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A Few New Features at Aku Eats!
Aloha!
1/27/10 - Just wanted to clue you all in to a few new features at Aku Eats! Nothing spectacular, but I think they'll be helpful in your search for the best places to eat on the island, for sure! The first two are concerning Closer Look pages - from here on out, there will be, on every Closer Look, a list of easily accessible links to check out a slew of different other reviewers for each respective restaurant, just for a more balanced approach, as well as an imprinted Google Map on the page itself, instead of as a link, with a more detailed approach on how to get there. For some restaurants, all's you need is a map, but with others, as with the next Closer Look where we'll visit Cafe Imperial Tonkatsu House, a map alone simply doesn't suffice! And lastly, upon request, I've implemented a section to help you find Oahu restaurants by location. It's nothing fancy by any means, and not nearly comprehensive, but yet, it may be of help to some in need. Check out the green tabs on the left of each page, and you'll see the button at the bottom.
Getting back to different reviews by other folk, just so you all don't get too tired of me, I'll be referring to mostly a handful of trusted sources from three different points of view. The first group of folks are other local bloggers like myself, the next, professional food writers here locally, and finally, the most comprehensive site for national/international consumer reviews anywhere.
The first set of reviews will come predominantly from Pomai at Tasty Island, but if he hasn't yet covered the restaurant, I'll refer to Reid at Ono Kine Grindz or some other local blogger. While Reid used to be, by far, the biggest local food blogger out there, for some reason, he hasn't been posting much at all for the last several years, and Pomai has kinda taken his place. His site is super-fun, highly entertaining, and as local-style as it gets, with some pages including a million pictures or more. Exaggerating, of course! You'll most likely see either of these two buttons on the next Closer Look:
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Then there's the professional side, the established food critics who are paid to write and review food for the various newspapers, magazines, radio shows, and television programs. It could be Joan Namkoong, John Heckathorn, Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi, David Choo, Wanda Adams, and a host of other folks from different media outlets on the island. Could be sites such as these, but also many more:
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And, finally, one of the most useful sites on the internet, a site not only popular in Hawaii and the United States, but around the world. Yelp is an assortum of regular folks who pitch their opinions about everything from food to beaches, hotels, beauty salons, grocery stores, clothing outlets, cleaning companies, and any other subject you can think of! Just remember, though, of the three groups, this one is the most prone to wild and highly opinionated reviews, even terribly short-sighted assumptions and outlooks, as any ol' person can sign-up and begin reviewing. I, myself, have a Yelp home page and a bunch of reviews there. Check it out, and begin Yelping, too!
So there you have it. Just wanted to let ya know! And while I'm at it, allow me this time to thank you all for tuning-in faithfully. I'll continue doing my best to put-out a helpful page for everyone! And thanks also for those who have purchased the Island Flavors book - after 4 months, I've finally broken even on paper (financially speaking), only there's a three month lag on actually getting paid, so I haven't taken care of my out-of-pocket costs just yet. After doing so, however, I'll put a portion of the proceeds away (you'll see where this portion is going soon enough - can't wait!), and pump the rest right back into the site (may include a portion of costs for meals being covered, of course!) for even more features. I'm excited about the future, for sure!
Have a great and fabulous day, as well as a great and fabulous year! Keeping your resolutions, are ya?
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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