Menuism Featured Reviewer: schussat
Menuism reviewers are truly awesome! Whether they found an unexpected tasty gem of a restaurant or took it for the team after having a terrible meal, we truly applaud all their efforts in giving us the scoop on where we should be spending our hard-earned money on. On that note, I’d love to introduce you to those reviewers who we feel really contribute quality content to the site as well as quality information to fellow Menuism’ers. Our Featured Reviewer today is Alan, better known as schussat. So let’s learn more about Alan from Arizona.
I’m a PhD sociologist working in information technology. I really enjoy finding new restaurants, reading about food, and food photography, among all the rest of the pursuits that make up my day-to-day life.
1. How did you find out about Menuism?
When Menuism launched, one of the developers posted an announcement on the Textdrive/Joyent community forum where I hang out a bit, and so I came to see what it was all about.
2. What about Menuism first appealed to you?
I was just making plans to go off for an internship in Seattle, so I used Menuism to find good and interesting food near where I would be living. Fortunately, the Seattle area had lots of content on Menuism — I think that contributed to my using it more. I ended up using the site a ton those handful of months, really enjoying the overall experience of it, and continued to use it when I returned home.
3. What restaurant did you write your first review about?
It was Dara Thai here in FLG. This town has an inexplicably high Thai joint per capita ratio.
4. What is your food philosophy?
Find what you like and eat it a lot, especially if you can locally, organic, and/or sustainably.
5. What are your favorite restaurants?
What an impossible question. Among local places, I’ve become pretty fond of Sushi Fuji, and there’s this meatloaf sandwich at the Beaver Street Brewery that I keep going back for. Down south in Tucson, it had to be a place called Yoshimatsu, tied with the Little Cafe Poca Cosa. Favorite ever? I still go back to The Pie for pizza every time I’m close to home in Salt Lake City — that’s probably pretty high on the all-time favorites list, because the pizza is great and the place is packed with so many memories of growing up.
6. What are your favorite cuisines?
I’m physically incapable of not ordering fish and chips when I come across it. I think I’d have to go with sushi and Italian. Is cioppino a cuisine or just a dish? Whichever, man do I adore it.
7. What are your favorite comfort foods?
Katsu Curry from Yoshimatsu and the Scallop Dynamite roll from Sushi Fuji are honorable mention. But it’s awfully hard to beat homemade chicken and dumpling soup in the cool weather months.
8. What is the best meal you ever ate and why?
I was on a backpacking trip and we had an exhausting, very long day after missing a route marker and re-climbing two steep saddles. The whole group was just wiped out. At camp, we ran into a couple of folks who had come in from the other side of the range on horses. They had fresh salad, salsa, tortillas, and cold broiled chicken, and they gave us plate after plate. Wow. What wonderful people — and what great food to find, unexpectedly, at the end of a day like that.
9. Do you have any favorite cookbooks (if any)?
No favorite cookbooks, but I’m a big fan of the magazine “Eating Well.” We get at least a couple of go-to recipes out of each issue. The most recent memorable recipe was for a braised paprika chicken that’s just fantastic.
10. What words of encouragement would you give to first time Menuism reviewers?
Try it, you’ll like it!
If you’d like to be able to keep up with Alan’s reviews, click here to check out his profile!
If there is a Menuism reviewer who has rea’lly helped you make great dining choices and you’d like to see him or her be a Featured Reviewer, than be sure to message me or send me an email at abby@menuism.com.
By Abby C. Abanes
Menuism Community Manager
