New York Dems in Denver
A Denver-based blog has a new feature - a field guide to different states’ Dem conventioneers, as well as a travel guide to Denver.
The convention isn’t until August, but here’s the entry for New York’s delegation. A taste:
Total Number of Delegates: 282
Pledged: 232
Unpledged: 50How to Recognize a New York Delegate:
After arguing about food and their governor’s taste in call girls, New Yorkers spend a lot of time arguing about the personality split that divides upstate from downstate. The constant bickering and knocking of heads has even caused new governor David Paterson to call the state legislature the “least deliberative and most dysfunctional in the nation”! Well, after watching decades of New York-based television shows, from Facts of Life to Sex and the City, every other American is painfully aware of every personality trait of every character type of every Empire State resident. We know that downstaters live in deluxe apartments in the sky, that hot dogs make them lose control, and that for upstaters, the world never seems to be livin’ up to their dreams. And we also know that downstaters dress like they live in London and wear a lot of black, while upstaters dress like they live in Wisconsin and wear a lot of plaid and gingham.
I take umbrage with that. Ever upstate community has its own stereotypical uniform. Buffalo’s involves Sabres and Bills gear. Possibly Zubaz.
This, however, is pretty spot-on:
To spot a New Yorker, look for someone who is arguing. They love to argue, not because they are always right, but because everyone else is always wrong. About everything. All of the time. They are the original multi-taskers and will be the delegates who are trying to “hail cabs” and “get some service over here” while telling all within earshot about how much better everything is back in New York. They will also be the most curious delegates in Denver and won’t be shy to ask questions. Their most frequent queries will be, “Where’s the manager?” and “Do you expect me to eat this?”
What should New Yorkers do in Denver?
For New York delegates, the state of Colorado will only seem like a lot of dirt piles and thin, dry air. And in truth, all the scenic wonders of the Rocky Mountains combined aren’t as spectacular as Niagara Falls (which can be enjoyed both before and after with a plate of America’s best hot wings at the Anchor Bar in the nearby city of Buffalo). The city of Denver, on the other hand, will not disappoint. The favorable impression starts at the airport. After arrival at the spectacularly spacious Denver International Airport, it will be impossible for a New Yorker to ever refer to La Guardia or J.F.K. as anything other than “a freakin’ nightmare.” Downtown Denver will seem remarkably quaint and insufferably clean. The homeless are absolutely unnecessary here but choose their vocation to provide cosmopolitan photo-ops for high-school art students and European visitors. The new Hamilton wing of the Denver Art Museum will make even the most uncultured upstater “dizzy” with delight. Hang on to that handrail in Daniel Libeskind’s vestibule of vertigo! Savvy downstaters might think that it’s all a cover up for some glaring civic inadequacy, but in truth, it only gets better. Denver is home to what is arguably America’s best mall. Just get in a cab at the front door of the Adam’s Mark Hotel and say, “Take me to Cherry Creek!” The lavishly appointed shopping center is in the heart of Denver. It’s anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and Nordstrom and features a total of 160 renowned shops that range from Urban Outfitters to Burberry and Tiffany & Co. The surrounding neighborhood is packed with upscale shops (don’t miss Filson Denver) and food that only seems to taste better in the thin dry air. Gulp it down, New Yorkers: You’ll need your strength for that trip back through LaGuardia.
So, buck up New York delegates. Seems like there’s civilized life west of the Mississippi after all.
One question that isn’t answered, however: where can you get good (read: New York style) pizza?
Photo courtesy Kaptain Krispy Kreme @ Flickr
lulu Says:May 14th, 2008 at 9:26 am
As someone who lived outside of Denver for 5 years I feel the need to clarify a few things in this post. The food in Colorado SUCKS (the exception is their Mexican food which is fabulous, but everything else is boring classic American pub fare and they don’t serve burgers rare - grrr).
I am glad the writer thinks a shopping mall = culture, because that is about all they have - I guess they have a cool museum now, yippee.
I loved living in Colorado, but the food and the “culture” were perpetually disappointing.
eliz. Says:May 14th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I went to a magazine conference in Denver, and found it one of the weirdest, emptiest downtowns I’ve ever been in. There were 30 bail bonds places within close walking distance to my hotel and not much else.
The museum was fantastic when I finally made it there–a huge section of downtown was blocked off by chain link because of a festival that was going on and that made getting anywhere very difficult. They needed to have secured entrances to the festival so that people could be patted down and scanned with metal detectors before entering the festival. (You know, like they do at Allentown.)
Denver is fine, but … not that great. I recommend the museum highly, and we ate at a very good Mexican restaurant. Nice bookstore: Tattered Cover.
ShelbSpeaks Says:May 14th, 2008 at 11:55 am
New York Post State Editor, Fred Dicker tells Newsmax that New York Democrats are “very nervous” about Barack Obama becoming the party presidential nominee.
Dan Says:May 15th, 2008 at 1:11 am
FWIW, I lived in Denver for four years, and what eliz. says about its downtown can’t be further from the truth. “Bail Bond Row” is one block at the far south end of downtown. 16th Street and Lodo more than make up for it, with plenty of foot traffic from sunup to 2:00 AM, when the bars close. Even on a Sunday afternoon, there will still be far more people on the 16th Street Mall than on Main Street in Buffalo during the businest point of a weekday lunch hour.
Yes, if you use Buffalo-style cuisine as the standard for what you consider to be quality food, Denver will be certain to disappoint. Good food in Colorado tends to lean towards very high-end New American cuisine (check out what are some of the most pretentious restaurant reviews in the country in the weekly Westword freesheet) and obscure ethnic (Ethiopian aplenty, cuisines from various South American countries, regional Mexican and Central American cuisine, etc.). Denver also absolutely pwns Buffalo when it comes to the sheer amount and quality of locally-based brewpubs and microbreweries.
Miss home? You can still find some good old-school southern Italian food in rapidly gentrifying northwest Denver (my old stomping grounds). You can also get Buffalo-style pizza at Luciano’s Pizza and Wings on Broadway. It’s the real deal.