This is a really fun exercise; a rare example of something that's "data-centric" without being soulless.
I think it's fascinating how it illustrates weirdness about how Americans think about and categorize "ethnic" food. For example, the author's analysis of Google data shows Glendale, CA ranks #1 for "Highest prevalence of Mediterranean Restaurants." But I am nearly certain the majority of these, given Glendale's demographics, are in fact Armenian or Persian restaurants. Both Iran and Armenia are of course quite far from the Mediterranean region, but for whatever reason (rice? flat breads? grilled things on a stick?) have gotten lumped in with some Americanized, genericized conception of "the Mediterranean" that's indistinguishable from "the Middle East." I would imagine you'd find the same thing happening on Yelp etc.
There seems to be some correlation with how NIMBY a city is, and its access to diversified food options. (And probably entrepreneurship in general?)
Similarly, I would expect that the greater the dependence a city has on cars, the less diverse their food options are (leaning heavily into fast food.)
Houston standing out makes sense though. Despite its insane car infrastructure, I believe there are comparatively few restrictions on property use.
Carrollton has a number of what I call east Asian malls. All kinds of great Asian restaurants with food options from very Americanized to highly regional.
Carrolton has a kind of KSuburbia. There is a bunch of Korean stuff spread over a huge area, mixed in with some Taiwanese, Japanese and Chinese places, with some big concentrations in shopping centers.
There are many interesting restaurants up there. There is a place that flies in live fish from Korea and has them swimming around in tanks and a place with some remarkable method of preparing plain white rice -- in special bowls -- that gives it a phenomenal quality and texture. There are also a lot of interesting desert and coffee places with things like specialty walnut-based sweet snacks, corn lattes, and green tea grown in Korea.
There are a lot of good, more standard KTown things like Korean BBQ and Paris Baguette, as well. One of Carrollton's Koreatowns is the old Japantown in this area (the Japantown has since dispersed and become JSuburbia -- a lot of it is to the north and east) and you can find a Daiso there as a sort of commemoration.
If you're used to the Koreatowns, Japantowns, or Chinatowns of LA, San Francisco or other large American cities, then the layout and expanse of the Carrolton situation is novel and surprising. There is always plenty of parking. The restaurants are huge and spacious and the grocery stores are gigantic. They are sometimes concentrated into shopping centers with enormous parking lots that let out onto three and four lane roads which bridge over or connect directly to the freeway. It's a very Texan experience in some ways.
Some of the best Thai I’ve ever had outside of Thailand and Malaysia was in Allentown PA. Not sure that would get a hit since there are so many Thai places (by design).
Now that Google Maps has the AI summary for restaurants, I wonder if this can be queried in the API? It would probably have the keywords for Xinjiang food or whatever the OP wants to analyze. Checking two Central Asian restaurants I've been to in my area, one is tagged "Restaurant" and one is tagged "Pan-Asian Restaurant", so not very illuminating. However, in their AI summaries both have keyword "Central Asian" and one even says more specifically "Kyrgyz"
We've got a remarkable number of West African restaurants in Laurel, MD. (Not East African, like they do in DC down the road.) I'm becoming quite the connoisseur of the differences between Ivoirien, Senegalese, Gambian, and several other types of Jollof.
The town is known for its African American and Central American populations, but there's clearly a large African immigrant population that I just don't otherwise see.
11 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 34.3 ms ] threadI think it's fascinating how it illustrates weirdness about how Americans think about and categorize "ethnic" food. For example, the author's analysis of Google data shows Glendale, CA ranks #1 for "Highest prevalence of Mediterranean Restaurants." But I am nearly certain the majority of these, given Glendale's demographics, are in fact Armenian or Persian restaurants. Both Iran and Armenia are of course quite far from the Mediterranean region, but for whatever reason (rice? flat breads? grilled things on a stick?) have gotten lumped in with some Americanized, genericized conception of "the Mediterranean" that's indistinguishable from "the Middle East." I would imagine you'd find the same thing happening on Yelp etc.
9 Starbucks and 4 Dunkin’s 6 McDonalds, 3 Burger Kings and 3 Wendy’s 4 Taco Bells and 2 Chipotles 9 Subways 3 Dominos and 2.5 Chick-Fil-A’s
Similarly, I would expect that the greater the dependence a city has on cars, the less diverse their food options are (leaning heavily into fast food.)
Houston standing out makes sense though. Despite its insane car infrastructure, I believe there are comparatively few restrictions on property use.
Highest prevalence of Korean Restaurants:
Carrollton, Texas 14.67%
Federal Way, Washington 12.45%
Santa Clara, California 8.74%
Garden Grove, California 8.20%
Irvine, California 7.75%
Fullerton, California 7.46%
Ann Arbor, Michigan 5.14%
Honolulu, Hawaii 5.13%
Killeen, Texas 4.40%
Torrance, California 4.25%
There are a few Korean chaebols with offices in DFW. Samsung Electronics and Hyosung are the largest.
There are many interesting restaurants up there. There is a place that flies in live fish from Korea and has them swimming around in tanks and a place with some remarkable method of preparing plain white rice -- in special bowls -- that gives it a phenomenal quality and texture. There are also a lot of interesting desert and coffee places with things like specialty walnut-based sweet snacks, corn lattes, and green tea grown in Korea.
There are a lot of good, more standard KTown things like Korean BBQ and Paris Baguette, as well. One of Carrollton's Koreatowns is the old Japantown in this area (the Japantown has since dispersed and become JSuburbia -- a lot of it is to the north and east) and you can find a Daiso there as a sort of commemoration.
If you're used to the Koreatowns, Japantowns, or Chinatowns of LA, San Francisco or other large American cities, then the layout and expanse of the Carrolton situation is novel and surprising. There is always plenty of parking. The restaurants are huge and spacious and the grocery stores are gigantic. They are sometimes concentrated into shopping centers with enormous parking lots that let out onto three and four lane roads which bridge over or connect directly to the freeway. It's a very Texan experience in some ways.
The town is known for its African American and Central American populations, but there's clearly a large African immigrant population that I just don't otherwise see.