A Hipster's Guide to Santo Domingo

[william webster]

Now I think I am catching on. Saying the population is 1,000,000 is misleading because people will think it is 1,000,000 hipster rich folks?

No Bird -- No.

It's inaccurate reporting to start with....wrong population cited.
It misleads the reader about the size of SD---not 1M but maybe 4m... big diffy diffy

If you think the writer missed the boat on the population,
how much faith have you got in the reports of the various venues he covered ?? Huh ??

The who;e thing falls apart in my eyes...
Not unusual to start with a headline and write the story to fit the bill....

instead of the reverse... report accurately and apply a headline./ title

not saying he did that but .....

 

[bigbird]

No Bird -- No.

It's inaccurate reporting to start with....wrong population cited.
It misleads the reader about the size of SD---not 1M but maybe 4m... big diffy diffy,,,,,,,,,,,

If you think the writer missed the boat on the population,
how much faith have you got in the reports of the various venues he covered ?? Huh ??

The who;e thing falls apart in my eyes...
Not unusual to start with a headline and write the story to fit the bill....

instead of the reverse... report accurately and apply a headline./ title

not saying he did that but .....

Guess that all depends on how you look at what is and what is not Santo Domingo. Anyone who lives just west of the airport all the way to the autopista toll plaza heading towards Santiago will say they live in Santo Domingo. Maybe if he used Santo Domingo Centro or Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional would have been better?

As previously mentioned there are four Santo Domingos. If you group them all together than the population would be 3.4 mil but if you take just plain Santo Domingo would not the population be 1 mil.

Keep in mind there is SD este, oeste, norte, and DN.

 

[bigbird]

Santo Domingo - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Domingo

In 2010, its population was counted as 965,040, rising to 2,908,607 when its surrounding metropolitan area was included. The city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional ("D.N.", "National District"), itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province.

That being said I can see where the author is correct as his article had absolutely nothing to do with the surrounding metropolitan areas. No hipster is going to hang out in SD este.

 

[hard times doug]

i remember times sitting in Vesuvio and watching the Ferraris and Maseratis rolling by...the DR does have its upscale side. the issue is the discrepancy between the people who have had access and exposure, and those who have not.

I miss eating at Vesuvio. Always wanted the real reason it closed even though it had gone downhill over the last couple of years.

 

[william webster]

Now you've got it Bird.... exactly the point....

But that's like talking about South Beach in Miami and just measuring the neighborhood... not Miami.

Technically, yes but when Sto Dom is mentioned, I doubt many break it into the 4 pieces we're talking about

Anyway....
I bet the Tourismo dept would use a larger number than 1M to advertise the capital....
Makes it more attractive to some - a bigger number

 

[AlterEgo]

I miss eating at Vesuvio.

Me too.

 

[Caonabo]

Actually , saying 1,000,000 is an injustice to the reading audience (and to RD)

It's misleading at best - if not flat out innacurate

Ah, but now you have learned a simple trait of the so called millennials (21-35), for better or worse. Fact checking does not enter the equation in many situations. They are not sticklers for details as such. This conflict is global within this demographic.

 

[Caonabo]

I miss eating at Vesuvio. Always wanted the real reason it closed even though it had gone downhill over the last couple of years.

Vesuvio closed because they could not maintain their high quality of product and service. It was a beautiful experience that succumbed to modern pressures.

 

[william webster]

Ah, but now you have learned a simple trait of the so called millennials (21-35), for better or worse. Fact checking does not enter the equation in many situations. They are not sticklers for details as such. This conflict is global within this demographic.

Hahaha
I have two of them.... just turning 33&31....
Girls.... my two are huge sticklers....world travelers too...
One 4.5 yrs in Australia, now London...just bought a house after 3 yrs

But generally they are ... would frivolous be right ?
Other than the house, the U.K. Girl just floats on trips... good job but heavy travel

 

[Caonabo]

You are blessed sir. May I recommend a bottle of J.P. Wiser's Dissertation for you.

 

[DRob]

Yes, Vesuvio was probably my favorite restaurant when we first stumbled on it back in 2002. Great service, ambian...

