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July 14, 2008

Introducing the Brownstoner Restaurant Ratings Feature

Recognizing the significant role that restaurants play in shaping the character and desirability of a neighborhood—and the fact that the major review sources have yet to comprehensively cover Brooklyn—we're launching a new feature today. Every day at noon, we'll run a post on one Brooklyn restaurant that will include a mash-up of existing reviews along with menus and other vital statistics, and then invite readers to comment and rate the restaurant. Over time, the hope is that we'll have a robust user-generated guide to dining in Brooklyn. Helming this project is Kara Zuaro, author of I Like Food, Food Tastes Good and, some of you old-timers may recall, the former editor of The Brooklyn Record (remember that?). Anyway, we urge you to participate, being as honest and fair as possible. And now for the first restaurant...




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:56 AM | Comments (17)
Categories: Restaurants

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Comments

ooooh, this should be good. the only downside is that Brownstoner will never be able to eat in this town again!

Posted by: plgdude at July 14, 2008 12:07 PM

I think this is a bad idea and will just turn into another weapon of neighborhood warfare. Fairness and truth often have no place on this blog and certainly restaurant reviews have no place on this blog. Between Zagats, chowhound, and the New York Times there are plenty of reviews to guide us through the brooklyn restaurant scene. Furthermore the commenters on this blog are anything but foodies.

Posted by: Left Hook at July 14, 2008 12:36 PM

I totally disagree Left Hook. Those other places don't cover brooklyn very well. plus the people who get quoted in zagats aren't foodies either, just average joes who fill out the survey.

Posted by: This Aint No Disco at July 14, 2008 12:49 PM

Loving this feature already.

Posted by: iluvclintonhill at July 14, 2008 12:51 PM

not sure how you can tell who is a foodie and who isn't left hook. Is there something in the profiles that i missed???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 14, 2008 12:56 PM

great new addition

Posted by: BrooklynLove at July 14, 2008 12:59 PM

Will look forward to it. I still find that Chowhound (now Chow.com) Outer Boroughs board provides some good info. Just last weekend I was looking for a place to eat after a Brooklyn Museum visit and found a suggestion for Cheryl's Global Soul on Underhill, which was great.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 14, 2008 1:03 PM

This Ain't No Disco, well said. I just posted a simlar comment under today's restaurant review.

Posted by: Biff Champion at July 14, 2008 1:04 PM

You may not think this counts for much but I think there is a major difference between the readers a real estate blog and the readers of a restaurant review or food site. The latter reader, I would expect, tend to be specifically looking to expand there gastronomical knowledge where as brownstoner readers are primarily seeking to expand their understanding of Brooklyn real estate or to pump the real estate prices of their neighborhood. Personally, I would trust the Zagat reviewer before I would trust the Brownstoner reviewer. But hey, there are some real Brownstoner believers on this blog who I know will disagree. Just saying...

Posted by: Left Hook at July 14, 2008 1:23 PM

Left Hook: I understand your point, but I do believe that our new restaurant feature can offer one thing the other food sites can't. It allows Brooklyn restaurants to be rated against each other – by people who actually live here. On those other sites, our mom-and-pop shops are held up against some of the best restaurants in the world. And so many local hang-outs are reviewed in regard to whether they're "worth a trip to Brooklyn." Personally, I just want to know how neighborhood restaurants compare to the other options in the general vicinity – and whether they're worth walking a few extra blocks. I hope some of you feel the same way.

Posted by: Kara at July 14, 2008 2:06 PM

Your five point scale is three negative responses and two positive responses (one of which is the what I expect response):
you are setting up the reviews to be negative for the most part.

Posted by: Karka at July 14, 2008 2:07 PM

Hi Kara,
Thanks for the response. Years of reading the Brownstoner comments section has made me skeptical but I do hope that the restaurant reviews workout.

Posted by: Left Hook at July 14, 2008 2:25 PM

Great idea...looking forward to Clinton Hill/Fort Green reviews.

Posted by: qis4quincy at July 14, 2008 3:46 PM

I love it! Keep the new useful features coming.

Posted by: A ClintonHillLady at July 14, 2008 3:47 PM

Kara! I love your book!

Posted by: carafe at July 15, 2008 10:16 AM

This is a very good idea. I would love to make a recommendation to start: Rasputin Restaurant. It’s a well established Russian restaurant that I went to last month for my friend’s 30th birthday. It was unbelievably decorated with great meat, soups, cold cuts, and salads. We also enjoyed the cabaret show and then live European dance music ‘til 3 in the morning.

Posted by: Paul700 at July 18, 2008 9:42 AM

This is a very good idea. I would love to make a recommendation to start: Rasputin Restaurant. It’s a well established Russian restaurant that I went to last month for my friend’s 30th birthday. It was unbelievably decorated with great meat, soups, cold cuts, and salads. We also enjoyed the cabaret show and then live European dance music ‘til 3 in the morning.

Posted by: Paul700 at July 18, 2008 9:42 AM

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