My Food Blog Methodogy

Welcome to my food blog.  Over the last few months, I’ve noticed that I go out to eat a fair amount, not a ton, but a fair amount. I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that I have someone to actually go out with now. Yay!  After going to a restaurant, I typically compare the taste, food, atmosphere, and customer service to other restaurants. I think it’s just natural.  I know we all do it, so it’s not really that special.  Now, I don’t profess to have anymore prowess evaluating food and restaurants than the rest of you.  I’ve always wanted to put my thoughts down and do the yelp thing, but I wanted to come up with a numerical evaluation instead just the star system.  However, I do realize that everyone uses the “star” system, so my rating system does both. 

Being the engineer that I am, my system is somewhat complicated, so I’m gonna explain it here.

Methodology

I’ve always wanted to do a 100 point scale.  So, I’ve broken the dining experience into 10 different categories that will be evaluated.  I went back and forth as to what these categories should be and decided on these 10: Taste, Customer Service, Atmosphere, Presentation, Quality, Cleanliness, Menu Selection, Value, Location, and Peripherals.  Originally, I had each category equivalently weighted and worth 10 points each, but I realized that Taste should really be weighted more than any of the other categories.  I mean, how good is a restaurant if the food doesn’t take good?  I made Taste be out of 20 points.  I dropped two categories down to be only worth 5 points to stay on a 100 point scale. They are Location and Peripherals.  The rest are worth 10 points each.

Points are evaluated based on a basic expectation of what’s average.  An average set of points is the starting place for each category.  Points are added for better things and taken away for negative things or bad things.

Taste: 20 point scale. Average is 10 Points. Points are based on how things taste.

• How did it taste in comparison to similar restaurants
• Is it seasoned properly
• How well do the flavors work together

Customer Service: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on the quality of the service

• How nice is the waiter/waitress
• How accommodating is the staff
• How knowledgeable about the menu/food are they
• Do they know the specials
• How willing are they to get information about what’s in the food for food allergies
• Do they let the water glass empty or stay empty for too long
• How responsive are they to requests of bread or doggy bagging
• How accurate is the information the hostess gives on wait times

Atmosphere: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on the atmosphere

• How the place is decorated
• How the place is lit
• What the music is like
• How loud the music is
• How much space is in between the tables
• Does it match expectations of the type of restaurant

Presentation: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on how things look

• Is the food plopped on the plate
• Is there enough garnish/ too much garnish
• Is there anything special about the shape of the plates
• Is there a good use of color

Quality: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on the quality of the food and/or quality control

• How fresh is the food
• Were there bones in the fish
• Is there a hair or other objects in the food
• If I’ve been there multiple times, does it taste the same
• Is the food hot
• Is the food cooked to the ordered temperature (i.e. is it really medium rare)

Cleanliness: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on how clean the restaurant is

• How clean is the bathroom
• How clean are the tables/seats
• How clean are the silverware/plates
• How clean are the glasses
• How clean are the floors/windows/door

Menu Selection: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on the variety of foods available

• How big is their menu
• What types of foods do they have
• Is there a children’s menu
• Are there items for health conscious people
• Are there items for vegetarians
• How flexible are they w/ changing things up for food allergies

Value: 10 point scale. Average is 5 points. Points are based on the price compared to taste and experience

• How much food do you get for the cost
• Is it a 2 for 1 meal
• Are there left overs
• How well priced is the food compared to similar restaurants
• If it’s a high end restaurant does the quality and taste of the food reflect that

Location: 5 point scale. Average is 3 points. Points are based on things surrounding the location of the restaurant

• How easy is the place to find
• How easy is it to park
• Is there a valet
• How much is the valet
• Is there good signage
• Is it visible from the street

Peripherals: 5 point scale. Average is 2 points. Points are based on the additional things that the restaurant offers

• Free food
• WiFi
• Check in deals on Yelp
• Whether owners come talk to you
• Parking validation
• To Go box availability – Or cute/personalized to go boxes
• Do they box the food for you
• Take American Express
• Wait time, when you have reservations
• Can you make reservations?
• Do they have swag you can buy on site
• Little mint/chocolate at the end

STAR Scale

I have broken the point system into the 5 star scale.  Since the evaluation is based on a basic expectation of average, I expect that a lot of restaurants will be about 3 stars. The point to star translation is weighted to reflect that. Here is the point scale to star scale translation.

00-05 points = 0.5 Stars

06-15 points = 1 Star

16-20 points = 1.5 Stars

21-34 points = 2 Stars

35-40 points = 2.5 Stars

41-59 points = 3 Stars

60-69 points = 3.5 Stars

70-79 points = 4 Stars

80-84 points = 4.5 Stars

85-100 points = 5 Stars

Because I plan to put my evaluations on Yelp, here is the point to star translation on a full star scale.

00-20 points = 1 Star

21-40 points = 2 Stars

41-69 points = 3 Stars

70-84 points = 4 Stars

85-100 points = 5 Stars

So that’s my scoring system… Yes, I realize how crazy I am…

Other than the scoring system, I will try to include information about the restaurant itself like location and website, if available. I will also include what I ordered, because it always drives me crazy to have people give a place a 5 and never tell me what they ordered.  If a person gives the place a 5 based on their fajitas, I’ll take that rating with a grain of salt, because I don’t really like bell peppers.  Each food blog will include pictures, if I remember to take them.  I’ll also try to include the price of each item. I’ll include my general impressions of the place and probably a couple of sentences for why each category was scored the way it was.

