Mar 1 2012 ~ Cincinnati Bakersfield OTR (Review)
Navigating this whole “food blogging” thing can, even for someone who’s been doing it for four years, be difficult. There’s a great article I read the other day on the history of food writing, as well as the impact of bloggers on food writing. Some of it I agreed with, and some of it I didn’t. One of the things I wrestle with is “When do you post about new restaurants?” Here’s my thing: the first couple of weeks of any restaurant, even with “soft openings”, is a time for them to work out the kinks. I may go and eat at the restaurant, but I won’t write about it– I just don’t think it’s fair. However, there’s a lot of pressure to be “first” in this day and age of Yelp and Urbanspoon and other social outlets. I usually say “wait a month”– which is actually fairly traditional, considering I’m not a traditional food writer. By waiting a month, I generally end up pushing my reviews out even further, as I don’t want to have a review come out the same week City Beat or The Enquirer covers the same restaurant– that’s why it took so long for me to get around to writing about Abigail Street. I think I’ve amended my rule slightly: “Wait 3 weeks”. Does that seem fair to you? I know that you want to hear about places right away, but I can’t help but give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt as well.
Source: Wine me, dine me by Julie Niesen Gosdin