1. Dr. Knife Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

   James,

   I will not be answering any of your 6 questions. Only cause I am lazy.

   But I will be offering some advice for your format. I like that it is wide, but it may be too wide. Check the link below. It talks about how certain widths of text are better for continuous reading etc… It helped me learn about readability.

   http://www.bastoky.com/Readability.htm

2. zmmann Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

   I was going to answer the survey by the numbered questions, but I think I’ll just rant a bit. Let me preface by saying that I am not an avid food blog reader, so my opinion is skewed:

   The strong points of The Eaten Path:

   1. Writing style. It is entertaining writing and a worthwhile read regardless of subject matter.

   2. Photographs. You take damn good pics of food, dude. (I guess this falls under Food Porn)

   3. Subject matter beyond food reviews. To tell the truth, descriptions of food and tastes don’t really draw me (though I might not be your target audience). I like descriptions of places, characters, the stories that go along with finding a new eatery, the stories that go along with Eating Out in general. Issues regarding eating out, cooking, etc.

   —

   Along with thought #3… I generally do not read foodblogs. When I do, it is purely for reference. What’s should I eat today? Etc. In that regard, a quick favorite of mine that I found and use purely for reference and better-than-Yelp! opinions is http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/ (mostly San Diego local). Besides that, for FOOD, I mostly just use Yelp! and take Yelp! comments with a grain of Kosher Sea Salt. For the most part, The Eaten Path does not function for this purpose.

   But, as to what I consider the best blogs, the ones I return to for reading value, I’d mention Yahoo! Sports columnists. Ignore the subject matter for a moment, for although I read it for content, I also love the format. It isn’t exactly a blog, but each Yahoo! Sports columnist writes weekly columns. Some columnists write more than one weekly column per week… One that is “published” on Mondays, one that is “published” on Thursdays, etc.

   (Example: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/expertsarchive;_ylt=AtMNL.fDYfzVW5eAONNoLYc5nYcB?author=Michael+Silver)

   These “frequent columns” are like a blog, because they are opinionated articles publicated online at a frequent rate. In my opinion, that’s what a good blog is (when it isn’t a personal diary/social journal). Quality pieces that are published at a regular rate. I think that is really key. So many “popular” blogs have high-frequency posts, but a lot of the posts will be wastes of the reader’s time. I prefer a blog that limits itself to quality posts and posts less frequently, like The Eaten Path. However, in this, The Eaten Path has a fatal flaw: your posting is random. What I like so much about Yahoo! is that I can depend on their being a new post at a regular time each week. That is what keeps me coming back. With The Eaten Path, there were times when I checked back a few times to find no updates. In these cases, I would stop checking for awhile and then check back one day and find out that I missed like 5 posts. I know it would be a pain in the ass, but I think committing to a set day of the week/month for a dependable post would do a lot for traffic, especially if it weren’t a secret to a new reader.

   I guess what I am trying to say is… The Eaten Path is a food blog, but I think, because it already kind of approaches the style, The Eaten Path would do well as an Op Ed column on food or at least approach that format a bit more. Just because it is a blog and not a page on nytimes.com doesn’t mean it has to adhere to blogland. (That is just me ranting about the future of internet journalism.) You were good at writing weekly columns for the Cal paper and I think that can translate to The Eaten Path, with Food as the subject matter. (Of course, this would force you to cut out the more bloggy aspects… but, would it be possible to separate the blog into two parts: “feature articles” and “news announcements (or something)”? That way you would have another outlet to say stuff that didn’t fit in….)

   That is my two-cents and my two-cents is a lot longer than I thought it would be. Sorry about that.

   P.S. As for advertising, you probably ought to do more of it… and I am willing to help… but I don’t really have any ideas.

3. soopling Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 4:24 pm

   Well, I’m new to your blog, so I’ve only read maybe the last nine or ten. But the reason why I subscribed is because I dug the language and style, so I hope that doesn’t change.

   Really, I’m kind of envious. Storytelling through food with an emphasis on writing was part of the original plan of my own blog, but once faced with other writing projects, the blog ended up being much more casual.

   Oh, and I do agree with Dr. Knife on changing the width.

4. foodhoe Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

   mister piggly wiggly, I do like that graphic on top, I believe that pulled me in initially. There’s something reassuring about the width of your page, it starts out visually with the ultrawide suburban parking lot and is so spartan and without all the annoying blinking things, noise, chatter and advertising (like on my own site for example) that makes most blogs super slow to load. Also, you can post really humongous pictures!

