Great Neighborhood Restaurants - Important Announcement

It is with sadness that I make this, my last post as GNR Czar. While I know it is the right thing to do, it is not easy to let go. I am proud of what the GNRs have become and what my role in that success has been. It is time for this change, but it still saddens me.

Effective immediately, I am resigning from the GNRs. I will miss the whole process, the great volunteers and even the endless second-guessing and bickering. It will leave a gap in my life and I am not certain how I will fill it. But a surprising opportunity has presented itself, and it must be taken.

Also effective immediately, Zagat Online will take over the GNRs. Nina will be making an introductory post in this thread quite soon, and then take over as the GNR Czar, in effect if not title. This represents a major change, and begs explanation.

The Zagat Online/LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Program will continue to be operated as an independent program, with some of the current committee staying on to run the local awards dinner and coordinate other details with Zagat Online. But the GNRs will also become part of the information used to build the Zagat guide to Chicago and environs, including our quotes and ratings derived from your postings. LTHForum and the GNRs will be credited and referenced both in Zagat Online and the printed guide to Chicago.

In return for this, Zagat Online will underwrite the costs of the GNRs, guide us in the packaging and marketing of the program and provide new and powerful tools to create a 21st century process befitting such a program. We will be able to eliminate the twice a year annoyance and disruption created by the nomination and renewal processes - all that discussion and even argument - as Zagat Online will utilize their proprietary and secret scoring system to scour LTHForum and automatically generate a current list of all places that meet the minimum qualification to become a GNR. This process will be totally objective, and no more disruptive than a Google spider crawling through. Unfortunately, I am under a confidentiality agreement and cannot share even the little that I know about the process, but I have seen a preliminary list and it is almost entirely pretty good. As before the designation will last for 2 years, at which point a new list will be generated including the previous year's selections that still qualify and any new places that qualify this year. I am sure that this process will satisfy most of the concerns voiced over the years about the GNRs. No disruptive discussions, no subjective judgments or nominations, no murky approval process, and a fresh, new list every year.

Another great benefit from this change will be to drive many Zagat Online and Guide users to LTHForum, where they can be part of our community, sharing their restaurant experiences and automatically getting their votes counted for the GNRs and the Zagat Guide with no extra effort required. This should do a lot to grow the membership.

Sure, this may take a little getting used to. Believe me, when it first came up last month I had my doubts. But the more we worked through the details with Zagat Online, the mods, and the GNR Committee, the clearer it was that this is an opportunity that must be taken. And after a month or two, each of us will quickly learn to derive as much information from a post saying - "22/23/19, sweet service and lasagna to die for" as we do from Ronnie's beautiful pictures and wordy narratives. It is the wave of the future after all, much like text messaging is surely replacing books.

But that is enough from me, as I am the past for the GNRs, and not the future. I will leave it to the other Committee members to add their thoughts here, and ask you to give Nina the warm welcome she deserves when she is able to make a post between her many other commitments - she assures me that will be quite soon, in the next month, hopefully much sooner. Look for her post under the pre-assigned handle - BigMacher. And if you have any questions until then, well you can post them here. Not sure if she will have time to reply to PMs, and I really do not have much to add.

This surely is the dawn of an exciting new era for the GNRs and LTHForum.

I sign this, for the last time,
d
For the GNRs

Surely, this is your April Fool's Day Joke. If it was not this should have been done on any other day.

I say nice try, I even said it out loud, I am alone, "is that a joke"?

Back to the love of food.

LTH couldnt have found a better partner for the GNR's than Zagat.

Instead of LTHers, I think we should now refer to ourselves as Zagnuts.

ChgoMike wrote:Instead of LTHers, I think we should now refer to ourselves as Zagnuts.

Eeesh!

Well, I'm speechless.

It would have been appreciated if you had waited to post this until you recieved a response from those members of the GNR committee who've put in countless hours scouring the boards for obscure references to restaurants, not to mention all the now-wasted time making packets, sending press releases, and visiting restaurants, trying to explain the program in broken Spanish/Polish/Mandarin/ASL. My understanding was that there would be more discussion before going public, so that the less-celebrated committee members could have a say. I put a lot of time and energy into thoughtful rhetoric and have no desire to now spend my time endlessly checkmarking little boxes.

Czar is an honorific, David - not a job description.

Mhays wrote:I put a lot of time and energy into thoughtful rhetoric and have no desire to now spend my time endlessly checkmarking little boxes.

C'mon now, Michele. Don't you think you're underestimating the allure of endlessly checkmarking little boxes? I'd bet that in this economy there are dozens, nay thousands, of people itching to do just that!

Nice to know what kind of priority is placed on thoughtful rhetoric.

Mhays wrote:Well, I'm speechless.It would have been appreciated if you had waited to post this until you recieved a response from those members of the GNR committee who've put in countless hours scouring the boards for obscure references to restaurants, not to mention all the now-wasted time making packets, sending press releases, and visiting restaurants, trying to explain the program in broken Spanish/Polish/Mandarin/ASL. My understanding was that there would be more discussion before going public, so that the less-celebrated committee members could have a say. I have no desire to spend my time endlessly checkmarking little boxes.Czar is an honorific, David - not a job description.

