Happy anniversary! Let me know you're still out there!

Hey you guys! It's been 9 years! Nine!! Hard to believe. Anyhow, just to make sure you're all still out there...will you leave me a comment and tell me about a place you tried after reading a post here? Or something along those lines? Your comments make me very happy, as does your feedback on twitter and facebook! I hope you've enjoyed the ride through our growing food scene and I appreciate each and every one of you!

Cheers,
Erin

7 years and counting.....

Hey you guys! Today is my 7-year blog-a-versay! SEVEN years. That’s a long time people. It’s been a good run, and for now, I plan on continuing. I thank all of you that read my posts and comment there or on Facebook or twitter. I am also grateful for all of the really cool people I have met and often shared meals with, which I otherwise wouldn’t have, because of it. Several of you have even become good friends. There’s always a few people that I guess just can’t stand me too, but the positive feedback I get far outweighs them. And that’s what matters right? (Insert Taylor Swift song here.)

I have also eaten a lot of really great food, and a slightly lesser amount of really terrible food, but it’s all been in the name of research, so it’s totally worth it. I love sharing what I find with you, and I love that you guys still want to read about it.

Please let me know what amazing places I have been missing—or what places you disagree with me on. Or whatever you want to let me know. I have watched the evolution of my blog and blogs in general, and I want to stay current and interesting enough that you want to keep reading it.

Cheers to another year!

Erin

6 Years...and Counting

Hard to believe another year has flown by and that I have been writing this blog for 6 years! I am not going to ramble on this year (that's a change huh?), but just wanted to document the "birthday" because I am a big birthday person.

Recently I read a post by my friend Angie Six (hey, she's a Six, and it's my sixth!) over at her blog Just Like the Number, where she asked her readers to leave a comment about something good that had happened to them in the past year as a birthday gift to her. So, I am stealing the concept and asking you guys to leave a comment here telling me what was one of the best things that you have eaten in the last year? That would be an awesome "blog-a-versary" gift for me.

Cheers! Here's to a great 2014.

Happy Eating.

Five Years and Counting...

5 years.

For 5 years (and nearly 500 posts!) I have been writing this blog. It is funny to me how much it has changed and grown over the years—sort of like another child.  Mostly such a blessing, and sometimes a pain in the butt. The other day a woman who had just found it said to me, “what a fun job!” and I said, “It is fun, but more like an expensive hobby.”  People often think somehow I make a lot of money doing this, and the truth is, I make a little —through my Google ads (when someone clicks on them) and occasional other ads from people who approach me (incidentally, always happy to entertain any advertising offers, email me!).  I appreciate every dime, but the truth is (and the fact is) I am clearly not doing it for the money.

I write the blog because I love Indy, and I love food, and because it makes me happy. In some ways it was something I always wanted to do (hubby and I used to write our own little mini reviews of restaurants in San Francisco in our restaurant books or just on our own computer.)  But this baby has grown. Sometimes I can’t believe it when I look at my stats and remember back to when I got excited if I broken double digits in one day. Honestly, I didn’t know if anyone would ever read a word (besides my parents and hubby). (Speaking of--who knew how annoyed people would be by calling hubby “hubby?”  I started with “hubby” just as an affectionate name, way back before I knew how often it is used on blogs and other places in the internet.  I’m always open to change though. We’ll see.)

Something else? When I write, I write the way I would speak if I was talking to you. Yes, that means my grammar isn’t always perfect (as a couple of you love to point out to me). That means there are lots of fragments. But when you read my writing, you are really hearing from me. And sometimes I start sentences with “and.” That’s just how I roll.

One last thing—even though I know blogs are somewhat antiquated these days, what with all the online reviews, and the constant chatter of twitter and all, I want to let you know that I appreciate all of you who take the time and read my posts. And nothing makes me happier than your comments (pretty sure most bloggers consider their “pay” to be their comments—it lets us know someone is out there who cares).  So please keep ‘em coming. Let me know what you agree with, or what you don’t, or what restaurants I should go to, or should not. And hey, if you have any suggestions for ways to improve the blog, please leave them here too.

