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The Cleveland Restaurant Critique was started by me, Jim Zakany, in early 1994. Even though the World Wide Web was new then, I realized that only a limited audience would want to read my opinions. Somehow, I had to allow the reader to add their content. Much like a quasi-permanent Usenet group.
I, also, realized that the restaurant reviews in the Cleveland Plain Dealer went on and on and never seemed to really say anything negative about a restaurant. I have little patience for someone talking around a restaurant's bad points. If a review is to have any value, it must be honest and concise.
Other, lesser, publications seemed to reduce their restaurant reviews to a number. That, too, is useless in my opinion. How can you use the same scale to rate John's Diner and Don's Pomeroy House? And what, exactly, goes into that number? Ambiance? Food presentation? Service? If the answer is "all of the above," then what does it tell you about the restaurant? We eat out for various reasons. I will sometimes pick a restaurant based on the view, sometimes based on how I care to dress. An overall number, in such cases, is meaningless.
So, I have chosen the short essay review. Not a lot of fluff that you don't want to bother with. No useless number assigned to each restaurant. And, best of all, real restaurants reviewed by real people. Nothing fancy.
And what do I get out of it? Other than some editing work, just a feeling of satisfaction that I'm giving something back to the 'net community. It's that simple. I don't get compensated meals. No one pays for this. Heck, no one knows who I am when I go out. I'm just a regular guy.
I hope you find this site useful.
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