Food reviewing doesn’t have to be about $123 plates of food, unpronounceable words, and fancy wines. As evidenced by Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Gold, it can be about hole in the wall restaurants and everyday food.
For me, this blog is an outlet to find my voice as a food reviewer. For you, I hope this helps you find what you’re looking for in the Eugene food scene.
I approach this blog as a student, which is fitting seeing as I am one.
Obviously, as a student, my first priority is having enough money for beer (Ok, so I’m allergic. But it sounded poetic. I usually stick to cocktails) and to drink as much coffee as humanly possible when I’m sober. Or not sober. Being conscious of this, I am going to make it a goal to write a review in just a few visits. Unlike fancy-shmancy food writers with company credit cards, I’ll be paying out of pocket, so pulling a Jonathan Gold and visiting a restaurant 5 or 10 or 17 times, is just not going to happen. This being the case, I’d love to hear your experiences, your favorite/least favorite places to eat and places you’d like me to try.
Ultimately, the question will be “would a college student eat here?” This means, beyond the review of the actual food and atmosphere, I will be looking at value – is the food worth spending extra money on? Does it taste fantastic for a reasonable price? Or OK for a stellar price? Is it healthy?
There are a lot of ethical questions when it comes to food reviewing. In the field, some things are standard and others up to debate. Here’s what I promise to you:
- To not accept free food (It makes you feel like you have obligations to the establishment)
- To be fair and comprehensive (This means ordering appetizers as well as dessert, visiting the bathrooms, and coming at different times of the day because, for example, the quality of food can change with the chef)
- To be as anonymous as possible so that I can have the same experience as you would
Cheers,
Melissa
Hi, just wanted to say that I love your blog’s name, it jumped out at me from a wordpress tag page
And the rest of your blog looks great as well
Thanks!
Wow! I have never met a food critic before, student or otherwise so I am totally eclactic! For once a long time ago, I had envisioned myself hanging my stethoscope and just write about food. But then, I also want to write about the places I go (or just plain wish of going) and the quick chat with my patients enough to know that they have other reasons for a visit and the list goes on and on. So I will be frequenting here often to learn from the budding expert on many gastronomic wisdom and how it will appropriately affect the next recipe.
Thanks Melissa for stopping by!
Hey, thanks for the blog love! If I’m ever in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll be sure to take your food advice. It’s not just college students who need tasty, reasonably priced food
I know! I feel like so many food writers have a stick up their butt and only write about those places that charge 8 million dollars for a plate with one scallop.
Hi Melissa, thanks for the like
Your blog is so deliciously cute! I’ll definitely be stopping by for more yummy pictures, descriptions, and recipes.
Yay, thanks!
Hi Melissa, good luck on your food journey. I hope the journey brings you Downunder (Australia) because it’s hard to beat amazingly creative food with stunning beaches!
Oh gosh, me too, that would be amazing!
Hi Melissa, thanks for visiting my blog. It’s like you are my food soul mate! I would love to chat sometime…
I look forward to your upcoming posts. I like what I have seen so far! What a great area and state you live in! I was able to spend some time in Oregon (various places) a while back, and I fell in love with the place!
Thanks so much! I love Oregon most of the time, winters are horrid though: no sun
great blog melissa! we definitely have the coffee addiction in common. it’s a problem – but it’s not. i’m sure you understand
Haha, completely.
Cute site, Melissa!
Like the name of your blog.
Thanks
Saw you “liked” one of my posts so figured I’d check yours out. Nice! Clever name.
Thanks !
You were asking how I did the Smugmug site or the link from my blog? The link is a widget from wordpress and smugmug is a service where I have an account and sell my photos, as its designed to be a service that assists photographers in selling their work (for a price).
YAY! Thanks for sharing!
looking at your blog makes me hungry:D looking forward to your food adventure!:]
I like where you are going with this. It’s cool to find fun chic ways to eat well on a college budget.
Not being a college student anymore, I still like to be on the hunt for a deal, so I like to hit up fancy restaurant happy hours and food trailers
There are some pretty great happy hours, especially in Eugene.
Hi and thanks for the like! Loving your blog and good luck with the studies and the caffine intake
Melissa, thank you for stopping by my blog and (WP-) liking my post, “Lunch at Madero Curitiba”. I came by your blog, and reading your entries have made me hungry – very hungry. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been in Eugene or Oregon, but I remember how beautiful it all was. Thanks again!
Oregon is especially gorgeous, unfortunately it comes with the price tag of lots of rain.
