Do you keep secrets....

[Forest]

Maybe this topic has come up and I missed it, but I was talking to someone recently about their favorite place and he made a comment about not wanting to share it with other people because he didn’t want it to “get out.” So….does anyone else out there have special restaurant that they don’t share (even here…or especially here) because they want to keep it for themselves. (you don’t have to tell us which ones the are!)

[Joisey]

Maybe.

[Gifted Gourmet]

One would hope that it would be a positive thing, having the name of a restaurant which was worthy in public forums ... the big picture?

If the place is successful, it would be less likely to close up ... makes (perfect)sense to me ...

[Reefpimp]

Maybe.

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[WHT]

Sure I do, in part because bragging and name dropping aren’t my thing. Also in part why I post less and don’t blog after a while it gets pointless to do. I may comment occasionally in other threads but unless I come across something truly great or rather bad it is rather pointless.

I find it more interesting to find low to medium price places serving expellant food than go to the dog and pony show of some uberchef

[Forest]

Gifted Gourmet: Of course, you’re right in that it would make sense that you’d want your preferred places to be busy so they don’t close. But, I think the concern is that if a place gets too busy the quality could suffer – or simply that you lose the charm/quaintness/exclusivity of the secret little restaurant that you’ve found. Also, there are some who want a restaurant to maintain a particular crowd and not be overrun by the “wrong” kind of people who are just following the crowd and might not appreciate the food in the same way they (the discoverers) appreciate it. (This is not my feeling, but i think you guys know what I mean?)

And, WHT – I agree it’s way more fun, interesting and rewarding to discover great-priced finds that are truly good…but that’s exactly the ones I think people are keeping secret!

Me, I don’t have secret food places - The only food related-secret I keep is what goes in my purée de pommes, but that’s just because I don’t want my dinner guests to have psychosomatic heart attacks!

[Kent D]

Well, I try not to mention my neighborhood barbecue joint to too many people, because it's already a line out the door during lunchtime and no place to park, but at the same time I still feel guilty that one of my favorite burger stands went belly up because maybe I DIDN'T tell enough people about it. Not that I hold that much sway over the success or failure of my neighborhood restaurants...

[Gifted Gourmet]

I still feel guilty that one of my favorite burger stands went belly up because maybe I DIDN'T tell enough people about it. Not that I hold that much sway over the success or failure of my neighborhood restaurants...

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See what I meant? For the restaurant owner, word of mouth recommendations may well spell the difference between success and failure ...

[ghostrider]

I certainly keep secrets from eG, but never when I've had an enjoyable meal at a restaurant. I want these places to stay in business. It's all about sharing the love, y'know?

Conversely, I've become more reluctant to slam a place on line. When I first joined eG, I thought that I should always tell all, good & bad, because the important thing was to report the facts. I've become more temperate since then, particularly after a couple of experiences when restaurants redeemed themselves after what, with more perspective, were clearly one-off instances where something had gone wrong. Now I take the attitude that there has to be something really egregious about a negative experience to be worth the time it takes me to write about it.

[Luckylies]

Maybe.

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ohhhh get a room!....