Bonne Année 2013!
Happy New Year 2013!
I cannot believe we are already in 2013! And I Just Want To Eat passed 18 months of existence, soon approaching the two years mark. Why are two years important? Because a lot of blogs stop after one to two years as people start them because they think it is cool and then realize that it demands a bit of work. I know that lots of people only see the fun side of a food blog that is to go eat and find the excuse of the blog to eat whatever they want (I admit I use that excuse a lot...).
But, writing a post with nice photos (the natural light is the biggest challenge) demands a bit of work. Depending of a subject, I can spend more than an hour on a post and, like most bloggers, I will work on post as soon as I can and schedule it, explaining why there is sometimes a lag between the visit at a restaurant and the post itself. This became apparent with Stage Deli! I went there in September and the post finally made it online in November, two days after they closed!!! Talking about that, 2012 has been a terrible year for the restaurant industry with a lot of businesses affected either by the economy or rent increase. We saw for instance Stage Deli mentioned previously, Gallagher's announcing they will close or the loss of the Meatball Factory whose owner, David Martin was a Top Chef alumni. So sad...
2012 was definitely a year rich of surprises, good and bad. Here is a bit of a retrospective!
The worst:
- Nick and Steph's Steakhouse and their Mac & Cheese made with processed cheese.
- Carlo's bakery and the disgusting cupcake and cannoli.
- Minetta Tavern and its overpriced burger.
The best:
- Vetri by Marc Vetri in Philadelphia
- Colicchio and Sons and its amazing dinner experience
- Ippudo and Momofuku Noodle Bar for their fantastic ramen!
The discoveries:
- Jeanne et Gaston
- Matt & Meera an Indian-American fusion (located in Hoboken - now closed).
- The Red Hook Lobster Pounds for their fabulous lobster roll!
The list would be too long... There are so many places to try! What is interesting are the trends, like ramen that made a big mark this year! I have to say that I love it and considering the number of ramen restaurants opening these days, you will for sure see more reviews...The culinary scene is definitely moving and people are more and more curious to try different cuisines. I was asked recently if I eat a lot at French restaurants and I answered negatively: there are so many different cuisines and misconceptions or ignorance about some of them: Japanese is not only sushi, Italian is not only pizza and pasta and Ethiopian does have food on the plate!
So I am sure that 2013 will be full of good and bad experiences and I do not mind the bad ones as nothing can be perfect and it is what is making this blog fun! So I hope you will enjoy: I will for sure!
And remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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