1) The Italian Market, with a melange of Italian, Mexican and Vietnamese restaurants, not too mention an open air market with fresh produce, two awesome cheese shops, and did I mention that Pat's and Geno's are just a block away? Not the best cheesesteaks, but worth checking out if you are a tourist, or want to see hundreds of people waiting in line at 2 in the morning. Some other favorites within walking distance of the Italian Market: Sarcone's bakery (amazing bread, and the deli around the corner makes incredible sandwiches, the kind that make you have to take a nap after eating , Sabrina's for breakfast/brunch, Ralph's, the oldest family owned Italian restaurant in the country, etc. I could go on, but I would point you to the aforementioned Holly Moore's website, Holly Eats Philadelphia, as i've said before, he's the real expert.

2) Holly also covers the Reading Terminal Market. Truly amazing. I took my parents on their last visit; we sampled some great cheeses at Downtown Cheese, had delicious roast pork sandwiches at DiNics, and basically had a great time getting lost among the stalls and the history of this Philadelphia landmark. Check out their website here. In addition to the market, Chinatown is a couple of blocks away, including restaurants specializing in pho, hand drawn noodles, peking duck, etc.

[MarketStEl]

Well, if LA is the least pedestrian big city, Philadelphia is probably at the opposite end. Lots of us who live in the middle of the city walk to our jobs, so why wouldn't we walk to eat?

The two neighborhoods that have the highest concentrations of restaurants you can walk among are Chinatown (8th to 11th streets, Arch to Vine) and Old City (Front to 5th streets, Race to Walnut). 2d Street in Old City is chock-a-block with eateries and clubs.

As is South Street from Front to 7th, Philly's in-town Boardwalk. "The hippest street in town" tends to draw the kiddies more than the grownups, but there are some very grown-up restaurants in the area (Monte Carlo Living Room, Downey's).

Of course, a must-walk for any foodie is South 9th Street from Christian Street to Passyunk Avenue--the Italian Market. (Or, if you prefer, you can run up this street, like Rocky did.) Saturday is the best day to stroll this open-air food emporium, which is studded with sandwich shops, sit-down restaurants and take-out places. The most interesting places to eat in the Italian Market aren't Italian, though--they're Latino: Taqueria Veracruzana and Plaza Garibaldi, both located just off 9th on Washington Avenue. Two blocks further west on Washington is a huge Asian shopping plaza with an excellent pho cafe (Pho 75); three blocks east of the Italian Market on the same street is another Asian strip mall with a bakery-cafe (Ba Le) that makes excellent bahn mi ("Vietnamese hoagies").

There are other neighborhoods, both in and beyond Center City, where a walk will reward you with many good places to eat. Rittenhouse Square, University City, South Philly--all are very walkable, and all have plenty of good eating on most street corners.

[snowangel]

A short walk from my sister's house in Berkeley will take you to Monterrey Market, Acme, Peets' and a plethora of other fine places for stuff to nosh.

I grew up in Bangkok, and that wasn't too bad, either. There, some of the food (noodle carts) actually came to you!

[rjwong]

Los Angeles is really spread out so I'll cover it in several posts rather than tackling it all at once... Othe Los Angelenos please feel free to add. PLEASE. 

Fellow Angeleno, at your service, touaregsand.

Downtown:

Major rejuventation project over the years. Probably started with the Art's district over 20 years ago. I lived in a loft there over 10 years ago, the are is still growing but the new lofts are more yuppy, if you can believe they still exist. So there are quite a few galleries around here and the rest of downtown, a few "artsy" coffee houses, etc...

Here's a link to a weekly newspaper called Los Angeles Downtown News.

Downtown LA is definitely being revitalized, hopefully for the better. There's Staples Center. Then a couple of years ago, the LA Cathedral opened, followed by the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Condos & lofts are being developed. Mind you, efforts are being made towards "affordable housing." More restaurants are coming into downtown, particularly restaurants under the Patina Group, headed by Joachim Splichal. In fact, he moved his flagship Patina restaurant from Melrose Blvd. to downtown, right next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Plans are being made to finally have a full-service grocery store in downtown LA. Currently, the Grand Avenue project is going to include a pedestrian district, connecting LA City Hall to the Music Center.