Ok, time out. They did NOT just show a ham and cheese sandwich as an example of "better dining" in Santo Domingo!

Oh, Lord....

 

[LTSteve]

Not many, but the author doesn't know that.

How many hipsters are in the barrio?

You didn't know that it is now hip to live in the barrio. This is according to Hipster's are us.

 

[the gorgon]

Yes, Vesuvio was probably my favorite restaurant when we first stumbled on it back in 2002. Great service, ambian...

Ok, time out. They did NOT just show a ham and cheese sandwich as an example of "better dining" in Santo Domingo!

Oh, Lord....

it was awesome back in 1989 when i discovered it. the desserts were without peer..

 

[cobraboy]

The article is nonsense from the first mention of 1,000,000 population.

If you didn't know better you'd think Santo Domingo is a cool, hip medium-sized town where hipsters can free range in luxury on the cheap.

Reality could not be further from the truth.

 

[Garyexpat]

it was awesome back in 1989 when i discovered it. the desserts were without peer..

My son and I went through dive school with the Pastry chef (who was also the owners daughter)

I always preferred Pepperoni on Ave Sarasota, another one gone.

 

[mobrouser]

....Ok, time out. They did NOT just show a ham and cheese sandwich as an example of "better dining" in Santo Domingo!

Oh, Lord....

That Ham and Cheese comes with some very good ratings on Trip Advisor.

 

[TropicalPaul]

I would like to disagree. I've noticed over the last few years how the Dominican middle class has been growing in size in Santo Domingo. There are some very cool bars and places to eat in the Colonial Zone, and these aren't all packed out with Vicinis and Bonettis, there are plenty of middle class Dominicans. The examples in this article are not great - I assume whoever wrote it didn't do much research - but places like Bio bar on Sanchez, Espiral or Mamey on Mercedes are very trendy, by anyone's standards. And regarding the hotels, the Sheraton, Catalonia, Nicolas d'Ovando and a lot of the boutique hotels are currently in a bit of a price war so you can stay pretty much anywhere for about US$ 100 plus tax. In Miami it costs you about US$ 40 for overnight parking and another US$ 40 for breakfast, before you even think about the cost of the room. So this is a great option for a weekend getaway.

Santo Domingo does attract a lot of US visitors coming over for the weekend. I own a hotel and this is a big part of our business, seriously anything this type of article can do to help promote that is entirely welcome. Even if the population stats are incorrect, the general message is one that we really need to get out there.

 

[TropicalPaul]

Regarding Vesuvio, I think it had its day. I went several years ago and it was excellent. I went just before it closed a few times, and the food was not great and certainly not worthy of the price. Standards have improved considerably in restaurants and I just think they needed to up their game. I walked past it last night, the building is now all boarded up and looking very sad indeed.

 

[2dlight]

I've been to Barra Payan(great ham and cheese sandwiches) several times in the evening and have yet to see any Hipsters there; it's in an area where you don't walk alone at night. The location of the Alpargateria, along with other "Hip" establishments there, across from Iglesia de Las Mercedes is a traffic nightmare on weekends. All the hipsters must gather there at the same time; they must be using all that fandangled millenial social media stuff to coordinate. I've dined at Pata 'E Palo and next door at De Angelo and din't get any Hipster vibes man; now I feel cheated. I'm buying a silk shirt, black sharkskin slacks, shiny black loafers(worn without stocks of course) and bathing in some intoxicating cologne so I can check out the Hipster bar scene in the Colonial Zone tonight. Perhaps I'll buy one of the hip straw hats to cover my rapidly receding hair line since I've unknowingly slid into the Centennial Zone. I agree with those who think the writer would have benefitted from Reading DR1.

 

[the gorgon]

Regarding Vesuvio, I think it had its day. I went several years ago and it was excellent. I went just before it closed a few times, and the food was not great and certainly not worthy of the price. Standards have improved considerably in restaurants and I just think they needed to up their game. I walked past it last night, the building is now all boarded up and looking very sad indeed.

spot on analysis. in the days before the internet, it was top shelf. with exposure to higher standards, it could not have survived without upping the game.