Changes in Attitude

As I sit at my kitchen table watching the snow fall in Nashville, I am already thinking of what warm, cozy, tummy-filling comfort foods I can make from the lackluster stock in my pantry. No, I didn't go to the store this week to bulk buy the milk and bread, but yes, Mom, I really do have food to eat!

Since it's only 10 a.m. and I just ate breakfast, I will have to settle for writing about food instead of cooking or shopping for or eating it.

When I first started this project, I was unclear of the direction I would take it, or more fittingly, it would take me. As with any writing assignment, the first draft is usually not the one that gets printed. So, I am tweaking this project to better fit the demands of those who read this little blog. As a mentor pointed out to me, no one is scared of the food critic who only ever has "sweet" things to say about how "perfectly delicious" everything is. (See also: Disney's Ratatouille.) Not that I aspire to incite fear into the minds of Nashville's restauranteurs, but if I'm going to do this, I might as well be taken seriously, right?

One bad element of a meal leading to one bad review does not necessarily mean I'll never eat there again, or that you won't try it out to form your own opinion. I am just one person, and I am not Gordon Ramsey.

So here are the changes I'm thinking of making:

• I will be more honest, more descriptive. If that means I need to be tough, I will be. If that means I need to get upset and talk to the manager and complain that my waiter sent a text at my table or a piece of hair ended up in my cheese grits or I have to wait an hour-and-a-half-when-you-told-me-it-would-be-35-minutes, then I will.  Get ready!
• In conjunction with being more descriptive, I will offer information on the auxiliary details as well, such as restaurant decor, menu price, targeted audience, and parking. If you offer complimentary valet parking, I'm there! (Thank you to: The Crow's Nest, Tin Angel, Lime, and The Mall at Green Hills.)
• I will subdivide categories into occasions, such as "Where to Take Out-of-Town Guests" or "Where to Go When Mom/Dad/Grandpa is Buying" or "Where to Go On a Date/Where NOT to Go On a Date"...You get the idea!
• I will offer a summary at the end of each review (currently being called "The End Notes;" will take suggestions for catchier name) and will end each summary with  a rating (format and name TBD).

I'm looking forward to seeing where else this will go. With a new tougher attitude, a long list of places yet-to-be visited, and a healthy appetite, Nashville, here I come! Hope you're ready!