Ariestiger

Well-put and just what I'd like to see! Yes, unfortunately my intuitive nature is not being fully challenged here--or even used at all. Perhaps its a sign I need to consider using this experience as how NOT to put together a restaurant guide and start a decent one myself. You interested? A few other categories I'd like to see: Never on a First Date Spicy--Seriously Spicy Cures What Ails You

Well, thank you! Finally someone that agrees with me! Personally, I'm just trying to make a buck without losing my dignity (see Doritos above). However I am the type of person that tries to be thorough and mentally involved in my work, and now that I have the job of picking and choosing which restaurants to put in what categories, I'd like to at least do the restaurant industry justice. Problem is, this company wants to be their books to be the next Zagat--but on a casual scale; and yet they want to use the standard categories. To me, this is the perfect opportunity to develop new ones. That's why I posted the question. I might have too many talking heads and egos to contend with at this workplace, but perhaps another individual or group might like to take a stab at a new approach to restaurant guides! If so, I'm available to start immediately! Cheers, H

In France, a bistro is generally a mom-and-pop type restaurant that writes out the menu every day on a chalkboard. A brasserie is usually a large restaurant with a bar, kind of like a diner that serves french classics. Brasseries usually have fairly broad hours and are open on Sundays. ← Thank you for your take on this. Do you think this applies in the States?

That's a shame. I agree with you that restaurant guides should include, if not separate ratings, at least a list of rated restaurants that are open round the clock or serve later than the usual closing time in the given city. However, I don't think that "24-hour restaurants" are a category separate and distinct from the usual system of classifying by type of cuisine. Especially when you consider that many of these 24-hour establishments are diners. I too could use some clarification on what makes a restaurant a bistro and what makes it a brasserie. I've assumed that a bistro is a casual eatery that features relatively uncomplicated fare. ← Okay, okay, then how about "Food that soaks up alcohol and post-travel-stress-stomach juices?" as a category? The only reason I was pushing for this was because of the inclusion of "Hotel Dining". Is Hotel Dining really a type of cuisine worthy of its own category? If so, what does it tell us about the cuisine? H

Greetings eG, from my latest "well, it will cover some bills while I write" job... Actually, this job is among the best as of late. Sure beats wearing a hairnet and passing out Doritos at Wal-Mart (yes, it was a difficult summer!). Here is the mission I will be on for forty hours each week until someone changes their mind: Building restaurant surveys, using a supplied list of categories that reads like every other Zagat-inspired classification system. My first question is this: Do people really look at restaurant guidebooks with the thought, "Hmm...let's see if we can find a nice little Continental restaurant!" I tried--and failed--to interject my own thoughts on this, especially because I felt very saddened by their insistence that one of my favorite categories, 24-hour eateries, was not a necessary category. I don't know about you, but I think I might use a guide frequently if it gave me info on where to dine when I arrive in a city at midnight. My second question is: What's happening with the term 'bistro'? I'm wary of lumping a restaurant into that category simply because it's part of their name, and there are categories for "French," "International," "Italian," etc., ...so what do my fellow foodies think about this term and how to use it with today's restaurants? I appreciate any help you can lend! Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have this gig through the holidays so that I won't be posting on the health effects of Doritos dust... H