Yelp, Open Table, Urbanspoon and Zagats allow anyone to put on their critic hat and tell the world about their dining experience. Somtimes, these reviews are nothing more than people saying “Awesome food” or “Worst Service ever- Don’t go here”, which aren’t really that helpful. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got your professional reviewers who write long-form articles based on several visits to a restaurant that include every detail of the experience informed by their many years of dining experience.
Here on Roaming Virginia, I want to do restaurant reviews that fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. I’m going to do quick reviews that will be easily scanable, give you my opinions of several areas of the restaurant and point you to other resources on the web for further research, if you want. I’m no restaurant critic, but I like to eat and am always searching for great new restaurants to try. I’m going to stick to locally-owned Virginia restaurants and stay away from big chains. I hope to help you uncover some great places to eat that you may not have heard of before.
Here is the format I’m going to use for my reviews:
Snap Judgment: This is my overall opinion ranked as Love It, Like It, Leave It or Loathe It. This system is pretty self explanatory Love It is the best and Loathe it is the worst
Value: I think value is more important than price, so here I’m going to talk about the value for the money and give a price range for entrees.
Two Sentence Summary: Don’t have time to read the whole review? Just check this section for the gist of the review.
Food: Here’s where I expand on the types and quality of food
Service: Was the wait staff M.I.A. or there A.S.A.P. anytime I needed something? Find out in the Service section
Mood: Is the restaurant hip and trendy, family oriented or lacking atmosphere all together?
Other Opinions: My opinion isn’t the only one out there so here’s where you’ll find some other resources to round out your perspective on the restaurant. I’ll try to include a point of view that is opposite of mine.
Just the Facts: Here’s where I’ll tell you the basics like the address, neighborhood and website.
Let me know if you have any suggestions to add to the reviews. Happy dining!
