Thank you.

I appreciate all the help I've received. .I am a humble Chowist in training.

Hattyn,

The biggest thank you you can provide is to visit your favorite restaurant, hot dog shack or take-out place, then tell us why you like it. Let us know what the highlights are and perhaps what to avoid. If lunch time is when the best cook reigns supreme, then please do advise as we love insider tips whenever possible. And please do conclude your topic with a full name, address, phone and perhaps operating hours. I have actually visited the wrong location because of incomplete information.

If you have seen the same location reviewed already, then please post YOUR experience. One man's favorite can be someone else's favorite, also. Sometimes restaurants change over time and not always for the better. I very reluctantly had to report a very negative change in my favorite Pho 777 when new ownership and new cooks took over for the worse. So you may be alerting us to something we need to observe.

I have no idea where you hang your hat, however don't be intimidated if nobody responds to your post. Sometimes nobody says anything because they haven't anything to say, but they do read. You may find someone on your Maxwell St outing, yes I read, who will ask you a question about what you advised. Total strangers become fast friends when they already know something about each other via posts.

Another thing, it takes practice to write these posts and eventually you will find your style. Some of my earlier posts I would rewrite today. "All good writing is rewriting" ... If I really applied that I would still be reworking my first post!!! So dip your toe in the water and just do it. I really look forward to your insight.

Yours truly,

hattyn wrote:If someone does not reply on here I am sure it is for some other reason.We seem to be an opinionated group.And don't mention toes.I heard there is someone with a foot fetish in our midst.

For those who don't quite catch the reference, here's Evil Ronnie discussing his love of a good foot: http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards ... 32137.html

Actually, the lack-of-response thing comes up a lot. I've found that a lot of times when you're the first one to go to a place, no one else has anything to add-- then two months later you'll get the response as people do check it out. But I know there are a lot of us reading EVERYTHING.

Mike G wrote:Actually, the lack-of-response thing comes up a lot. I've found that a lot of times when you're the first one to go to a place, no one else has anything to add-- then two months later you'll get the response as people do check it out. But I know there are a lot of us reading EVERYTHING.

Oh, totally. If it's a real chow-find or at least a new/unknown place you'll very rarely get any substantive responses. Sometimes people asking for more details, but it's hard to discuss a restaurant without having been there.

I read pretty much everything that gets posted, and I know most of the other addicts do, too.

Plus, you can always tell how many people have read a thread.

Mike's thread, for example:

Thai Homemade, Hai Woon Dae, Taqueria Puebla cemita
0 Mike G 47 Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:16 pm
Mike G

0 replies, but 47 views. In general it seems that for every one comment there are between 20 and 80 message views where no comment was posted.

So, yeah.

Sometimes there is no response to a post because none is reasonably possible. That often has to do with the nature of the post and is thus sometimes the responsibility of the poster. But sometimes it is best construed as a reflection of the audience's lack of knowledge of or experience with the matter at hand.

On the other hand, sometimes there are responses which have naught to do with the original message on which the post is ** from a formal standpoint ** an intended comment.

On the other hand... ...

All is well, it seems to me, so long as each poster accepts that there is a communal responsibility to offer a mix with regard to the nature of their posts, in which those with 'chow' content are not outweighed by those which contain only extra- or para-chow material.

Erik M. used this phrase earlier today and it is a good one: "Beauty in balance".

Just my two lire...

Antonius