Rita's opinions vindicated

I spoke today to a regular Rita-reader and was delighted to hear his recent dining-out tales.

He has eaten out over the last two days - firstly at Smith St Store for brunch, then at Plum last night. Both of the decisons to go to these two venues were the direct result of reading (and believing) Rita's commentary on the subjects. BTW - he loved both places, and heartily endorsed everything I said about them.

I love that others out there read and interpret for themselves exactly what I am saying, and act on it. I love that people can get more of a feel for what any particular establishment might be like, so when it comes time to eat out, you can make a more informed decision about where/how/how much etc.

I feel privileged that I can be part of that process, and that people also understand that my blog is merely a guide, but that they must ultimately make up their own minds.

That's why I love it also when others comment on any particular subject. It's better to have anyone who has an opinion expressing it, than just to read one person's diatribe.

The hoo-ha over the past week regarding Sir Grumpy and his sometimes-off-post comments has been at times disturbing but in the final wash-out, it actually is what this blog is all about.

Every night around 9.30 I receive an email from Site Meter (the website that keeps stats on the number of people who look at the blogsite, and tracks their origins, how long they stayed etc). The stats indicate interesting things to me. Mostly they indicate an increasing number of people joining us here, which is fantastic.

I hope people aren't put off by the past weeks dialogues between Sir Grumpy and the various Anons. We welcome everyone here, and are more than happy to discuss anything and everything. There are no rules or regulations. That's the beauty of "talking" here. You can remain Anon and express your opinions secure in that knowledge. Just be polite, though.

It interests me when I read comments from, say, Cartouche. I obviously have been in this reasonably intense "dialogue" many evenings with him. I have built up my own mental image of him. I "speak" so often with him (albeit online). I consider him to be a friend (you know: one of those invisible ones you have when you're a child!). And yet, he could walk past me in the street, or serve me in a restaurant, and I wouldn't know him from Adam.

That's one of the weird things about this world of blog.

Alright then - it's back to the world of eating, and todays' lunch venue is a return trip to Farm Gate. As I have been there relatively frequently, I won't be reviewing today - merely enjoying.