How / Why / Who etc

First and foremost, when I write a review I try to be honest and open about my experience with a particular business. I have no self-interest or agenda or grudge to bear with any business in Door County, I just feel the public are entitled to an honest assessment to help them choose a place to eat.

There are a couple other Door County review websites where businesses become advertisers and as part of the marketing service, they get a review. Do you think those reviews are honest and impartial, when the restaurant is paying the reviewers for marketing? In fact I find those types of websites to be flagrantly dishonest and deceptive. Do a search for 'Door County Dining' and you'll find them at or near the top on Google. They charge the restaurant owner several hundred $$ annually for listing them on the website, then they write a 100% positive review for the unsuspecting public, you! You won't find that here. I do marketing work for a couple Door County businesses and you won't find them reviewed here.

Most people come to Door County for 4 - 6 nights, and given the wide choice of eateries available, it would be quite possible to go through an entire stay without having an exceptional meal. In fact, in my experience it would be quite easy to pick four restaurants arbitrarily in Door County, and have four poor dining experiences.

But who am I to judge, what are my credentials and what's my point of reference for making these observations and comments?

I've dined in restaurants all over USA, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, England, Germany, France, Ireland, Austria, Australia, Turkey, Switzerland and probably a few more places that I can't recall. So I class myself as a food junkie, with a broad range of food experience. I'm critical but I always try to judge within context. For example, I love good bar food. I don't assume that when I eat a $12 broasted chicken plate in a bar, that it's going to be as good as a $22 plate in a restaurant. When I go to a restaurant and pay $30.00 for a steak, I expect it to be good. Any food at that price level ought to be good, and if it isn't, the restaurant owners ought to be taken to task.

I also accept that sometimes it's possible to have a bad meal at a place that might be generally known for their good food. But isn't food about consistency and repeatability? Since I'm a full-time Door County resident, I make a point of revisiting a restaurant when I've had a less than stellar experience. It's counter intuitive I know, but I think it's fair to give people a chance.

Finally, if you are a business owner and you take exception with any of my comments, I'd be happy to hear from you and would be willing to share your views with my readers if they're constructive. I'm not trying to hurt a business, since I know how difficult it is to run a food business, particularly in a tourist location like Door County WI. But lets be brutally honest. I know for a fact that the general principal of operation for some of you food businesses is to basically serve whatever you can get away with to tourists, knowing that you're going to be busy during the season, regardless of the quality of your food. In my opinion that basically stinks, and I'll say so whenever and wherever I can.

What factors go towards the rating of a restaurant? Food on the plate is always by far the most important factor, that's not to say that a good meal can't be ruined by poor service. Food ingredient quality is the most telling component of a restaurant's overall culinary status. But it's important to gauge the quality against the price/pitch of the restaurant. If I'm in a mid-level restaurant paying $12.00 for a meal, I might not expect that the salad dressing is going to be homemade. If it is, then I usually expect to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the main course. I understand that there are price constraints that come into affect in the food industry, the quality of the produce, the shelf-life and turnover all play into the decisions that restaurant owners make when planning a menu. With a higher price comes a higher level of expectation, so quality, balanced with value, are important considerations when grading. With the highest possible score being 30, an acceptable score is 20/30. Anything less than 20 and I tend to vote with my feet and suggest you do too.

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