The Regretful Traveller

[darkstar965]

So I travel a fair amount to places near and sometimes far.  And, while I don't lose much sleep over it, I always feel a tinge of regret that I've done a terrible job posting about spots in other cities and countries.  I've posted some here in the "Intrepid Traveler." But only a very small percentage of all I could have shared about restaurants, other food purveyors and cafes all over the place.

Some of my excuse is because, right or wrong, I think of DR.com mostly as an incredible community focused on the greater DC area and not as much an information resource for rest-of-country or rest-of-world. To be sure, there is quite a lot of great content here about all those places. But, often after checking DR, I find myself using other sources to find good spots when on the road.

The bigger part of my excuse is time.  Simply can't post everything I'd like to.  And, because I know all of us members and our posts are really important to Don, that's why I've titled this thread as I have.

Now to only partly redeem myself, here's a big download of stuff (a bit of it maybe even helpful to someone!) on Austin, Texas.

[bookluvingbabe]

I'm guilty of this too. Does anyone really care about the so-so food I eat each year in Daytona beach? Or when I visit the in-laws in CT? I do need to do a write up of my trip to Miami (Yardbird and the insanely expensive cab ride there!)

[porcupine]

I don't know if you're asking rhetorically, but someone might care, someday.  This is the first place I look for recommendations (both places to go and places to avoid) when I travel, largely because I've gotten to (virtually) know so many people here.

Or, you could always wait until someone posts the "where do I eat in Daytona Beach?" request.

[darkstar965]

I agree with Porcupine. This site has a big enough following that pretty likely "someone [will] care" to learn what you know.  But I say that with some hypocrisy since, as I fessed up, I've neglected to post a ton of places on my travels.  That said, one of the more obvious reasons why some other websites are bigger or better funded is because they are much more comprehensive beyond one city.  The content isn't nearly as good or reliable but, in some cases, it's all there is in terms of options with national and international scope covering all the out-of-the-way places.  Or, you have to hunt for DR-like, higher quality, area-specific blogs and websites but that's more time consuming.  It's inordinately difficult for any business to build really wide geographic scope with consistently high quality. It doesn't exist. Chowhound is probably closest but way short of the mark.  Even within specific cities or areas, it's often the case that there isn't a very high quality source of restaurant insight (very much including the local newspaper). That's what makes DR so unique for the DC area imho.

[lackadaisi]

I don't know if you're asking rhetorically, but someone might care, someday.  This is the first place I look for recommendations (both places to go and places to avoid) when I travel, largely because I've gotten to (virtually) know so many people here.

Or, you could always wait until someone posts the "where do I eat in Daytona Beach?" request.

I always check here first, and I've found some real winners as a result.  (Joe H pointed me to a great anniversary spot in Dayton that I never ever would have found otherwise!).  But I too am guilty of not posting about far away places (or even close by places over the past couple years).

[Sundae in the Park]

I always check here first, and I've found some real winners as a result.  

Same here!  Also, I appreciate tips on where NOT to go, especially when Those Other Sites are recommending them.  I'd say anything outstandingly bad or good would be very helpful to potential travelers.  It is a lot harder to summon the will to post on the mediocre or unmemorable stuff.

[ktmoomau]

I try to post about a lot of my trips, even trips to see my parents or to small little remote places in WV because you just never know.  And sometimes when people want to know about Annapolis, Westminster, Deep Creek, Davis, Morgantown, Grant Co, etc, I know.  I try to respond to a lot of the help needed both here and Chow.  I find where not to go helpful as well!  But I miss a lot of my day to day stuff in DC (I have probably been to Taqueria Poblano and Zoe's Kitchen 5-6 times that I haven't posted about).  It's all what you can manage so don't stress!  But I do tend to check here first, then Chow, etc.  I like being able to ask someone a follow up question here and have a good conversation.

BettyJoan tends to be a lot of places I go, for example, and I find a lot of her posts really helpful!

[cheezepowder]

Whenever I'm going on a trip, I check this forum first!   It's overwhelming to search the internet for restaurant tips about another city so it's easier for me to start by reading the threads here.

For example, I found the San Diego thread to be very helpful for my trip.  I managed to report back on my trip in the San Diego thread to return the favor, though I admit I don't always have time to post about my other trips.

[darkstar965]

You know what? Inspired by some of the postings to this topic, I went to place in another city to which I'm travelling this week and LOVED it.  Wouldn't have known about it were it not for The Intrepid Traveller. Will write about it and link here within a few days.