The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees—teams from America’s two most populous cities—are currently facing off in the World Series, which is a big deal if you like baseball.
But if you don’t much care for America’s pastime, perhaps because the games are too long, or because the snacks are utterly mediocre compared to football’s? (And don’t you dare bring up Cracker Jacks. I refuse to acknowledge Cracker Jacks!) Well, then I advise you to look at the World Series through a difference lens. It isn’t just a string of baseball games…but the latest chapter in a longstanding beef.
New York and Los Angeles have been in a big you know what-swinging contest since time immemorial. There was Alvy’s remark in Annie Hall that he didn’t want to live in a city “where the only cultural advantage is that you can make a right turn on a red light”; all that sniping between Tupac and Biggie; the two-episode Sex and the City arc in which a stint at The Standard on Sunset Boulevard sent Carrie running back to Manhattan; and, after chasing her dreams on that same island, Joan Didion taking a final look around, saying “goodbye to all that,” and heading to LA.
So, this World Series? It’s not just basebell. It’s a tally on the board, an invisible hand guiding the minds of future generations, an undetectable breeze swaying the great pendulum of power—and it got us thinking about other major East and West Coast face-offs. In the battle of the tabloids, for instance, who wins: the New York Post or TMZ? And what enclave can claim the ultimate hipster crown, Bushwick or Silver Lake?
After coming up with 18 hyper-specific rivals (real or imagined), we asked our bicoastal Vogue contributors to weigh in on which city wins each category. Some are New Yorkers who moved to Los Angeles; some, Angelenos who moved to New York; and others aren’t sure which city will ultimately hold their heart. But they’ve all lived in—and paid taxes in!—both.
Below, the results. Definitive? Definitely not. Controversial? Definitely so.
Bougie Grocery Store
The Teams: Citarella v. Erewhon
The Winner: Erewhon
The Reasoning: In the only clean sweep of these matchups, every single respondent acknowledged the absolute grocery store supremacy of Erewhon. Hailey Bieber smoothies, buffalo cauliflower, and Balenciaga merch—even the most ardent New Yorkers have gotta admit they’re jealous of LA’s unlimited access to ripe avocados.