Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

1. The Patriots are lucky they have won 18 straight - they've lost a couple of close games, including one to the Giants. Not that I'm a Giants fan....

2. Boston DOES have good Italian and Chinese food compared to most of the country, and I would say almost New York quality if not comparable can be found. Santarpio's Pizza in East Boston... that's great stuff right there.

3. Neither city wins the hot dog war, my hometown (Washington DC) wins that one - half-smokes from Ben's Chili Bowl - also great stuff. Other than that, Washington's culinary scene is rather pathetic, however, that's their one area to shine.

4. New York wins the deli and bagel war by FAR. I'm surprised, actually, at how bad these are in the Boston area - even where I live (Brighton/Brookline/Newton area) - there's not much selection and the only reason any of these places are good at all is because the pastrami is imported from NYC.

5. Boston cream pie, clam chowder, and lobster rolls - I would hardly call those "slim pickins'" - they're actually some of the best regional American cuisine there is.

SO - my final analysis - both cities have a lot going for them and I would say, along with Chicago and San Francisco and maybe another couple of cities (Providence included), they both have among the best food in the country,