i don't think i'm food snob, i'm more of a food geek. since i'm also a music geek, and a geek in general, why not?

i grade on the whole eating out experience. i have very, very bad restaurant karma (brk), as the offspring of mr. bad restaurant karma (r.i.p.) and his wife (who has a bit of it now and then by proxy). i have inherited his share of it, alas. for instance i find lots of things that aren't food in my food.

let's see... what else about me is relevant here? i started doing this sort of thing in 2003, when i was looking for space-filler on my web site. i have no background in the food industry. do i have a background in any sort of writing? i've won an odd contest or two (some very odd... thank you and goodnight!) and have some higher education background in it. not typing, obviously.

i tend to eat out at least once a week, sometimes two or three times. mostly dinners. occassionally lunch. rarely breakfasts ( i can make my own eggs and toast... if i want pancakes, it's breakfast at al's). since my brk is hyperactive at brunch, i will not go out for that meal at all. early lunch? sure, if the place has no brunch foods. i try to mostly go to local places, not chains. and a a random sampling shows that i tend to eat at higher end places maybe once or twice a month, and mostly stick with low to mid range ones.

and since someone asked for it in a roundabout way... (this'll be updated as i think of new things.)

what i like in a restaurant: restaurants doings the best they can be at what they do (this is my baseline for grading- the whole experience). a well thought out menu. reasonable price points for what they do. decent service. good food (especially anything cheese, well-made french fries, and good bread). local/in season/organic sorts of things are always good, as that's better tasting as a general rule. not a big, impersonal room that could be anywhere. service that doesn't care who you are.

what i dislike: things that aren't food in my food. food that tastes like nothing. menus without options for those who can't or won't eat certain things (this'll probably move up my dislike list as i grow allergic to more and more things...). poorly maintained establishments. servers that clearly should not be servers. places that argue with you when you state a reasonable complaint... that's not hospitality. hot food served not hot. foam for no good reason. waiting too long.

what i spend on average: i don't expect to get away with $10 at alma, but i don't expect to pay $20 at mickey's. i usually end up in the lower to midrange of a group check, as i typically order an entree or maybe two apps (no dessert, beverage, etc.). as i am allergic to shellfish and don't eat quadrupeds, that tends to keep my costs lower. i also am not adverse to using discounts and the like.

what i think good (i take this as adequate) service is: water refills at a decent pace. the hot food is served hot, the cold food cold, and all food is served at a decent pace so you don't get your entree when people are still halfway through their salads. the server should have a reasonable knowledge of the menu, acknowledge the table soon after they sit down, check soon enough after food is served so that errors can be replaced and not hold up everyone, yet let people have a bite or two first. no food auctions when things are served (i.e. 'who had the beef? who had the chicken?').

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