None of my Italian family ever lived in NY... or even close, NJ, Mass., etc. However... In the mid-50's an Italian family moved into my area from NY... bringing with them their own style of Italian food of which I got to experience, several times. It was outstanding. I can't say 'better' than my family because it was different. So both were great.

Then in the late 60's I visited NY and tried it there... fantastic. I think the Bronx, or NY, had the closest food to real Italian 'city' food... what I mean by that is the food you'd get in the major cities of Italy... and it's very different than what you get in the 'country' of Italy, which is where my family was from. More 'sauce' in the cities. More spices in the country.