Hi, Melissa. I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and you’d think I’d be okay with rain. But I left Vancouver in 1994, and I believe I’m now allergic to the wet. *However,* I can tolerate it, if there’s the gorgeous landscape to distract me. It’s a worthy price to pay, no? And afterwards, I’d like a bowl of hot seafood soup or chowder …
Hi Melissa, i think we can be a good partner in dessert adventure LOL
Found you through your liking my post today! Enjoyed reading your posts.
Thanks so much!
Thanks for stopping my by blog Melissa! I like the way you think and eat! lol. I’ll be reading more and getting hungry more while coming to your blog.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I cant wait to delve into yours
You have a great blog and an interesting point of view. (I haven’t seen a lot of other food bloggers covering the scene on a student budget, although they are probably out there somewhere). You have a bright future to look forward to. Best of luck!
I really like the local blogging aspect – even though I live nowhere near you, I think it’s an area of blogging that has great potential. If I didn’t live in a primarily French-speaking area I’d probably try something similar!
Your blog is adorable and very well written! As a fellow student of writing (masters in creative writing) with a love of food, I truly appreciate a foodie who can write a solid article and knows a good deal. Come to Chicago if you ever have a chance– we’ve got a great food and coffee culture here.
Oh how exciting about being a fellow master’s student. My gosh, isn’t it hard to balance everything? I’ll be sure to check in with you when I make it to Chicago, having insider knowledge is the best way to get the most out of a trip and for me, trips are 75% for the food.
Great blog. I love the name.
Oh thanks! I think it sums up my life pretty well.
Oh gosh what an awesome blog! I love reading anything PacNW
(I’m from PDX and have family in Eugene). Charming! xo Erin
Hello Melissa! Thanks for dropping by
Hope you’re enjoying the decorating. Merry Christmas!
Oh I did! And had a plate of Christmas cookies as a snack today! Seems to be a lul with the Holidays though, not sure how to decorate. Maybe I’ll pick a random day, like “cheese day” and have some fun.
What a fun idea for a blog! I wish I’d thought of this when I was in college!
Oh don’t be too surprised, this is my sixth year as a college student (and the eating-situation still annoys me). I’m excited for all the fun useful things I can do with it. But for me, the goal is to be a food reviewer so this is a medium where I can play around with that and experiment, especially with my tone.
I don’t know, I feel like the realm of college constantly changes, mayhaps for the worse. Honestly, I swore off blogs and twitter until starting journalism school, they’re good for me but every once in a while I just want to leave everything behind and check into an Inn in the woods (with a pool!).
I’m sure you spent the time I spend blogging doing something fun!
What did you do with your time?
Oh, my gosh, what did I do with my time? I feel lucky to say that I graduated in 1999, which means college was a time with no cell phones, no FB, no twitter, and no blogs! Don’t get me wrong, I love all those things, but we barely had email accounts back then. We had to call each other on the phone or meet for coffee to connect. No texting. I sort of miss those days! Anyway, I digress. I read a lot in college, as I was part of an honors program that was heavy on the classic western canon of books. I made out with lots of boys. I drank lots of vodka and cranberries bought by said boys. I danced til 2 am more nights of the week than I care to admit. I wrote in my journal in the sun. I listened to Dave Matthews non-stop. It was lovely. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Save checking into an inn in the woods til you’re 40; you’ve got lots of living and eating to do!
Just wanted to say you made me want to take a trip to Oregon! And you should come to LA and try some of Jonathan’s more adventurous suggestions!
Oh I will! My best friend lives down there.
Thanks for the like on my post, “The problem of presents.” Hope you stop back and find more fun things!
thanks for letting me know of your presence! i am excited to find a local food reviewer. good for you!
Hey there Melissa! Thanks for liking my blog post about the flower show at the SMJ House.
This is probably totally awkward, but are you a grad student at UO’s SOJC? I feel like I recognize you from the CEMC (I work there), haha…
Thank you for the like on my post!
I have a sign in my kitchen: One shot of Tequila – I’m happy. Two shots of Tequila – I am rich. Three shots of Tequila – I am beautiful! Four shots of Tequila – I am invisible!
Haha, that’s great.
Hi Melissa!
My name is Sue, and found your blog today thru WordPress – it captured my interest! I’m from SlimKicker (a healthy living/fitness app), and was wondering if we can do a giveaway for your blog readers?
Our site basically turns people’s health/fitness goals into a level up game with challenges such as quitting soda for a week. We’re looking for new challenge ideas, so was thinking of holding a contest where your readers leave a comment on a health challenge idea, and we’ll pick our favorite challenge idea, use it on our site, and give the winner either a free digital health scale, slow cooker, or digital heart monitor.
Let me know if you’re interested by email: sue (at) slimkicker.com
PS. You can choose not to publish this comment since it’s not really a comment, I just couldn’t find your email address =)
Best,
Sue