Food-o-File
Making sure 'Food-o-File' better serves you
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., May 14, 2010
1) Restaurant reviews, Critics Picks for the annual Restaurant Poll (coming next week), or "Best of Austin" awards cannot be arranged by invitation or appointment and will not be done in response to offers of free meals. They cannot be arranged by advertising representatives or publicists. No legitimate restaurant reviewer from this paper will call in advance to announce their intention to review a restaurant or ask that specific items be prepared for free. Just send us a press kit or e-mail announcement about the opening of the restaurant, and we'll consider it.
2) This is a weekly newspaper, and we have print deadlines. The deadline for submitting potential news items to this column or the "Event Menu" listings is Friday morning. Information that arrives after that, especially Monday-Wednesday for the same week, will not make the paper. Also, our restaurant listing suggestions for holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day run a full week before the holiday in question to give readers an opportunity to make reservations, so plan accordingly.
3) I'm an inconsistent blogger but will endeavor to do better.
4) I do not drink, so I cannot attend your wine/beer/distiller dinner, bottle signing, or desk-side liquor tasting under any circumstance. I will gladly forward your invitation to a writer who can drink and could possibly cover your event or product, but "no" from me means "no."
5) Event listings are most likely to be used when they arrive in a timely manner and contain the basic details about who, what, when, where, why, and how much. We won't have room for elaborate menus, wine lists, or personal bios and would prefer not to invest time on a treasure hunt for the necessary basic info.
6) We'll gladly consider product samples that are submitted with contact information and product descriptions, plus info about pricing and where our readers can buy them. We cannot promise coverage.