"Better than Paris": Corby Kummer touts Boston's outdoor dining amid North End fee controversy

On Monday’s “Boston Public Radio,” food writer Corby Kummer made a boldest assertion when he declared the city’s outdoor dining as “better than Paris.”

Kummer, a senior editor for The Atlantic, admitted the take was likely to spark controversy. His reasoning? That “people in Boston are nicer, and they make the entire experience pleasanter.”

“It’s just better to be in Boston in general” he added.

The subject was broached during a back-and-forth on the question of $7,500 outdoor dining fees for restaurant owners in Boston’s North End. Kummer said he understood the reasoning for the fees, but wasn’t sure North End restaurant owners alone ought to foot the bill.

“The city of Boston should say ‘[here are] exactly the problems we ran into. Here are possible solutions. Here’s what the money can go towards to remedy all of this, and have you got better ideas’ – rather than just coming out with what looks like a penalty if you happen to be in the North End.”

Kummer is the executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.