   I read a bunch of food blogs regularly: mmm-yoso/austin bush photography/ethicurian/gastronomy/eating asia/chez pim/cooking with the single guy/passionate eater/eggs to the apples/rubber slippers in italy (dang almost all asian authors). I obsessively like to read about what people are eating and cooking. The Eaten Path comes from a different perspective. I like the writing, your sense of irony and that you tend towards greasy fried foods and bacon… and poetry even! There are so many NY food blogs but you have a distinct voice and like to follow not the beaten path but the eaten path.

   With RSS feeds and google reader, it’s technically not that difficult to keep up… but yeah, regular posts are good. I would stop reading if you stopped posting, or radically changed the topic to just sports or cocktails. phew ok i’m done ta!

5. Mallory Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

   1. What are your favorite food blogs?

   I occasionally check veganyumyum.com and la.eater.com, though I mostly use blogs as recipe resources or as picture inspiration when throwing together my own food. On a regular basis I watch communities on livejournal that are food related: bakebakebake, a bento box community, and ofmornings (where posters put up pictures of their everyday breakfasts). I like food blogs that feature food accessible to the common man – chitchat that is constantly gourmet is boring to me because it’s inaccessible (though I do occasionally like to hear about crazy things, like $65 cups of kopi luwak/monkey poo coffee). I check Yelp for reviews before heading off somewhere, though I mostly use the reviews for their objective info – parking, operating hours, prices – than for the subjective whining.

   2. Why do you like this blog?/3. Why would you say you read this blog regularly? Why is it worth subscribing to and spending time on?

   I like the clean, easy to navigate format. The black background and the design of the site are unoffensive (though I do have trouble with the pull down menu options). Your writing always gives your food context – I like that dumplings and cocktails don’t live in a black void. I feel your posts also have a personal touch to them that makes your stories half about the food and half about your adventures/challenges/etc. I would say the personality you infuse into your posts is the most important aspect of adding reader interest value to your blog.

   4. What would you tell someone else is the point of this blog? What does “The Eaten Path” mean? Do I have a target audience?

   I see The Eaten Path as your life’s journey through food. The point – to share experiences and experiments. I’m a nosy human being, at least on the internet, so I enjoy hearing about living (and eating) in different places. I feel like as it stands now, the main drive of the blog is you. Sort of like how No Reservations on the Travel Channel is based on food and travel, but is largely Anthony Bourdain.

   In terms of demographics – age, sex, race, income – I don’t feel that your blog has a clear target audience. It might be worth it to see if there are any market research reports online detailing target demographics for food and travel readers (to see what is popular now to which groups).

   5. What would make you stop reading this blog?

   If your posts became too sporadic. My favorite blogs to read are those that combine interesting content with frequency.

   6. If you had two changes to recommend for The Eaten Path, what would they be? This can be anything, from content to site design to how I respond to comments or market the blog on other sites (which, admittedly, I do very little of).

   Market yourself on a bigger scale. Sell yourself like a food blogging whore. I think Twitter is obnoxious, but once I get my blogging act together I’m thinking of following the tips on this blog for blog publicity: http://www.rachel-levy.com/how-do-you-syndicate-a-blog-or-website/

   “-It’s a blog about everyday foods and the places that sustain them.
   -It’s a blog about food and travel.
   -It’s a food porn storybook. Porn comes in words, too!”

   I don’t really see these bullets as three separate routes. Big pretty pictures are essential (in my opinion) to (the best) food blogs. I don’t think your website should become a picture book, as you have valuable things to say about your pictures. And I don’t think you should ditch your travel food writing. If this were a book, I might say otherwise, but I think the greatest value of your blog is the way in which you filter food experiences – both local and in distant lands.

6. Mallory Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 6:50 pm

   Oh wow, that looks much longer published than I thought it would – I clearly have too much time on my hands at work.

7. Akratic Behavior Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 11:27 pm

   1. What are your favorite food blogs?
   Yours is the first real food blog I’ve read regularly.

   2. Why do you like this blog?
   High-res food pr0n. That said, I like that it takes a bit more effort to digest your commentary than, say, clicking through a bunch of food pictures in a Flickr photo community. You also seem to write these long sentences that flow really well.

   3. Why would you say you read this blog regularly? Why is it worth subscribing to and spending time on?
   I read them because I’m always getting notified on FB, Twitter, LJ, etc. I like to live vicariously, especially knowing I won’t be doing the traveling and exciting eating that you will.