I think that covers everything… Now, who’s ready to eat?!?

Pork Chops and Potatoes Au Gratin

I made a really good dinner tonight. I wanted to share and/or remember what I made, so I’ve decided to blog about it for posterity. I also realized that there are not very many recipes for NuWave Ovens out there, so this is my attempt to get more out there.

I used my NuWave Oven. For those that don’t know, I have a NuWave Oven. It’s is the best infomercial product I’ve ever purchased. If you’ve never heard of it, the NuWave Oven cooks food using three different methods: Conduction, Convention, and Infrared. Below are descriptions from the NuWave website.

• Conduction is the heat that is applied directly to the food.
• Convection is circulated hot air, produced by our quiet motor and a specially designed fan. This allows the heat to distribute evenly for faster cooking and even browning.
• Infrared is simply a form of gentle, invisible, radiant heat. It penetrates the inside of foods while also cooking from the outside, leaving dishes moist and full of flavor yet browned to perfection. Hearthware's specially patented heating rods enhance the NuWave Oven's unique infrared capabilities. The concept is similar to the warmth of the sun's rays felt on your skin. As a matter of fact, about 80% of the sun's rays consist of infrared waves. The same principle applies to our NuWave Oven, only on a smaller scale. Restaurants have been using this technology for years to keep foods warm.

For more info about my thoughts on the NuWave Oven, check out my blog about cooking. If you want to purchase one, go to their website.

A few things before I attempt to put to the recipes down.

1. I used the NuWave Oven, so the instructions are for how to cook it in there – But you could easily put this in a conventional oven. The NuWave Oven operates at 350˚, but you may have to add a little bit of extra time to cook everything properly.
2. I don’t usually measure stuff when I cook (especially when I’m experimenting), so all the measurements are just guesses on my part. My philosophy w/ cooking is that you can usually tell it’s enough by looking, tasting, or smelling. Also, everyone has their own preference with ingredients, so you can add or subtract ingredients as you like.
3. I very rarely use salt and pepper. Ever since I was on the 6 Week Body Makeover Diet, I use Garlic power or Onion power and I don’t like pepper. So, you can add salt and pepper if you like, but you won’t find them in my recipes. The food tasted amazing, so it wasn’t even needed.

Back to my dinner…

Pork Chops

1 Pork Chop (½ inch thickness)

1 clove of Garlic
¼ Cup Vinegar (enough to marinate the meat in)
1 tsp Garlic Powder

1. Chop up the Garlic.
2. Marinate Pork Chop in vinegar, garlic and garlic powder. You can marinate for 1-2 hours or prep it ahead of time like I did. I put the pork chop and marinade in a FoodSaver freezer bag. I vacuum sealed it and stuck it in the freezer about two months ago.
3. Place the frozen Pork Chop on the 4” rack
4. Set NuWave Oven on High for 7 min.
5. Turn Pork Chop Over and cook for another 7 min.
6. Poke Pork Chop with fork, if the juices run clear it’s cooked, if not cook a little longer.

The Pork Chop tasted amazing, because the vinegar and garlic were infused by the vacuum seal before it was frozen and were locked in when cooked w/ the NuWave Oven. I was experimenting with the FoodSaver I bought just after Thanksgiving and marinated the pork chop before freezing. I’m for sure going to do that again.

Potatoes Au Gratin

2 Russet Potatoes

½ Cup Onion (Chopped)
1 Green Onion Stalk (Chopped)
1 clove of Garlic
2 Tbsp Butter (Softened)
2 oz. Blue Cheese (Crumbled)
¾ Cup Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
1 Cup Milk
¼ Cup Champagne
¼ Cup White Wine

1. Wash and Peel Potatoes.
2. Cut into thin discs. I used a mandolin to make them even
3. Add Onion, Green Onion, Milk, Champagne, White Wine, Butter, Blue Cheese and ½ cup of Cheddar Cheese to a bowl and mix
4. Place the potatoes in the 10” NuWave Oven Pan. Make sure the potatoes are spread evenly in the pan. (You can also use a 9x9 pan)
5. Pour the mixture from the bowl over the potatoes.
6. Sprinkle half the breadcrumbs over the top of the potatoes
7. Place the pan on the 1” rack
8. Set NuWave Oven on High for 20 min
9. Sprinkle the rest of the Cheddar Cheese and breadcrumbs and cook for another 10 min
10. Let potatoes sit for 2 mins in NuWave Oven before serving

This was a complete experiment. I had to do something with my potatoes, milk, and cheese that were going bad, and the leftover Champagne & White Wine that was getting flat. Yes, you can use milk that’s going bad for baking or cooking. You’ll kill all the bacteria if it’s cooked in something that’s more that 145˚. I originally put the potatoes in for 15 min and added Step eight and set the NuWave Oven for 5 more mins, but the potatoes weren’t fully cooked. I ended up Cooking them for an extra 10 mins (at 5 min increments). That is why I put the times the way they are. I suppose you can do the same and just taste the potatoes to see if their cooked. This will ruin the nice presentation and great look of the potatoes, but it’s up to you

You can actually cook the two things in the NuWave Oven at the same time, but I didn't want the pork chop juice to drip on to the potatoes, so I cooked them separately.

I wish I had pics, but I didn't realize that I was going to blog about this until after I ate! haha. Next time!. If you try out these recipes, let me know how it turns out. =)