It’s time for another reader questions mailbag. It’s been around a year since I’ve last posted one of these so now is a good a time as ever to spend your rainy days and read what fellow readers have been inquiring and commenting on.
I enjoy interacting with readers and love having conversations about one of my true passions: food.
If you ever have questions or want to share your thoughts, feel free to e-mail them to wichitabyeb@gmail.com. I try to reply to every e-mail that is sent in. With that said, it’s time to hear from the readers. What you see below are real questions/comments from real people. Enjoy:
Have you ever been to (insert multiple different restaurants)?
I receive these emails, private messages, DM’s, etc multiple times a week. If you haven’t heard, my database of restaurants that I personally use I made available to everyone. I use it to keep track of restaurants I’ve reviewed, been to, etc. You can view that on the Food Directory. Everything is searchable and sortable.
I enjoyed your Wichita Pho Tour, do you have anything similar in the works?
I firmly believe nobody should ever write a “best of” list without visiting every alternative which is why I like doing it since it gives me a good insight on what all there is around town. But doing things like going to 30 different burger restaurants and ranking them or every pho restaurant in Wichita is personally time consuming and costly, plus it can burn me out on food. Now that I’ve been to every restaurant in Wichita that I know of, ultimately I want to make some sort of best of list or update my bucket list which is in dire need of a refresh.
Why do you post pictures of menus that area already on the restaurant’s website?
I actually find this to be incredibly useful as a resource. I think it’s nice to have everything in one spot so people don’t have to bounce around to multiple different sites. Also as years go by, I really enjoy comparing menus to see what kind or price increases there are.
Could you write about my event I have coming up?
Of course. The Events Around the Community page is up and going, it’s always a work in progress. This is probably the best and easiest way for me to get as many events I hear about or am asked to write about up. If you have something you’d like to contribute, please use our Submissions Page.
I noticed you sometimes write about fast food chains, could you please focus more on local restaurants?
I think the amount of locally owned restaurants I frequent and support on a weekly basis is more than 99% of Wichitans. So I don’t think writing about a fast food is going to hurt anything or cause extreme suffrage to a local establishment.
Will you take some time off from blogging when the baby arrives?
That’s probably in the game plan. That doesn’t mean I won’t stop eating. I figured it’ll be a good time to do my first food review at a hospital. And then maybe even throw up some recipes we have planned for home. The week of will likely be some repostings of some of my favorite blogs over the years. It’s been probably a couple years since my last extended break from blogging. It’ll be nice to have one.
You are not a good judge of food.
You are not a good judge of bloggers if you chose to actually read the crap I write.
Where do your giveaways come from?
It’s a mix. I’ve purchased the gift cards myself in the past. I’ve also reached out to some places to see if they are interested. Other places have given gift cards following a good review as a thank you. Some events toss free tickets my away for exposure. Other restaurants also want to do a giveaway to help exposure for their own restaurant.
My thought process on it is, ‘If a restaurant wants to give away free shit to me to pass on to the readers, why should I say no?’.
Can you suggest me some street tacos?
Drive up to the north end of Wichita around 21st or 25th street near Broadway or Arkansas. Mr Taco, Alondra’s Tacos, Taqueria El Fogon, Rico’s Tacos El Torito, Tacos Raymundo, Taqueria Mi Lindo Michoacan….. gosh there is such a variety of great little taco places. My advice is to make a list and try one a week or just drive down the street and randomly go into any place.
What’s a restaurant’s pet peeve of yours?
When the menu isn’t available ANYWHERE! Number two would be, going to a restaurant to only find out they are closed with no heads up, sign on their door, or social media posting.
I don’t really like your reviews. You are definitely doing this for personal gain purposes. You are not a foodie.
Sounds like an owner who received a bad review. Let me tell ya though, you’re not the only one who’s not a fan! There’s a community of travel agents who are right there with you! I’m just an average everyday dude who happens to have a computer with internet access and knows how to type. You are right though, I’ve been doing this for personal gain for the last eight years. While I spend thousands of dollars a year eating out, hundreds and hundreds of hours a year typing out original content for the benefit of many others, and maintaining a website’s expense out of my own pocket, I’ve done this all for my own personal gain…… in cholesterol.
You rigged the best burger bracket.
I didn’t run any best burger bracket but I did run a “Most Liked Burger” bracket. Through that bracket, I’ve been told by at some owners, they’ve had huge upticks in business since the inception of the contest. Some reported some of their busiest days ever and others had around a 25% increase in business. Not sure how it’s possible to rig a restaurant winning especially one I’ve never been to but OK, you caught me red-handed!
It was just for fun but if you took it so seriously, I’d recommend you also reach out to the Wichita Eagle’s Reader’s Best results. Buffet City was the winner in five categories: Best All You Can Eat, Best Chinese, Best Locally Owned Restaurant, Best for Lunch and Best Pho. They were also one of the runner-ups in Fast Casual Dining. This is the fourth straight year they’ve won Best All You Can Eat.
How can I be featured on your ‘Get To Know’ segment.
Simple. Answer these questions and email me.
- Name of the business & when it was founded/started
- Name of the owner(s)
- Bio of the owners(s)
- About the business (genre of food if a restaurant, what you do, services offered, a little history, etc).
- Why you started or took over the business
- Menu (if available of the food or services offered)
- Most popular menu item
- How to reach/locate your business (social media, website, phone number, address)
- This is a must: please include pictures of your storefront, yourself, food, business, etc. At least 4 pictures are needed.
Any big Memorial Day plans?
Since I’ve cleared through my list of Wichita restaurants, I’m going to make a short drive out of Wichita so try my hand at one of the highly recommended restaurants about thirty minutes away. I’m excited! Stay tuned!
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Thanks for reading and thanks for the questions, comments and criticism.
If you ever have questions or want to share your thoughts, feel free to email them to wichitabyeb@gmail.com. I try to always reply to everything.
To nominate your business or event to be considered for a review, please email us with your information. We are always open to suggestions.
