Over the past 10 years, I have written about hundreds of New Orleans restaurants, either here on my blog or in publications like Where Y’at Magazine, FrenchQuarterJournal.com, Louisiana Kitchen & Culture, New Orleans Living Magazine, etc. I’ve shared thousands of my amateur photos of local foodstuffs on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and most of the time, I do not accept free meals because I don’t think it’s fair to review a spot based on a comped experience.
What I have observed after thousands of shares and hundreds of articles is that most restaurants are unwilling to share the love. I mean, if I have a stellar dining experience, I’ll shout it to the world, so why is there no reciprocity? Of the hundreds of articles I’ve written, maybe 15-20 restaurants have shared my article on social media. Why is that? Am I a horribly shitty food writer? Do I have to write for freakin’ Food & Wine or NOLA.com in order to be acknowledged? Are the publications I write for just not good enough?
While my hide is frequently chapped by this overt lack of exchange, I’m not going to stop writing about food and restaurants in New Orleans. But all of you too-good-for-Kim’s-review restaurants out there, don’t think I’m not paying attention.
