DanB wrote:Yes I know..... there is NO equivalent. But still...
Thanks for the kind words, Dan.
I'd like to hope there are equivalents, but it's a fact that over the years I've searched for similar independent local sites (in hope of setting up a Web-ring or at least a moderator therapy groun) and found very few. We linked up with one in Birmingham for a while, but it went away; and I'm pretty sure there is still an active, large Chicago-area forum.
I don't know if it's become more corporate/profit-driven in recent years, but at one point, Chowhound - later Chow.com - operated regional forums that had some potential. I think anonymity was allowed, though, which IMO inspires drive-bys and bad posts. Still, absent anything else, you might hit up chow.com and see if you can find a regional forum.