And I purposefully did not say that all New Yorkers do this. Most New Yorkers I know are delightful people. I have lived an awful lot of places, and without exception they have each had a vocal minority who proclaimed their place’s superiority in some regard. It is amusing how easy it is to do that and how often they are flat out delusional.
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I read the Atlantic article. It does not contradict my position. I could not read the Business Insider article.
I do not claim that the bagel shape, from pretzels or whatever, was invented in Manhattan. But the Manhattan bagel, made by Bagel Bakers Local 338, used
high-gluten flour, mixed with malt syrup, salt, water and yeast, using a zealously guarded recipe
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagel_Bakers_Local_338)
High gluten flour from American hard wheat would not have been available in Poland. Local 338 created the New York bagel, the bagel that is almost impossible to find these days.
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… in NYC, yes I’d agree, but I think that may have something to do with instinct on where to eat or not eat one.
Under-filling is probably tied for me. I want a lobster roll, not a roll with lobster garnish.
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Yes, that’s a ripoff lobster roll, which is distinct (in my book) from a bad lobster roll. It also comes in “overpriced.”
I need to hone my lobster bisque skills, because I keep ordering that in places that have no business making it, and I have suffered the consequences.
Also
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We’ve been here before
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Simit and koulouri have been around for ages, too.
" There are other breads that are both similarly shaped and bear the trace of Arab influence. Girde naan, a bread which looks identical to the present-day bagel that’s still baked by the Muslim Uigurs of northwestern China, is another possible descendant of ka’ak, given that Islam flourished in China during the Middle Ages, when Arab maritime traders had a monopoly on the spice trade.
And simit, the Turkish “sesame bagel,” has a similar story. In the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks were the dominant power across Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. During that time, their court cuisine relied on Kitab al-Tabikh, which, after being translated by Muhammed bin Mahmud Şirvani, the court physician of Sultan Murad II, and embellished with a few recipes of his own, formed the core of the first Ottoman cookbook.****
The common thread between these similarly shaped breads, of course, is their proximity to spheres of Arab influence, whether they were trade routes or areas conquered by Islamic empires. In essence, obwarzanek, tarallo, girde naan, simit, and bagels are examples of culinary fusion, which is as old as cuisine itself."
I’m not sure whether the a simit or koulouri is common in Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia.
It certainly is a common street food throughout Greece and Turkey, among Christians, Muslims and Jews living in Greece and Turkey.
I’m going to call it an Ottoman Empire food. Common throughout the former Ottoman Empire.
The spices found in food in Turkey and eastern Greece are a result of being at the end of the Silk Route. I think the entire group of peoples and cultures along the Silk Route contributed to the foods, and it’s simplistic to boil it down to Arabic influence.
Of course, YMMV and your opinion may vary. 
That was the author’s opinion, not mine.
I think exchange happens in both directions. But sometimes one is more forceful, by way of invasion and ruling power.
Still, there are limitations on ingredients and methods that result in variations, palate preferences that change the nature of the original, and so on.
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I think we all do this to a degree, eh? 
I stand by my assertion that many NYers view this little spot at the end of the Hudson River as the center of everything. Exhibit 1, cover of the New Yorker from 1976 when the city was not a place many wanted to be (see bankruptcy, blackouts, abandoned buildings, son of Sam). With all that the sense of NYC as being the only place worth being at is an interesting psychological study.
I had a professor in grad school proudly declare he had never been west of the Hudson River. Didn’t see the need. Was quite the jerk.
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My PIC’s college buddy and dear friend of ours, born & raised in NYC (& died there far too young of cancer about a year ago), had exactly this attitude. Couldn’t possibly fathom living anywhere else. But he was hilarious about it. Huge food lover, too.
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The Los Angeles equivalent is “I don’t even go east of the 405…” (usually said w/ all the Santa Monica/Bev. Hills-style disdain one can muster)
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Well I’m sitting here in BH right now which is east of the 405 lol…but yes…I’ve heard “AWOL”…“always west of Lincoln” – not my bag for sure in our city
NYC is a fabulous special place to be proud of…
A great iconic photo by Bob Gruen, who has a great portfolio of rock photos.
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Me, neither. I do like to get out of town. But not quite as much as I like coming back into town.
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I would love to live there if I could afford it, for sure. But visiting is nice, too 
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I’ve visited NYC only once in my lifetime, during the pre-Giuliani days, when Times Square was all adult theaters and 42nd was (as I remember it, being about 10-11 at the time) just an endless line of dudes running three card monty games.
The only activities I really remember from the trip were going to the tops of the WTC, Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. We couldn’t walk up to the torch at that point, but we COULD climb all the way into her head and look out the windows in her crown. The food I remember is pizza slices, street dogs, and pretzels. Most of our time was spent w/ relatives in Scarsdale and then driving west into Amish country for my parents to go antiquing.
I could never live in NYC, or the east coast in general. I have been a west coaster since '94 and am now too soft and delicate for real weather.
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