Steve's Gastronomic Home Page

I cannot rate every restaurant, even in the cities for which I do reviews, so I'm providing a list of sources which I believe have particularly useful information and/or credible reviews. While I cannot personally vouch for each link below, I do have first-hand knowledge that at least some of the information they publish is right-on, and will direct you to good dining experiences:

Nevada

Las Vegas Review-Journal Best of Las Vegas. There are two picks in each category--the readers' pick and the staff pick--the latter seems to be much more solid. The staff picked my favorite Japanese restaurant--Osaka. However, they did not pick Lotus of Siam, and from what I have read about it (I have not been there), it seems as if it should have been the choice for Thai food.

New Mexico

Gil's Thrilling Web Site is the authoritative guide to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, northern New Mexico, and even Cuba (New Mexico, that is). The Americana Dining links also include some very good information for some other American cities such as Chicago, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Gil has a particular passion for barbecue, hot dogs, and good burgers, and some great finds are listed throughout the Midwest and other parts of the country.

Joni's Home Page. Local knowledge is usually the best source, and this page gives some pretty good tips for the Las Cruces area. Be sure to follow the link to the "Restaurant Guide" at the bottom of the page, leading to a more complete list of recommendations.

Frommer's Guide to Las Cruces seems to be the best of the national guides that cover southern New Mexico, with Lesley King, the writer for New Mexico, giving good insights into the area's top restaurants.

John Shipman's Home Page. Who would have thought that a web site about Socorro, New Mexico could be interesting, but in following John Shipman's reasoning I would have to say I agree with his recommendations even though I have not tried most of them. As a bonus there are some reviews for Albuquerque and the Bay Area in California. Owl Bar & Grill is of course recommended (how could he not recommend the most famous local area restaurant?). And he explains, "If you're averse to American feedlot beef (as I have been since I read Richard Rhodes's book Deadly Feasts), the Owl also does a very nice breaded chicken breast sandwich. All the above-listed amenities such as green chile, grilled onions, and cheese work well with this sandwich too." John does a good job directing readers to local eateries, and explaining the pros and cons of each.

Chef Moz, a non-commercial restaurant review site, has some very good recommendations by readers for cities in New Mexico. I think the information is particularly good for Las Cruces and the surrounding area. Chef Moz attempts to cover every restaurant in every city and small town in America, but the reviews for New Mexico are among the few that I have found truly helpful.

Oklahoma

I have not found a site that I would consider to be the single best source for reviews in Oklahoma City and other areas of the state, but the following provide good information:

The Oklahoma Gazette web site has a comprehensive list of restaurants in Oklahoma City with reader reviews, something I may try to add to my site at a later date. The Oklahoma Gazette newspaper is published weekly and can be picked up free in many restaurants around town. The articles in the Gazette have been a valuable source of information about restaurants, and is probably the best authority on restaurant news and events.

EatAroundOKC.com is a great site with reviews and reader comments about Oklahoma City restaurants. I like the format that lists the reviews in chronological order (my "Most Recent Reviews" page is an attempt to do the same thing). While the Oklahoma Gazette reviews tend to present mainly a positive spin on all restaurants, the EatAround team of reviewers cover both the positive and negative points about restaurants. This is an excellent resource for the restaurants that have been covered so far.

The OKC Talk web site includes a Food Court forum with interesting topics and good information, especially about new and lesser known restaurants. The forum mainly talks about Oklahoma City restaurants, but I have seen very good information on places throughout the state (and the discussion sometimes focuses on Tulsa). The Best & Worst forum also has some good restaurant and food related articles.

Trip Advisor uses various sources, including guide books, to compile a list of the best restaurants in the country's larger cities. The Oklahoma City listings tend to be the traditional steak and American restaurants, and the ethnic restaurants they choose seem to excel in atmosphere rather than food, The web site is pretty good for "special occasion" restaurants that one might want to go to with family or friends so that everyone in the group could get something of good quality.

Dine.com does a better job at listing lesser known restaurants with great food, small ethnic places, etc. Unfortunately, you will have to navigate through the web site's menu to find the Oklahoma City listings since there is no way to provide a direct link.

Texas

Dining Out with Rob Balon. I think what sold me on this site is the fact that Chinatown is in the "Top Twenty" list of restaurants in Austin. I think where I differ from his opinion, though, is that for the most part his picks are very upscale, and I think there are plenty of "down home" places in Austin that are quite good. Also there are several very good vegetarian restaurants that are not on his list.

Delicious Dish Felipa Solis has an excellent blog about El Paso restaurants with reviews, new restaurant openings, and food related news. This is an informed and much needed overview of the El Paso food scene.

Washington

Coffee.net. This is a great web site by a group of guys in the Seattle area whose tastes seem to run similar to mine, and who do an excellent job writing about it. I consider this an authoritative and up to date source for the Seattle food scene, especially for Asian food and the smaller neighborhood restaurants.

Nancy Leson's List of Top Ten Restaurants and Other Favorites. I have seldom seen a restaurant critic who makes choices that agree so much with my own tastes, but Nancy Leson, the food critic for the Seattle Times, does so. This list seems to be lacking in the hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurants that I frequent so much, but many of them are covered elsewhere on the Seattle Times web site.

United States

Chowhound has been the best source I have found for finding honest reviews of restaurants throughout the United States (Chowhound also has an international section). The site was started by Jim Leff and evolved over time so that it now has some quirky features (Austin has its own board while the entire Midwest, minus Chicago, is on a single board). Still, it has worked for me to find some of the best eats I have experienced, particularly in Seattle (on the Pacific Northwest board).

OTHER SITES

Food Related

Barry Popik's Web Site explores the origins of foods and food terms, and is an interesting web site both in terms of serious research and the fun facts it presents. Barry is an editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2004), and lives in New York City.