14 replies to this topic

[DonRocks]

Washington DC

Maryland

Virginia

Multiple Locations

[mktye]

I guess I should make some sort of post in that thread, if it exists...

Easiest Way to Determine If A Thread Exists for a Restaurant:

1. Go to the Restaurant Guide forum (here).
2. Go to appropriate geographical area (DC, MD, VA or Multiple Locations).
3. Look for name of restaurant (or use "Find in this Page" function in your browser).
4. If name is present and underlined, click on the name and it will open a window with the existing tread.
5. Post under the existing thread and save DonRocks some time in having to merge threads.

You can also use the board's search function, but the above method is usually quicker (especially if the restaurant name is common word such as "Dish").

[Jacques Gastreaux]

Easiest Way to Determine If A Thread Exists for a Restaurant:

1. Go to the Restaurant Guide forum (here).
2. Go to appropriate geographical area (DC, MD, VA or Multiple Locations).
3. Look for name of restaurant (or use "Find in this Page" function in your browser).
4. If name is present and underlined, click on the name and it will open a window with the existing tread.
5. Post under the existing thread and save DonRocks some time in having to merge threads.

You can also use the board's search function, but the above method is usually quicker (especially if the restaurant name is common word such as "Dish").

Or:

1. Click the "search" button at the top of the page

2. Enter the name of the restaurant you are interested in in the "search" field.

3. Under the "search where" section, click "title."

4. Click on Search.

[treznor]

The thing that I hate about search is that it just shows threads, not posts. Sure, if I'm searching on a restaurant name and it has it's own thread there's not a problem. But if, for instance, I'm just recalling that I remember saying something about a restaurant in the "So what are you doing" thread or someone made a passing reference to some restaurant in another thread, etc. then I have a hard time finding the post. Or if I remember someone saying something interesting about the risi bisi at Palena, searching on risi bisi only pulls up the Palena thread, but I don't want to have to go through all 26 pages to find the posts I'm thinking of... Am I missing something? It's about the only thing I've found that I don't like about the software that the forum uses.

[DonRocks]

Or if I remember someone saying something interesting about the risi bisi at Palena, searching on risi bisi only pulls up the Palena thread, but I don't want to have to go through all 26 pages to find the posts I'm thinking of... Am I missing something? It's about the only thing I've found that I don't like about the software that the forum uses.

1) Go to the Search on the top of the page here

3) Enter risi bisi in the Search by Keywords box on the top-left of the screen

3) Click the "Show results as posts" button under "Result Type" at the bottom-right of the screen

4) Click on "Perform the Search."

5) When you see the post you want, click on "Post Preview: #....." to go to the actual post.

[Meaghan]

Another easy way to look at the catalog of threads is in the low-fi version. Mostly, I just like to be anti-social and get exhausted of the blue. Go here and take a look at the various pages. You might not even know what you're looking for until you see all the back issues and what your competitors have done. If you see something with just two replies you can bet that there is room for discussion. Join me on the white pages!!

[hillvalley]

Or:

1. Click the "search" button at the top of the page

2. Enter the name of the restaurant you are interested in in the "search" field.

3. Under the "search where" section, click "title."

4. Click on Search.

For all you lurkers out there wondering where to find the search button, it is only available to registered members. If you would like to take advantage of the Search feature take a moment to register by clicking here*.

*Please note that you will not be able to take advantage of this feature until you are fully registered, which requires responding to the membership email I will send you.

[DonRocks]

For all you lurkers out there wondering where to find the search button, it is only available to registered members. If you would like to take advantage of the Search feature take a moment to register by clicking here*.

*Please note that you will not be able to take advantage of this feature until you are fully registered, which requires responding to the membership email I will send you.

This is the shortest distance between asterisks in the history of written language.

[DanCole42]

This is the shortest distance between asterisks in the history of written language.

No one-liners!

[ghbostick]

Please tell me if the restaurants are listed in any particular order. Also, where can I find Don's own review of a restaurant?

[DonRocks]

Please tell me if the restaurants are listed in any particular order. Also, where can I find Don's own review of a restaurant?

They're listed in terms of personal preference within each geographical category. For the reviews, you'll need to go into the threads themselves with a machete; for restaurants in italic and bold, I put a little one-line description in the Dining Guide itself (which is meant to be an ever-changing, quick-and-easy reference tool, not a source of detailed information).

[DonRocks]

Is the small font in the Washington, DC DIning Guide italic/bold restaurants large enough to easily read, specifically for cell phones? I can make it a notch bigger, but I really want to keep one line per restaurant for readability (although that's not critical).

This is a small, but important, issue. Please give me your feedback?

Cheers,
Rocks

Also, I found an example of a blatant error today: Simply Ayzen closed awhile back, and I had it listed as open. I REALLY need people to prod me when they see something such as this. Just send me a PM here - I read each and every one.

[MC Horoscope]

Yes, thanks! The small font is now readable on PC and laptop.

ETA: Also looks fine on a Droid cell phone.

[Ericandblueboy]

Why don't you come up with top 10, top 20, or top 30 list?

[DonRocks]

Why don't you come up with top 10, top 20, or top 30 list?

I'm not that confident in my accuracy in terms of quantifying the unquantifiable. Even the Bold, Italic, Normal "ratings" are (if you think about it) quite presumptuous, and intended only as a quick reference guide for people in a hurry - sort of like "shelf talkers" in a wine store for people who need to make a purchasing decision in a few seconds. The greatest compliment anyone could pay me would be not to put too much credence in those ratings - because that means I'm writing for an intelligent readership that uses me merely as a reference tool, and not as any type of final arbiter of quality.

Honestly, I could make a top 30 list in about an hour, but I don't want to because I think it would be wrong to do so. (I'll be more than happy to completely discredit other people's lists, however, if you'd like. )

In order, I think the most useful things I could do to the Dining Guide would be:

1) Keep combing through, looking for closures, new websites, etc. so what we have is accurate. Every time I start making a pass through, I get sidetracked and never end up finishing an entire guide. Not sure if people notice, but I keep little place markers so I can pick up where I left off. I also like what Rachel is doing in NYC with the @twitter addresses.
2) Take a certain number of "important" restaurants in Multiple Locations and duplicate their entries in the single-location guides (this is the single most-requested feature that we have - I hate the thought of replicating information (this is the DBA in me speaking), but people (justifiably) hate looking in two different places for dining ideas).
3) Classify by type of cuisine, city-wide (like I do in the Multiple Locations guide, except for everyone).
4) List recommended things to order even for restaurants that haven't quite made the italic rating.

And obviously, revisit as many restaurants as I can. I'm going to be ashamed to walk into The Oval Room, Citronelle, or The Inn at Little Washington next time I go - the problem here is obviously one of finances. It would be *so nice* to have a dining budget. I really, truly believe that I can do "this" better than anyone else, and I keep waiting for angel funding which hasn't appeared. Think about it: a simple dinner at the 10 most expensive restaurants in the area, dining solo, is probably about $2,500. Then there are the other 1,000 restaurants to keep track of. Yikes!

I'm always available for questions off the record for anyone who wants my impression of "the best Thai," etc. I'm also aware of the inherent limitations of one human being trying to cover such a large geographical area both in terms of food *and* drinks, both of which can be 50% of the bill so I think a critic absolutely must have expertise in both.

Anyway, enough of my yammering. Thanks for the suggestion, Eric - it was actually very flattering.