Tale of 3 Restaurants: Mozz, Theatre Square and Z's Fusion.

I'm not surprised if someone's first post is a complaint. I think of pleasant restaurant visits as an Anna Karenina "happy families are all alike" sort of thing. What can you say about it beyond, "it was good"? But bad food or bad service or strange behavior? 864 pages might not be enough.

So you see this board as a place to complain about restaurants? What's the fun in that?

So you see this board as a place to complain about restaurants? What's the fun in that?

Testy Pork Purveyor ain't cha .? Santa's watching !

I did not say that I saw the board as a place to complain. I said that I would expect people to be more motivated to register and post if they have a complaint than if they have nothing more to say than "I went to X and had Y, it was good". It doesn't mean that every post after that will be a complaint - just as the OP showed that he is not just here to complain by including some postive comments about other restaurants.

Anna Karenina is 864 pages, that was a (obviously poor) joke comparing bad reviews to tragic Russian novels, playing off Tolstoy's opening line about happy families. To someone who is not trained to analyze and discuss food, meals that are good are alike in their goodness. (If things don't go wrong, I'm going to remember the company I was with more than what I ate.) Each bad meal is a unique experience.

I like this forum because I prefer reading discussions instead of individual reviews. It's easy to see if someone only posts negative comments or sounds like a shill for certain places and I can give their comments the weight I think they deserve. Still, registering for it requires an investment of time that many review sites don't. Maybe I'm cynical but I think that people are going to be more likely to invest that time if they have had a bad experience than if they had a good one. I would be more skeptical of a first post that praises a restaurant than one that reports a problem.

If you want "atta boys" and short positve comments have a FaceBook page. Or have a format like Urban Spoon.

I'm not nitpicking. That's what you implied.

I don't think anyone here is looking for "attaboy's" or "short positive comments." This is a place for substantive discussion on food and restaurants. To break things down to constant complaining demeans this forum, which has historically risen above.

So you see this board as a place to complain about restaurants? What's the fun in that?

Testy Pork Purveyor ain't cha .? Santa's watching !

When have I ever not been frank? I gotta back my home, but seriously, you can't say a place is gonna fail in 2 years if you haven't even been in.

I'm not nitpicking. That's what you implied.

I didn't accuse you of nitpicking. What you inferred was not what I meant to imply. That is why I tried explaining it further.

Do reasonable complaints demean the forum? What does repeated negative responses to other posters in a thread do?

I think we may have to agree to disagree on the purpose of this board. In your initial post you said "What can you say about it beyond, "it was good"? But bad food or bad service or strange behavior? 864 pages might not be enough." And you followed it up suggesting that more people would register to complain than to say good things. I know you never accused me of nitpicking, what I meant was, its not nitpicking to get the sense that your view of this board is fairly cynical.

I guess I think of this board as a place to discuss food. A lot more goes on here than just restaurant reviews. Talk of food, beer, wine, spirits, trends in the industry etc...sure we weigh in on restaurants both good and bad, but what I meant to infer is that usually the conversation is fairly nuanced, and both sides of any story are weighed equally. So maybe we actually agree on what this forum is for, but I suppose that I just got the impression that you were writing off compliments as ""atta boys" and short positve comments" when compliments as well as negative criticism tend to be much more detailed and worth reading than that, and I felt that you were characterizing this board as a place to report problems when in fact, I feel it's a much broader arena.

My view of the board isn't cynical, my view of people and what motivates them is.

I think we agree on what goes on in this forum and both appreciate it for the same things. But I also feel that if someone has been lurking for a long time and hasn't felt compelled to register, I think a bad experience is more likely to get them to post than a good one. Other sites like Open Table or ones that let you log in using your Face Book app are easier to post a quick hit-and-run review - maybe good, maybe bad. Those have value for what they are but I prefer the discussion you get here. It is useful for customers to hear suggestions on how they might handle a similar problem if it occurs again. It's good for restaurants to find out what their customers think - we might not always let you know when we experience a problem.

It seems better for me to have someone bring up a problem here where there's a chance of explanation or resolution than to just complain to all of their friends and co-workers. (Yes, I know that in most cases it's better to try to resolve problems as they happen. Well, not the OP's problem, but most of them.)

Fair enough.

[Robin Garr]

Hey, this is funny! Some of the ads that appear in the forum's right-hand column are served by Google, and they're supposedly "context sensitive" to material in the pages around them. Sure enough, in the past few days we've started getting ads now and then for ... Jimmy Choo!

Other sites like Open Table or ones that let you log in using your Face Book app are easier to post a quick hit-and-run review - maybe good, maybe bad. Those have value for what they are but I prefer the discussion you get here. It is useful for customers to hear suggestions on how they might handle a similar problem if it occurs again. It's good for restaurants to find out what their customers think - we might not always let you know when we experience a problem.

This is good for LHB to hear. I honestly think the ease of posting on ANY site via FB apps are specifically designed to inflate visitor numbers. But then you get thought provoking posts like, "My socks feel itchy!" or "yummmm, coffee!" Geez! WTHCs? At least on LHB when someone posts they are usually compelled to post something a little more insightful. Usually. Sometimes.

This is good for LHB to hear. I honestly think the ease of posting on ANY site via FB apps are specifically designed to inflate visitor numbers. But then you get thought provoking posts like, "My socks feel itchy!" or "yummmm, coffee!" Geez! WTHCs? At least on LHB when someone posts they are usually compelled to post something a little more insightful. Usually. Sometimes.

thinks this sure is a great cuppa joe.

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OK OK!

These pretzels are making me THIRSTY!

Now back to the insightful pondering of a wildly diverse group of foodies.........

I took some folks to Mozz a couple of weeks ago--and loved it. We got fresh Moznzarella to begin and the each had a pasta dish. I liked the fact that one could get out for $18 or $75 a person. I've never seen a price spread quite like that.

I'll be back.