Even in Houston, which is an exceptionally hot and humid city in the summer, and cold and humid in the winter, outdoor dining is ubiquitous across the city in all seasons. A popular restaurant down the street from me is outdoor-only and stays packed in the evenings year round. There is no dearth of outdoor dining in the US.

On monsoon days, or during periods of peak heat/cold? Yes, the outdoor table attendance is down, but rarely zero.

As others have stated though, outdoor dining in other cities is typically nothing at all like what the Atlantic is discussing in NYC. NYC wasn't built for outdoor dining, but it has nothing to do with being car-centric, or too hot/humid.

> Which means there are about 3 weeks in spring and fall when the sitting outside is as pleasant as conditioned air.

Highly subjective. I often find it more pleasant to sit outside for most of what I consider the warm part of the year, which includes summer. I eat lunch outside almost every day and love it.

You won't believe it, but in Asia outdoor dining is common AND it's quite humid. And bugs! Yet people keep doing it.