In that vein, I have decided to try out a new idea. A lot of people ask me to list my top 5 or 10 Indy restaurants, but I always find this hard to do. It is hard to compare Recess to a cheap Chinese place, even though they both might be great in different ways. So, I am going to keep a running list of the best three meals I have had lately—it will be chronological, so when I add a new one, the bottom one will just drop off. That way, it could be a great burger, or a 5 course tasting menu, but they can be equivalent in some way. Also, I don’t always write a full blog post on every meal I eat, so I can incorporate some of those too. So you will find the list, right at the top right side of my blog, under my picture of the Circle. Let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas.

Thanks for indulging me in my rambling anniversary post! I appreciate you all.

-Erin

4 Years and Counting...

So, 4 years ago today I started this blog. I have to say, friends ask me if I am burnt out on blogging and I can safely say, I am not.  There are those days for sure, but in general, I actually think I like it now more than ever. It has become sort of like a job (a really crappily paid job, but at least I like it). I have met a lot of people I never would have met otherwise, and have made a lot of friends, some just online friends and some who have become very good real life friends.  How cool is that? Certainly a perk I wasn’t expecting (or even thinking of) when I started this whole thing four years ago.

Some of you guys I feel like I know, even though I may only know you through recurring comments, emails or conversations with you on twitter. (I worry when I don’t hear from some of you for too long, is that weird?)  But one thing I would like to say is how much I LOVE it, and you, when you take the time and make the effort to leave me a comment on the blog.  I like having that record here so that everyone who reads it can read your comments too, even if they read the post 6 months later.  

So, for me, I am asking a question of you--have you ever gone to a new restaurant solely based on one of my reviews?  I would love to hear if you have and if so, where (and what did you think?).  I want to hear about how my blog might have helped get people to try new places around town. And of course, feel free to leave any other comment you wish as well, and as always, keep all your recommendations coming! I seriously go to probably 80% of the places I choose based solely on reader recommendations.  And any thoughts about ways to improve, etc. are welcome too.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Eating,

Erin

Three Years and Counting...

I can’t believe it has been three years since I started this blog.  It has turned into something way more than I thought when I started it, at least for me (I started it as a personal catharsis actually).  I have learned a lot about Indy restaurants and different cuisines and am grateful to all of you for your ongoing recommendations, comments and just general support (and of course letting me know on those rare occasions when I am wrong about something).  Because of this blog, I have eaten at so many places I never would have tried otherwise.  It motivates me to not get trapped in a rut of only going to the same few restaurants over and over. 

Here are a few random observations I have made along the way:

1. It's always the posts that I think no one will care about that get the most response (of course sometimes it ends up having nothing to do with the actual restaurant being reviewed, but who cares?);
2. If I want to get yelled at, I post a review of an Asian restaurant;
3. My Dad and I have different taste in restaurants; :)
4.  Steakhouse reviews rarely get much feedback (which I find ironic since we have SO many of them in this town);
5. When you as for a server's recommendation and s/he gives you a list of the most "popular" items, ignore the suggestions and get something else; and
6. Always bring a sweater, whether it is winter or summer, because most restaurants in this town are cold.

Ok, those are for fun (although true), but really I have appreciated learning just how many people care about our Indy food scene.  There are a lot of people very passionate about it, and about their favorite places.  I love this.

Now, of course, as always, keep sending me your favorites for me to add to “the list,” but I would also love to hear your critiques of this blog—what would you change and how would you improve it? What annoys you about it?  C’mon, I can take it (I think).  And many of you have privately made suggestions about ideas to add posts that aren’t just reviews.  What do you guys think about this? Love it or hate it? Are there things you would like to see covered? Of course, you would all have to promise to participate… J  But c’mon, let’s hear it!

Cheers! And here’s to what is hopefully, a great food year!

-Erin