It really all comes down to the mussels…that is where it started!

Granted, we have an about page, but as we evolve, we want to make sure that our readers, “fans,” and “followers” truly understand from where it is that we have come.

There are so many websites that mislead the consumer into believing that mediocre food is not only to be accepted, but that it is all that is available. As a lifelong Philadelphia area resident, I for one, am proud of my city and of our area restaurants and know that we have great restaurants here. I also refuse to believe that we do not, and cannot achieve great things in the culinary arts in our suburban communities. But, alas, once again, I have gone off on a tangent to be saved for another day….

Today’s topic: MUSSELS and our quest to locate them.

So once upon a November day, a trip was planned to New York City. A city that I know, love, and have eaten my way through, for years. We would take my father there for the weekend and, while I had a wonderful Sushi dinner planned, and an extravagant  birthday dinner planned, I wanted to have a casual Italian lunch with his favorite dish, mussels.

My father is a simple man, with one of his favorite places being Chick’s Tavern in Bridgeport where a local family cooks simple, yet delicious food in a family setting. Because I spent my time in New York on business, most of the restaurants we frequented were “the best,” and not neighborhood, casual spots. My search began to find a “Chick’s” in New York!

I spent 3 exhausting days! Of course, there were plenty of blogs out there. There are more today than existed then, but who has time to read through them all? Who are these people anyway? Besides, once you do get a recommendation, then you need to research the recommendation on several more sites to see what it looks like for setting, location, menu, etc. Exhausting.

I decided it shouldn’t be this hard! I personally subscribe to Zagat, but that now costs $24.95 a year to get reviews and they do not rate most lower end restaurants. You would never find a place like Chick’s with their “all you can eat mussels” in the Zagat guide!

So, we decided we needed a site that would compile the area’s “best” in many specific categories beyond just the cuisine type, that was user friendly, and that was unbiased and reliable. Our lists would include all types of restaurants, not just the 5 star variety and searches would include all most anything someone might be craving!

Are we there yet, HELL NO! We have thousands of restaurants still missing! We are working our fingers to the bone to get there, and we will! Until we do, we have the concierge service. If you don’t see what you are looking for, just drop us a line and ask! We will figure it out for you! No One should EVER have a bad meal in this fine city!

There are many other reasons for what we do here and to keep posts simple and to the point, we will break those reasons up into separate issues of “What we do.”