Thinking about submitting this to our local paper

[cookie_chef]

First, thanks to everybody for their sweet feedback here. Keep in mind, as you read the next piece, I now live in a rinky-dink little country town, currently without a critic. We all know how my last crash and burn went with the Raleigh paper. Of course they have the esteemed Greg Cox (current critic) and Andrea Weigl (contributes regularly to

Comments

[fairouz]

Ok, my opinion is that this is not written from a neutral point of view. It is unwaveringly positive and it's unusual for a restaurant to do everything well. I also think it is more helpful when critics order a number of different things and describe what is good and what isn't good and why. I found this overly flowery:

bagels laced with cinnamon raisin, dotted with blueberries, showered with poppy or sesame seeds, paved with asiago-parmesan or infused with fragrant rosemary

And I'm not sure what makes a plain bagel 'sensible' or a honey-grain one 'lovely'.

I hope this isn't offensive to you but this kind of restaurant review is not helpful to me at all. Ok, they have good bagels. Do they have entertainment? A local baker for the baked goods that you mentioned in passing but didn't describe? How long have they been open? Do they have specialty coffee drinks? Daily specials? Flavored cream cheeses? Vegan options? To me the best part of the whole piece was the description of the sandwich at the end; it was crisp and clean and well-done (and that sandwich sounds really good but we don't have a Bruegger's we have a Chesapeake Bagel Bakery).

[cookie_chef]

No, it isn't offensive in the least. That's why I posted it. To get honest feedback. And yes, I do love Breugger's, so it is slanted. I haven't found anything I dislike there. I've not tried their soups, so this is a valid point, nor did I make more than a mention of their salads. The review is geared toward the bagels and little else. You're absolutely right.

Point taken on the sensible or lovely.

For this, since it is franchised, there is very little offered by way of entertainment or special items. Everything is made in house or for Bruegger's and fairly consistent from location to location. I worry that, at least for some other restaurant reviews that I've read, there seems too much focus on the pedigree of the chef or peripherial stuff (aside from cleanliness and sense of atmosphere) that the food becomes secondary. Certainly if there is a band, it would be worth a mention, but...I don't like reviews that become so garbled it feels you are reading a resume of the staff.

By contrast, I'm writing one now for a Peruvian restaurant (hope to make two more visits) and I'm struggling to find positives on anything besides the ceviche. Didn't come in with any preconceived notions, as a matter of fact I'd read nothing but glowing recommendations on places like Yelp. My experience has been just okay there.