The ongoing cultural war between Tucson and Phoenix has been taken from the streets to the failing web portal known as Yahoo!. The idea of having this conversation with a Phoenician makes the hair on the back of my neck stand. No one ever wins the discussion, but we do it anyway.
Leave it to Seattle author Christy Karras to write the Yahoo City Smackdown: Phoenix vs Tucson. Karras does a good job, and brings up some interesting facts that I didn’t know about both cities (Did you know that Orange is the New Black’s Taryn Manning is from Tucson? I fucking love that show). But was it too hard to find someone that actually resides in Arizona?
Specialty Cuisine: Tucson is as close as you’ll get to really authentic Mexican food north of the border. The Mexican here isn’t Southwestern; it’s Sonoran. And it’s often dirt cheap. Try Paco’s, El Sur, El Güero Canelo, BK’s, or Poco & Mom’s. Try Sonoran hot dogs, a local specialty: They’re wrapped in mesquite-smoked bacon, grilled, and topped with beans, onions, tomatoes, and condiments ranging from mayonnaise to Jalapeño salsa. Olé!
She talks about the modern streetcar, San Xavier, Sonoran dogs and UA sports, of course. I would have mistaken her as a Tucsonan if I didn’t know she was based out of the Emerald City. Honestly, she makes good arguments for both sides, and paints a pretty picture for the red headed step sister of the north.
Must-Do Nightlife: Bar-hopping along the Fourth Avenue Historic Shopping District (also home to an eclectic collection of locally owned shops and restaurants) is a time-honored tradition. Grab an “adult snowcone” at Che’s Lounge, pay homage to America’s largest tiki head at The Hut, or see a drag show at IBT’s. If nerd chic is your thing, head to Sky Bar: solar powered by day and an astronomy-themed bar by night, complete with telescopes.
Obviously, the Old Pueblo layeth the smacketh-down on Phoenix by taking 87% of the votes since Wednesday. Granted, there has been 1078 votes since writing this. We take our victories where we can get them.
Am I right, Tucson?
This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2014.
Title has nothing to do with anything stated in the article. Where do you find these ‘writers’?
Jake: The headline is pretty legit if I say so myself.
Jake’s last comment:
“It’s apparent that the list of applicants of writers and reviewers is as short as the sight of those who were (woefully) qualified for the positions.
If you don’t understand something that is foreign to you, why not conduct an interview. Hell, a few questions to the performers isn’t too far out of a journalists reach. Or so you’d think. The writing is atrocious and the journalistic integrity of this piece do nothing and definitely do not sell me at all. I mean, it did seem like that was the point of the piece in the end. Am I off base?
Geez.”
Your “crappy writers” argument is getting old, Karnas.
Ooh! The writer himself! Let’s make this memorable.
ALSO: Nice use of ‘investigative journalism’ in ‘finding’ my last comment (which was on-point). Nice use of words that weren’t used by me, as well (i.e. ‘Crappy’).
There is one category where Phoenix will win. Jobs. ….Real jobs beats “eclectic locally owned shops” and “cheap Mexican food” any day.
Notice Obama is not sending Central American illegals to Phoenix. Isn’t it nice to be an “Immigrant Welcoming Community”
Give the writer a break. This is a blog, not a newspaper article.
Jake reeks of Summer’s Eve, post use.
Fraser – yes, it’s nice to be in a place that understands that these are children, far away from home, who could really use some human decency right now.
Fraser can’t write a sentence without OBAMA being included in his rants. This is a simple news byte about two neighboring cities. Count on Fraser to disparage the place where he lives. Move your couch potato ass to Phoenix, then.
“Try Paco’s, El Sur, El Guero Canelo, BK’s, or Poco and Mom’s.”
Where, oh where, is my cherished El Minuto on this list?!
Christy Karras here. Thanks for your positive words; I appreciate the discussion. For the record: I’ve spent a lot of time in the Southwest and return often—and even wrote a book about the region. And I have friends in both Tucson and Phoenix who acted as my moles on the ground. So while I may live in Seattle (or maybe because I live in Seattle), my appreciation for Tucson and Phoenix is genuine.