Chinatown has lost alot of it's vibrancy to SGV, but it's still what I would consider a walking and eating area.

You're right, touaregsand, LA Chinatown is not what it used to be, ever since the Chinese moved over to Monterey Park & Alhambra back in the 1980's.

Other walking & eating neighborhoods: Santa Monica 3rd St. Promenade; Westwood Village (back in the 1980's, not so much now); Old Town Pasadena (touristy?); Farmer's Market/The Grove (touristy?); Universal Citywalk (definitely touristy!); Beverly Hills (great for evening window shopping, dahlink); downtown Long Beach; Larchmont District; downtown Montrose; downtown Glendale; beautiful downtown Burbank. These are just off the top of my head. There are plenty of neighborhoods in the LA area. It's a matter of trying to find them and GETTING THERE!!

[mizducky]

D'oh! All these mentions of markets reminds me I need to mention Seattle's Pike Place Market. Yeah, it can get over-touristed, but if you go on a weekday the crowds are more manageable, and it's a helluva lotta food fun. My personal favorite restaurant in the Market is Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar, but there are bunches of others, from stallers selling walk-around street food to white-tablecloth dining experiences and all points in between.

Also forgot to mention Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, though that's been getting so gentrified in recent years that it's fast losing the hippy/artsy/funky vibe that made me like it so much.

[silverbrow]

Assuming this isn't limited to the US, I'd push hard for London. Not only are there the markets, such as Borough Market but Marylebone as well - which has recently grown with a whole number of foodie shops. If we're allowing a slightly wider remit and including restaurants and bars then Primrose Hill in London has three or four of the best pubs in London within striking distance of each other. The added addition of Primrose Hill itself means that you can now comfortably walk off all the food and drink.

[SuzySushi]

I'd have to add:

Any of the market streets in Paris, or the market streets/squares in the smaller cities & towns throughout France.

When we were living in a rental apartment in the Marais district, I loved shopping on rue Rambuteau/rue des Francs Bourgeois, which wasn't strictly speaking a market street as it wasn't pedestrian-only, but had a fine selection of local boulangeries, patisseries, charcuteries, produce markets, a gorgeous fish market, and a butcher shop where I bought fresh rabbit cut to order. By the middle of our stay, despite our broken French, we had become such regular customers that when my husband forgot his book in one of the charcuteries, the proprietress ran down the street after him to return it. It was also a revelation that there were additional service shops (laundromat, copy shop), inside the courtyards of apartment complexes. Further along rue des Francs Bourgeois toward the beautiful Place des Vosges are a number of tiny antiques stores that make for wonderful browsing.

[Fritz Brenner]

I resist the temptation to wave the flag for my home town, Vancouver ...

While I've only ever been twice, I find Portland to be a terrific walking city.  We usually stay in The Pearl district and then either walk or take the trolley downtown.  The Park Blocks are pretty great too ... especially the end that has the Farmer's Market (North?).  We're going back in July and I'm already looking forward to the ribs at Lowe's!

A.

←

of course, i agree, but i live here....

portland is a small-ish city, but it has plenty to offer, and most in biking/walking kind of distances. aside from the pearl district, the southeast, northeast, and southwest are areas of good eating.

[DTBarton]

My almost home town of Annapolis, Maryland offers a wide array of choices after parking the car once (not always an easy task, but patience pays off). Since it's the state capitol, there are enough expense accounts to help support a wide variety of offerings.

My favorites: Sushi at Joss, deli stuff at Chick and Ruth's, corned beef at Galway Bay (there are 2 other irish pubs and many bars if thirst is an issue), Asian at Yin Yankee,

slice of decent pizza at Mangia (although tourist priced). Countless other restaurants of all varieties and price ranges.

