Archives for: October 2010
The Importance of the Restaurant or Wine Critic...
October 27th, 2010
| The Importance of the Restaurant or Wine Critic... and what does the future hold?  The first professional restaurant review may have been in the New York Times in 1859, when the editor in chief told an unnamed reporter to "go and dine" in order that he might provide an account of his experiences. We've come a long way since then... And now, with the Internet has come the huge (and seemingly unstoppable) rise of consumer reviews, blogs, opinions; on anything and everything. As always, food, travel & wine are favorite topics. Millions of foodies (and travelers and wine lovers) are now civilian critics, letting Chowhound, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Citysearch, and other sites in on their recent experiences. Further adding to this global change, print publications are in crisis, reducing journalistic staff, and making professional reviews fewer and further between. Will professional reviewers become extinct? And what the difference between a professional review and a consumer review anyway? Jeff Cox, who had been working independently as a writer since 1981, including as a restaurant reviewer, describes his view on the differences between a professional reviewer and a consumer reviewer: "When the restaurant reviewer is a journalist (someone with a degree in journalism), then the review is an account of the reviewer’s experience with no agenda behind it. It can be trusted to be impartial. That makes it valuable to the restaurant as a reality check to see where improvement may be needed, and to the customer, who can be assured that his or her experience will reflect what the reviewer found." On consumer sites such as Yelp, Jeff says, "They are interesting and entertaining, but not necessarily reflective of the restaurant. More reflective of the writer’s state of mind, prejudices, etc. These people aren’t trained journalists." And I can certainly see that in many (although certainly not all) of the Yelp type posts appearing daily throughout social media. Many posters who seem to have an ax to grind with a particular business or some other pet peeve to air, and in many posts it feels quite personal. Jeff states, "Restaurant reviewing requires accuracy, truth, and honesty. You are dealing with people’s livelihoods. The reviewer should embody the standards of real journalism and tell the truth as he or she sees it, always be fair, and never have an agenda. In other words, even if I don’t like the restaurateur, I should still rate the restaurant fairly." And I think that's what many business owners and managers fear about public consumer reviews, the lack of objectivity and the fear that one person's opinion may have a direct effect on their business - and their livelihood. Will the professional restaurant review become a thing of the past? Perhaps not, as "community journalism" seems to be gaining ground. According to The Project For Excellence In Journalism, some new sites like stlbeacon.org and voiceofsandiego.org, often launched with the help of foundation grants, show promise, providing critical community news and information. Others are mixing community building with professional standards of reporting. Oakland Local, a community site founded by Web entrepreneur Susan Mernit and funded through both a start-up grant and advertising, is one example of such an experiment. It covers topics like the environment, food, development and education for its local community and in a recent month had 65,000 page views, 40,000 visits and 25,000 unique visitors. And some partnerships have begun between the old and the new media. The Seattle Times is partnering with a number of local neighborhood blogs including westseattleblog.com to share links and collaborate on reporting. Other legacy news organizations are looking to become aggregators of community sites as a way to deliver more micro local news to their users (and increase their value to users in the process). Although I did not find traditional restaurant reviews on these sites, both oaklandlocal.com and westseattleblog.com have a fairly extensive food section, westseattleblog.com with a strong restaurant focus. Could reviews be coming? And what will all this mean to current guides and rating systems such as Zagat or the Michelin Guide? Where will they fit into the mix? I'd like to know how much impact each of these rating, guides or reviews/reviewers has had on your business (whether food, wine or hospitality related) and where you see the future of the reviewer or critic. Please take a moment to let me know! -Margie |
Restaurants & Wineries Getting Creative in the Poor Economy
October 13th, 2010
| Restaurants & Wineries Getting Creative in the Poor Economy Visits to upscale restaurants in America declined by 15% between May 2008 and May this year, according to the NPD Group, a research firm. Fast-food restaurants, on the other hand, saw traffic decline only 2%. Similarly, although wine consumption is up, sales of premium and super premium wines have dropped significantly. National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index Values Greater than 100 = Expansion; Values Less than 100 = Contraction  Source: National Restaurant Association Many in the industry are getting creative in order to survive. Some of the trends:
Email me and let me know! -Margie |
Doggie Bag Dilemmas
October 6th, 2010
| Doggie Bag Dilemmas...  Doggie Bags aren't something that most people in the industry give much thought to. A guest has left overs and wants them wrapped, so you either take it and wrap it for them or provide them a container and let them wrap it themself. It seems to me that the higher end restaurants take the food and return it to you wrapped, and more casual places simply provide you with a container to do it yourself. Not too much thought given, and not any real make-or-break business transaction, right?However, it may have more impact than you think. I have two issues with doggie bags, and I find it does affect my decision on where to eat and who gets my money. Most likely people are making that decision regarding your business as well. The first issue I had was at a wine country location, in a resort's restaurant - and quite a fine one I might add. It was at a fairly large event where fixed menu dinner was served. I was not hungry and had a virtually untouched plate. I asked the server if it could be wrapped, and she immediately replied "of course" and whisked it away. About 10 minutes later it had not been returned, so I inquired. She reappeared a minute later with a lovely box, nicely sealed up. Imagine my surprise later that evening when I opened the box up to find a more than half eaten meal dumped into the box. A pretty disgusting surprise. I now find that regardless of the establishment's reputation I prefer to wrap the food myself. The other issue, that I find has been coming up increasingly, is what choices a place makes for their packaging. I won't use styrofoam to take leftovers home. (I try not to ever use styrofoam, and find that it effects all kinds of purchases, not just food). I also am really aware of over-packaging. I asked for a picked egg at a deli a couple weeks ago and it was going to be completely packaged up, in a plastic cup with plastic lid (for 1 egg!) I asked the server to just hand it to me on a napkin. Further, the choices a restaurant use for packaging affects how I view the establishment, and if their choices aren't moving in a green direction, I am not likely to return. And I am not alone, more and more people are choosing where to spend their money based on issues other then just the quality of the food and service. For more information/education on the impact of restaurants on the earth & environment, visit the green restaurant association. What is your company doing to try to be kinder to the environment? Email me and let me know! -Margie |
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