Help Design the New Restaurants Section
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…
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
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.
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.
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 also, print is so quickly outdated, particularly in this rough economy.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!
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.
-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?
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.
iphone app seconded!
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.
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.