I had another post set up for today but, instead, since it is Labour Day, I thought to write something different: My thoughts of the state of restaurants in Vancouver as of September 2010… See, with some many changes this year (compared to the previous years), I thought there should be enough material to write something! Material like what? Well, if we go sequentially, we have…
1) The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games: During those two weeks in February, the world (or at least those that have winter/snows) we looking at us and what we had to show for this “celebration”. For the most part, I think people enjoyed it, though there are things that went sideways as well. From the food perspective, I got a lot of emails about it so I ended up writing a long post about places to eat during the Olympics; however, in the end, I had to self-ban myself from some restaurants because of a practice they had on those two weeks: that of increasing the price and, in some cases, a “mandatory” gratuity. The question is if that has changed since. As of today, from that list, I have gone only to one restaurant but it was mostly for investigation purpose (as a heads up, that restaurant sucked in the end anyway). Instead, the question is somewhat related to point #2…
2) Implementation of the HST. as you know, HST was implemented in BC on July 1st, 2010. Currently, the legality of this tax is in the courts but, until that is sorted out, we are paying for that tax. In the case of the restaurant industry, that means an increase on the amount paid, not necessarily due to the restaurant itself but taxes. Interestingly, some restaurants seized the opportunity and, on summer, lowered their prices to attract customers. Talk about good practice! Now that summer is (almost) gone and HST has hit full force, not to mention claims that restaurants have taken a heavy hit due to the HST, I would like to bring back this post I wrote some time ago. I still believe what I wrote is true: Eating out is a privilege, not a right. So, in this competitive business, it is a matter of evolution. If you can’t cater the change of environment and, as a result, force to close shop, well, that’s part of business…
3) Proliferation of one-deal-a-day sites. I won’t name them but I am sure you all have a good idea of who they are. As the name suggests, these sites provide a deal per day but there is one caveat: the deal is only applicable if the minimum amount of people purchasing that deal is achieved. As a result, it serves both as a promotion and coupon for restaurants. But that begs the question of how good they are and how that affects the restaurant experience. I.e., assuming you have to produce the coupon in advance, does the restaurant treat customer differently? What about portion size? What if you want to get a similar coupon in the future (i.e., want to go again)? I guess like any of such promos, it is a matter of assessing the restaurant by itself so that, when you want to revisit it (and have to pay full price), do not be surprised if the experience is completely different. As for this blog, since the intent is that of a “regular” experience, I will not visit a restaurant using such coupon…
4) Food carts… Finally? As you have noticed, in the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot of noise made regarding street food in Vancouver. I have had my share of thoughts about street food when I wrote about Roaming Dragon; however, “for comparison” purposes, I went to several food carts while in Portland (check here, here and here) – the one place comparison is usually drawn. Now, after visiting Roaming Dragon, I have also visited Re-Up. I will jump ahead from that post and say that it was quite interesting and, if that is representative of what is to come, then good things will keep on going, though it won’t achieve the same environment/amount what is in Portland for a long time. Do I want that to happen? In a way is a wait and see. I still need to visit a lot more of other places first…
5) Bloggers as marketing tool. Here is a somewhat dirty secret: lately a lot of PR group of restaurants have invited food bloggers for some sort of opening/special dinner, et al, in hopes they will blog about that meal/lunch/dinner. Cost of inviting the bloggers? Chances are < $50 per head but the exposure is exponential. This is not new; instead, it is the frequency which have happened. For the most part, I trust the blogger itself. For example, Sherman and Mijune always make note it is such event and, even then, both bash the restaurant in the case the offering is not up to par. When you can’t find something negative (remember, for such events, they are well aware of who you are, not to mention the menu is prepared specially for the diners – As a result, you can be pickier than usual), either your palate is easily satisfied or you are blagger (despite claims of impartiality). Will this change? Unlikely. “Social media” is a powerful weapon. The key is to find who you can trust; just don’t fall in the fallacy by authority argument.
6) Food tours. One of the new type of “business” that have popped recently is that of food tours, where a local guide will take you to some well-known (or unknown) restaurants in an area. Is that good or bad? I would lean towards the bad. The reason is that it focus in specific areas and takes away from gems that exists outside of those geographical boundaries, not to mention I can go there by myself. But, then again, I am considered “local”, not to mention savvy enough, so that does not really apply to me. If you are a tourist, out of towner or not as adventurous, by all means! Just remind yourself it is somewhat scripted and might not provide a full picture of the restaurant…
I don’t think I have any words to close up this post; however, I do appreciate comments on what you believe are future trends!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the kind words Kim… We try to be as neutral as possible and trust me, it’s hard! However, in the end you’re right, there is nothing perfect in this world. Hence, if something is stated or implied as being perfect, well, then people can make their own conclusions about it…
I am not so sure about the food cart/truck. We are too cautious to fully embrace the meaning of street food. Germs…….regulations, etc.
Personally I have not seen anything up here worth developing as a trend when it comes to restaurants.
What I would like to see is a trend of SYSCO free restaurants, where Chefs do their own sourcing, prepping and cooking.
The economic recession has had a personal and profound effect upon my family. The year started so good for us. We were making more money than ever before. For the first time in a long time, things were really looking up. And then people started to get laid off in my husband’s line of work. First 10, then 20, then 100. Then my husband. We’ve been forced to get “creative” in order to maintain our lifestyle on much less income. One thing I’ve been using is these group-buy coupons. I’ve bought 4 of them, but have only redeemed 1 so far. I did not have to produce it in advance, so I assume the not-so-great service I received was typical and had nothing to do with the coupon. When I did turn over my coupon, though, I received no attitude and there was no awkward exchange. The coupon saved me $25. So far, I’m a big fan of the group-buy. As far as the requirement that a certain number of buyers agree to buy before the “deal is on,” I’ve never had a problem with that–there seems to be more than the minimum number of people going for the buy. I think a lot of other people are in the same financial boat.
Sherman, you know I am always straight to the point and there is no point on hiding the truth about how/what you write!
Peter, I guess it is a case of time will tell. On that note, I have one of such places in the queue and will most likely be visiting more as the week goes.
Sierra, I would fully take advantage of these if I wasn’t food blogging. However, I try to avoid anything that can skew the experience and coupon might be one such parameter…
Great post Kim.
We must say, there are a lot of food blogs out there that seemed to cater to “market” the restaurants (such as a dinner is set up with restaurant “knowing” it’s a food bloggers’ dinner)…and many times we do not agree with such practice. We have been invited by numerous restaurants to review their establishments again, however, we gently decline all offers. We believe that the best way to review a restaurant is to visit anonymously.
Also, we have noticed that some bloggers are easily influenced by others opinions to decide whether they like the restaurant or not, and often, they are influenced by what the restaurants tell them.
Our belief is, if we don’t know, we ask. For someone like me, who grew up with nothing but Chinese food, tend to ask a lot of questions when I go anywhere other than Chinese, however, I noticed that a lot of bloggers tend to depend too much on their “research” of how the food should be, instead of knowing how the food supposed to be.
Kim, Sherman, and Mijune, thank you all for sharing your true opinions. My husband and I enjoyed reading your blogs on a regular basis.
BG, welcome! One thing you must always keep in mind: Regardless of how food “should be” or “supposed to be”, there is still personal preference factor. But, I guess, the more you read a blog, the more atuned you are to the perspective of the writer and will have an idea of how to interpret what is written!
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