   4. What would you tell someone else is the point of this blog? What does “The Eaten Path” mean? Do I have a target audience?
   I’d tell someone that, if they want to read about how food tastes, this is probably not the blog for them. However, if they want to read about how food FEELS, this is the blog for that. “The Eaten Path,” as a name, conjures up images of a time-worn, experienced eater, which, although you’re not exactly time-worn, makes sense to me.

   5. What would make you stop reading this blog?
   Once you stop posting the pictures, I’ll stop reading. If you start talking about fromage and pate and Michelin-ratings, I’m outta here.

   6. If you had two changes to recommend for The Eaten Path, what would they be? This can be anything, from content to site design to how I respond to comments or market the blog on other sites (which, admittedly, I do very little of).
   Mmmm, sometimes I can’t tell whether you liked what you ate. Also, could you blog about places where you ate and you didn’t like it?

8. Liat Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

   1. Generally geeky stuff. I read thefoodgeek, the kitchn, serious eats, cooking for engineers, yulinka cooks, harold mcgee, and chez pim. Alternately, I read the impulsive buy, not really for the products but for the narrative. I also love the French Laundry At Home Blog which has morphed into the Alinea At Home Blog, again not for the creativity but for the narrative.

   Confessions of a restaurant whore was great in its prime.

   I like experts–people who tend to know where to get the best foods, cheapest foods, best valued gadgets, and most relevant recipes. I am also a serious eater, so I appreciate tangible descriptions of meals, step-by-step cooking processes, and fabulously divey restaurants.

   2. I like your writing, plain and simple. You have also opened my eyes to several avenues of affordable cuisines that I had never even bothered approaching because I thought they were mundane and reproducible.

   3. I read whenever you update. It is easy to keep up since that does not happen on a daily basis. I would read less of it if there was too much content and not enough substance, but I think the balance is perfect.

   4. Eaten Path is a carefully crafted narrative of a meal. Sometimes it is about the journey to get to the meal and other times it is about the meal itself.

   5. If you stopped writing it. For me, it is mostly about the person behind the blog whose opinions and thoughts that I value.

   6. I like interacting, commenting, and looking at pictures. I think better indexing of past entries, favorite entries, series are always welcome.

9. Abby Says:
   March 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

   James,
   When I first started reading your blog, I was totally jealous. You can write man, You really can. And that is a gift. I on the other hand I kinda suck. Probably why I dropped the pen and picked up the knife. I am a bit more articulate with a sharp edge in my hand. And from my experience food blogs can really suck. Yours doesn’t. To be honest it seems the only way to be successful is food pornography and networking, networking, networking (basically glued to the computer 24/7) I am not and I don’t want to be. SO the financial success of my blog is limited.
   Next, I understand why you write this blog. But it seems to me you should maybe go on haitus from blog world and write your book. I have told countless people about this book and I am starting to look bad. (just kiddin, actually not really) To be honest, you are meant for hard cover (or paper back – your choice , or that of your publisher.) I just think if this blog is practice, fine. And you know if you are ready. I know it is a huge commitment of time and effort and brain power, but I think your book will be well received. You are talented and you have a pretty interesting journey to tell. I would love to read your book during my commute. Then when you are done with the book, you will have a captive audience for your blog. PLEASE WRITE YOUR BOOK. (I just worry that you will continue blogging and never get around to it—if you can do two simultaneously – all the better for me) Hopefully you do not take this ad discouragement rather than encouragement and a testament to what a great writer you are.
   BEST OF LUCK
   your avid reader
   ABBY

10. James Says:
    March 24th, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    Thanks to everyone who kicked in some feedback, here and otherwise :)

    Knife, thanks for the link. Interesting stuff. I’m definitely going to be reigning in the width of the column a bit, but nowhere near optimal readability. Hopefully a couple small changes will go a long way in easing the strain on the eyes, though.

    Zakhar, good call on the column analogy. I’ll do my best to commit to a regular posting date and use Twitter for microblogging and other purposes. If I can work out things out well enough I’d like to eventually make this a group blog with a different food column from a different writer in a different part of the world each day. There are a lot of issues to work out, but definitely fertile ground you’re touching on here. In terms of marketing, I have a great social bookmarking widget installed but am not sure if anyone ever uses it. I feel like simply passing links along works best in terms of growing readership. I do send in links to a few sites but really don’t put too much emphasis on one-off traffic magnets. Now that I’m in New York and getting better acquainted with the community, I’m going to start contributing more to other blogs and become a more active member of the food blogosphere.

