Who is this??

This blog is written by a person who just really likes good food, and likes to try new places, and thought, “hey, wouldn’t it be cool if I could share the experiences of these new places and good food with others?” I figured maybe I could save people some time by telling them which places were awesome and which places might be a little disappointing.

My trusty sidekick, T, will be mentioned in many of these posts. We were never big on public reviews, we never jumped on the Yelp train… but, as time went on, we just wanted to be able to tell people what was good in the Lehigh Valley. You may have seen T around on the interwebs- he’s kind of a burger fan, and can tell you what’s good in the LV burgersphere here: http://lehighvalleyburgerblog.com/

Methods and Calculations

So how do I score these places? Scoring on this site template is a little wonky, but I ended up choosing a percentage scale, based on a point system. Food and drink are given a score out of 20 points, and service is given a score out of 10. The final percent that you see displayed is calculated as the number of points received out of the possible 30 points.

To get the full 20 points, a restaurant would have to have impeccable food and drink. This *can* vary a bit based on restaurant type. For example, a 20 for a modernist bistro would be different from a 20 at a local burger stand. The bistro would be expected to have flavor, technique, novelty, presentation, etc. The burger stand would be expected to have a well-cooked, flavorful burger. Cool toppings would be a bonus, but an excellent burger, sides, etc, could get a 20 just as well as a bistro could. Basically, quality of food trumps fancy-ness. However, if something about the experience makes the food more enjoyable, that would add points as well.

To get the full 10 points on service, the staff would really have to go above and beyond. Considering that a 5 is average, that is where I would expect the average restaurant to land. Solid attentive and kind service would probably get around a 7. Anything that puts them above and beyond the standard good service would take a restaurant to the 8-10 range. Ex: remembering our names and likes (exemplary), responding to an issue quickly and in a helpful manner, offering a service that is not generally expected, etc.

Is this system 100% perfect? Maybe not. But I try to give each spot a fair shake and explain why I have given each score, so I feel good about it.

Have questions? Want to suggest a place for me to review? Feel free to shoot me an email on the Contact page, we’re always ready to try somewhere new!!