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February 26, 2009

Help Design the New Restaurants Section

review-finder.jpg
When we first started gathering user generated restaurant reviews last summer, we weren't too concerned about what the Restaurants section of the site looked like, since we knew it would be a while before we had the critical mass of reviews to make it useful as a stand-alone entity (as opposed to daily content on the home page of Brownstoner). But now we've got more than 150 reviews in the system, it's time to start making it a truly useful resource for Brooklynites (and the people who want to eat here). In broad strokes, we want the Restaurants section to be more utilitarian and search driven and look less blog-like than it does now. But beyond that, we're all ears. We're also curious to know whether readers think there would be demand for some kind of print guide based on readers' comments and ratings once we reach, say, 250 or 300 reviews. Fire away.
Thanks,
Mr. B




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:29 AM | Comments (21)
Categories: Restaurants

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Comments

iPhone app

Posted by: randolph at February 26, 2009 10:41 AM

Here's my suggestion regarding grades: wouldn't it be more useful if you averaged what the readers think of the various restaurants with actual reviews from respected sources (such as NY mag and others)? If only a few people comment on a particular place than the average will be heavily skewed. Also, people have different ideas on what 5 star means: some think "good food" others "on par with le bernardin". Same thing with 1 star reviews... Just my two cents.

Posted by: SouthParker at February 26, 2009 10:44 AM

Clickable index of restaurants that have been reviewed (I often know the name already and just want to get a quick review).

Posted by: lechacal at February 26, 2009 10:45 AM

I wouldn't waste the time/effort on a print review. Most people I know, myself included, prefer to just look something up online, especially because I am one of those people who refuse to eat somewhere before I check out the restaurant's most recent health inspection report. If you do a standalone site for the reviews, maybe you could have a link on your page to the nyc inspection results. That would be useful.

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at February 26, 2009 10:46 AM

Maybe along the lines of Zagat.com? Don't know about a print edition, although I did invest in Zagat's Brooklyn-specific volume (Don't waste your money; they just took all the Brooklyn reviews from the main NYC Zagat and created a separate volume. I was expecting something more in depth.)

I also love how Brownstoner connects everything to Google maps. That will make searching for a restaurant so much easier.

Posted by: BrooklynButler at February 26, 2009 10:59 AM

iphone app seconded!

Posted by: new2hood at February 26, 2009 11:03 AM

I echo the map comment. it would be super cool if you could enter an address it would suggest restaurants within a 5 block radius. zagat.com is not helpful in that regard, and neither is nymag.com.

Posted by: danam42 at February 26, 2009 11:15 AM

-I think there would be interest in a print version. If you Market it properly. I would buy it and would also buy it as gifts for people.

-I think the way you can search by neighborhood is great. I think that is the most helpful piece. I do like the idea of being able to search by zip code.

-However, i think that the review is very long. I sometimes am more interested in the folks comments on it rather than the review...Maybe have collapsible sections?

Posted by: Kerrya514 at February 26, 2009 11:26 AM

iPhone app would be great.

But right now there is a bug that drives me nuts:
Every time I open or close a restaurant review page, my browser window resizes. I am using Firefox 2 on Windows Server 2003.

I would say the restaurant write-ups are my favorite posts on Brownstoner, but this bug is a downer.

Posted by: dwarbi at February 26, 2009 11:28 AM

i don't see merit in a print version, since most people i know turn to nymag or yelp (which i consider highly unreliable-- i only use for addresses and ambiance, not to size up the food) rather than zagats at this point. also, print is so quickly outdated, particularly in this rough economy.

i agree on a feature that would make it searchable by zip code-- its so frustrating to go to nymag's restaurant site and be reduced to looking at a large swath of the neighborhood, rather than, say, a few streets. same goes for menupages. i like how brooklynnow has neighborhood maps with businesses marked on each street that you can zoom in on, though its ridiculously incomplete.

what sets apart brownstoner's restaurant page is you get a nice mix of sources--excerpts from reputable reviewers (time out, nymag, etc), and thoughts from people on the street. in my mind, the more input, the better!

Posted by: ms_boerum at February 26, 2009 11:58 AM

ooh, sorry, one other thought-- links to bars near the restaurant (or bar reviews started?) would be great. though i know what's what in my neck of the woods, i don't always know a good place to check out after dinner in other neighborhoods.

Posted by: ms_boerum at February 26, 2009 12:01 PM

I comment on the resturants on occasion, but this would never be my "go to" when I'm trying to decide whether I'll try out a restaurant. Too few reviews per restaurant is one problem. The second is that the 1-5 rating is a bit limited.

Posted by: tiptoe at February 26, 2009 12:07 PM

>Every time I open or close a restaurant review page, my browser window resizes.

Agreed. Totally annoying and unnecessary.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 26, 2009 12:09 PM

yes, browser resizing is annoying.

windows vista, firefox 3.0.6

Posted by: GeorgeAppo at February 26, 2009 12:18 PM

I second adding bar reviews to the mix, as well as making the site searchable by neighborhood (or zipcode) and cuisine.

I think to make this a viable alternative to a site like citysearch or yelp, there will need to be more restaurant reviews from different neighborhoods. The vast majority of restaurants chosen are mediocre joints in BoCoCa/PS, while many popular Brooklyn staples from other neighborhoods have been neglected.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at February 26, 2009 12:21 PM

Link the NYC DOH violation results.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 26, 2009 12:23 PM

as the others have said - i think a "bar of the day" would also be a great addition for this site. i mentioned it a couple of weeks ago in an open thread.

Posted by: bowl of dicks at February 26, 2009 12:51 PM

Allow user to browse alphabetically.
Allow user to restrict browse by cuisines.
Allow user to restrict browse by neighborhoods.
Allow user to restrict browse by individual ratings.
Allow user to restrict browse by some combination of cuisines, neighborhoods, and/or ratings.
Allow search with option to either restrict the search itself by the above categories and/or restrict search results after
the fact.

Basically, let people do what databases are supposed to let people do -- sort data using any combination of available data types.

I'm spending way too much time looking at website project requirements lately...

Posted by: northsloperenter at February 26, 2009 12:56 PM

A print edition would get outdated very quickly as real time reviews would be great.

What is needed is an easily searchable restaurant guide by cuisine, neighborhood, price, ratings, and links to other site reviews. All this should have dates so one can see when the reviews were posted and is the food getting better or getting worse.

Google maps to see where the place is, restaurant website link to see their menu.

Also it would be great to solicit feedback in an easy to use template on a Monday to have people post reviews on where they ate that weekend for reviews to be current and keep the feedback coming in on a regular basis.

Posted by: bklynrocks at February 26, 2009 2:55 PM

i'd like to be able to sort restaurants by last update. if something was posted a month ago i most likely will not return to see recent reviews.

Posted by: Danny Noonan at February 26, 2009 3:03 PM

> "Basically, let people do what databases are supposed to let people do -- sort data using any combination of available data types."

Agreed. I'd add a sort by price ranges as well. Take a look at the Urban Spoon iPhone app for an interesting gizmo.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 26, 2009 3:57 PM

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