    Soopling, thanks for commenting! My writing style will definitely not change… not sure if that’s possible, even :P I hope you continue to enjoy the blog.

    Foodhoe, I’m glad that you’re still following along. Thanks for the comment on the aesthetic of the site; I did put a lot of thought into it and I’m glad that it hasn’t gone unnoticed!

    Mallory, thanks for the breakdown. Fortunately, the personality part of the blog is the easiest part for me! In terms of regular content, I do think I’ve been pretty good about posting once per week, if not on a reliable timetable. I’ll definitely work towards more consistency, though. I’ll be taking note of the link you suggested, and I already have my own ideas on how to best use Twitter to my advantage (it involves lots of photos!).

    Wontons, I thought about whether or not I was going to post negative reviews when I started the blog. I kind of decided that it would be irrelevant to the greater task at hand. I have done a few negative posts, but since I’m so far removed from conventional review style I’m not sure I’ll be working harder to be clear on my take of a place. In general, though, I like most of the things I write about :)

    Liat, thanks for chiming in! I have pondered in the past over how to make my past entries more accessible. The key compromise I’m not willing to make is on the design of the site. I’ll revisit the idea with some more design experienced friends and see what I can come up with…

    Abby, that’s a sweet thing to say. I do not plan on cutting out blogging to write the book, and I am definitely planning on having my first manuscript done by the end of the summer, at which point I hope to make a second road trip through the South to do more research and conduct field interviews to really enrich the book. I hope to make 4-5 trips total before being ready for publication in early 2010. Hopefully by the time Autumn is in full swing I will have an agent and some kind of contract! Thanks for the support. I spent some time with Ric in Austin and we were talking about a BBQ place in Bed-Stuy… investigation will follow shortly.

11. Chris M. Says:
    March 27th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    So I’ll just wander around about what this has going for it:

    First, you love food, and you love its history and context, which is not something you get a lot of most other places. The column-length format. I agree about the Yahoo! Sports columnists, the comparison definitely rings a bell. They’re about the only sports anything that I consistently read. It’s mostly because of the quality of the writing and the strength of focus within each column, while maintaining a broad reach in the columnist’s gaze overall.

    You write like hell, that’s for sure. That helps enormously, and the style you use fits the format well.

    I really trust your judgment food-wise. You’ve steered me to some of the best, coolest places I’ve ever eaten. Just took my girlfriend to Jodie’s, in fact. You keep finding these great weird places (I have no idea how you do that) that are both offbeat and sound delicious.

    More importantly though, you put these places in context with the whole enterprise of eating, as you see it, which includes a lot more than just the food. Comfort food, how eating fits into life, all of that, and damn. Anyway, you might know better than I do what I’m talking about, and it comes through in sincerity in about everything you’ve written about, and a complete willingness to ignore what’s supposed to be good and just eating it.

    Okay, that last bit is a little more fuzzy, but it’s really clear that you love food, and everything about it. Oh, and if you’re ever in the area and want to try some damn good barbeque, there’s a place called Smoque up here in Chicago that is seriously great.

12. Chris M. Says:
    March 27th, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    “Offbeat” as in, not something you would usually hear about. “What’s supposed to be good” as in the trendy urban upscale foodie mentality. I’m thinking of a guy I know who raves about the well-respected food places around Berkeley; when he tried to cook, though, he had no idea that he had failed, or even when he occasionally succeeded. I don’t know whether he had functioning taste buds, but they were sure not why he liked fancy food.

    Anyway, you’re as close as I can think of to the polar opposite of that guy.

13. James Says:
    March 28th, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    Hey Chris! The point of judgment is an interesting one. Since moving to New York I’ve realized how relatively little experience I have food wise to the hardcore eaters that thrive in this city. I’d like to hold on the conceit that I have good food instincts and a solid foundation of flavor experience, but I’ve been wondering lately if the audience of this blog is people who actually don’t know that much about the details of food and care very little about the sum of their knowledge when it comes to eating out.

    In terms of finding places to try, write about and recommend, I’d have to say that I hardly deserve the credit for “finding” these things. I depend on all of my friends, many of whom know much more about food than I do, to guide me to the places I end up loving and writing about. When it comes to things like BBQ and fried chicken I need no assistance, but on any other type of food it’s highly likely I’m relying on sources to shape my tastes and knowledge of the foods and the cultures behind them. I like to think of my blog as part filter, part discovery, and I hope the experience of trying to make sense of things from the ground up comes across in whatever I write. If there’s one thing I am NOT, that would be a food expert.

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