One sad note: The city market which for years has been the home to a somewhat grubby collection of local foods (good raw bar, fried chicken and potatoes, sandwiches, cheese shop, etc) is being taken over by Dean and DeLuca. The city made the decision to boot out the old shops after committing to the renovations required (and overdue) after the flooding from hurricane Isabel drenched the market. Jury's out, Dean and DeLuca may be a nice additon, but sorry to see the locals go even though the quality was hit and miss. Always enjoyed the oysters and conversation at the raw bar.

[katbert]

One of the things that there seems to be much less of in the US is the open air markets- PHL's Reading Terminal Market and the Italian Market are similar. In Amsterdam, the Albert Cuyp Market that runs for several blocks including cheese stands filled w/ wheels upon wheels of cheese, occasional frites carts, the seasonal raw herring+onion stands, and the fresh stroopwafel stand. mmm stroopwaffels. And in Vienna, the Naschmarkt with mini restaurants on one side and more beautiful fruit/veggie/bread/deli marketiness on the opposite side. Two blocks of food shopping fun, walkable although not super close to the center of town. Mmm, boar salami.

[elfin]

In addition to the Vietnamese and Chinatown neighborhoods, Chicago has a great Mexican area caled Pilsen and Little Italy-both west of the Loop. Greektown is basically only a cluster of restaurants.

[hazardnc]

How about the historic district of Charleston, SC? The town features a fabulous walking district and a slew of wonderful restaurants to boot.

[touaregsand]

I forgot to add Olvera Stree to my downtown LA list. It's not a neighborhood, but it's a slice of Mexican history in LA, which is important.

There is also Grand Central Market on Hill. Great place to stock up on Mexican/Central American pantry items, cheap produce and inexpensive food.

One more thing about K-Town (Korean town) it's definately one of the more 24 hour parts of town.

La Brea- South of Beverly (that area) a little block of some trendy and expensive Vintage shops, clothes and furniture, some food. This is the area where the "shitty" LA attitude becomes noticeable (mostly folks who aren't native Angelenos, by the way. they try too hard to be soooo LA )

West of La Brea there is Third Street and Beverly Blvd. Not exactly walking and eating, more like driving and stopping in sections to walk and eat. Mid range restaurants some fine dining. This is where you will probably run into a "celebrity" or two. Trendy shops, prices mid to expensive.

Melrose- Way back when, when I was in High School it wasn't as commercially developed. A few shops here and there. Vintage clothing stores. Now it's really for tourists, but they do have some cool vintage clothes shops which can also be found on Third and Beverly.

Fairfax- South of Olympic. If you're interested in Ethiopian, there is a little row of shops and restaurants.

In Beverly Hills there is another Beverly (can't remember if it's street or blvd, easy enough to find). It's a nice little walking and eating "node" in that area. You can find pretty inexpensive food and have coffee, people watch.

[touaregsand]

I'm tired of LA for now

Seoul-

Myong Dong-

It's in the center of the city. Pretty dense with restaurants and shops. This is where you find Lotte Department store. It's HUGE.

Shinsa Dong-

Colleg area. Fun street food, bars, clubs and of course restaurants.

Kangnam- Apkujung area

Uber trendy, filthy rich kids. Over priced restaurants, straining to be trendy. But hey, if you got the dough it can be fun

Of course the outdoor markets.

Namdaemun and Tongdaemun. These are really fun to go to. Lots of bargain shopping and produce.

Itaewon-

It's the place for foreigners. You'll find a concentration of foreign restaurants here. And a ton of bargains on clothing, footwear, luggage...

[joey madison]

Some of my favorites:

Bigger Cities:

Montreal - St. Laurent, Ste. Catherine, St. Ursle, or anywhere in the Plateau really

Chicago - in the loop near marina city, Clark in Andersonville

NYC - the Meatpacking district (cliche, I know), lower East side.

Paris - Montorgeuil, le Marais

Amsterdam - most of it

Berlin - Mitte, Kudam

Minneapolis - Uptown

Smaller Cities:

Madison, WI - State Street, Willy St. Neighborhood, Atwood, Monroe

Quebec, QC - Rue St. Jean, Grande Alle away from the old city, Bas-ville

Burlington, VT - Church Street, near the old mills in Winooski

Ottawa, ON - Byward Market