Puh-leaze! I just spent the entire day editing, printing, painstakingly folding, cutting, and assembling some 100 pocket guides for the certificate mailing. Not a usual eight hour day with breaks -- but the entire day-- no time for a scrumptious meal. Not to mention that the Zagat logo didn't really fit into the scheme of things and I had to eliminate the traditional LTH diamond logo altogether. Time marches on. And is a tyrant.Michele, you're just jealous that my office is going to be nicer than yours. I expect the coffee to be ready when I arrive.David, cut the melodramatics, you sold out, some of us cashed in, so what. In this desperate economy, its dog eat dog.

-ramon

I think you all should relax and have a few drinks together a local watering hole. Regardless of location, the establishment should be referred to as a Zagnut bar.

Personally, even though I know that change is inevitable, I find this particular change to be a bit difficult to swallow. As someone who's invested a fair amount of time in this program, I do feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. And I certainly would have appreciated being consulted on this, instead of being kept in the dark.

But as someone who cares about the GNRs -- and extending the reach of the program -- I have to admit that I'm not sure there could be a better combining of forces than this. Marrying up Zagat's infrastructure and deep pockets with the expert knowledge and passion that are synonymous with LTHForum, seems like a winning combination.

Since it's pretty clear that I am no longer going to be a part of this process, I just want to thank everyone involved for having giving me the opportunity to participate. I learned a tremendous amount from being involved. I wish the "new" GNR program nothing but the best.

=R=

Talk about passive aggressive, guys. We all sat around a table and discussed this until my jaw fell off, and now you come up with the c**p! If you had these thoughts or ideas, you should have brought them up earlier.

And, Ramon, as far as selling out, let me share two thoughts.

I do not begrudge you your new position, as you have earned it, just do not go accusing others of what you chose to do.

If I sold out for something, it was just the right to no longer have listen to you primadonnas whine.

Mods, please pull this garbage before Nina sees it and gets cold feet. At least it has removed any last shred of regret I felt over this decision. Good riddens!

April 1 is making my head explode!

David,

Wonderful news. Finally a breath of fresh air for old school never change stuffy duffy LTHForum. You leadership shined, but I am looking forward to Nina bringing the GNRs forward to the twitter, tweet and beyond eara.

See you next week at the Team Building retreat, I'm not much for the psychobabble mumbo jumbo, but Puerto Vallarta beckons. You want to go to Tino's first or second night?

Enjoy,
Gary 'All Change is not for the Worse' Wiviott

LTH has been replaced by three more letters for me: WTF.

Community, I wash my hands of this entirely. I was excluded from this discussion for not being "established" enough to buy in, and didn't comprehend until now what the final form was going to be.

To those of who to whom I've already intimated my misgivings with current site / committee leadership: this is exactly the sh!t I've been talking about.

Thank you to so many of you who have offered private support and exhilarating public debate in the past few years. Kenny and Sharon - ready for that exodus to Yelp? I'm about done here.

We will learn very soon whether sense of taste and sense of humor run in tandem.

David,

You have caught me by surprise. I take one little trip to St.Louis (post to come) and look what happened!?! When we had the meeting with Nina Zagat last month, I didn't think we were actually going to follow through with this plan. It saddens my heart to see the "handmade" nature of the GNRs become a thing of the past. Still, I can see the reasoning behind the big change. For a long time, the costs of running the GNR program, from certificates and window stickers to the GNR dinner itself has been quietly born by a few members of the GNR committee. I know, at least in my case, that in these tough economic times it's not as easy as it once was to fund such a hobby. At the same time, the GNRs have become accepted among the press and the dining community at large, and I can see how Zagat views this as a chance to become more established in the Chicago market, where their guides have never done as well as in New York and other cities. Hopefully, their involvement won’t dilute the essence of LTH Forum.

I'm a little upset that this change is happening so quickly and without much input from the GNR committee...at least from me. In any event, I hope Gary will wisely use the money that this deal will generate to enhance the site. I've got to take a little bit of time to digest this news completely and to consider what my future involvement with LTH Forum will be in light of this news.

Santander wrote:ready for that exodus to Yelp? I'm about done here.

Way ahead of you:

Wow...I am speechless as well. Here I thought that the Food Network was going to serialize the GNRs for a new series starring Guy Fieri. My disillusionment grows daily...

If this is an April Fool's joke, it is a superb one, in the sense that I can't tell if it is one or not! Even with the posts expressing bitterness and betrayal--are they sincere, or are they, too, part of the joke, with the writers feigning disappointment and disgust to buttress the credibility of the prank? This is one where I'm just going to have to wait until April 2 to be sure--and I don't think that's ever been true of any April Fool's joke I've encountered in my life before.

The fact that the logo at the top of the pages has a "ZAGAT" but no "LTH" is a pretty good clue that this is a joke.

I, too, will be sorry to lose the incentive we now have to write thoughtful-nay, sometimes even witty-posts. But it is true that we are all busy and quickly moving to a post-literate world. If the Guardian newspaper can bring the news down to 140 twitter characters, surely we can condense our accumulated wisdom into the Zagat rating. It will certainly make it easier to evaluate instantly. No waiting to get home or to our desks to post about a meal. Just pull up Zagat on our cell phones, hit some numbers, and we're done.

Thanks for helping us move into the future, David.

So, what's this I hear about a deal between GWiv and Sandra Lee to simplify LTH and get rid of all those pesky polysyllabic words?

They were certainly together to announce something ...

nr706 wrote:a deal between GWiv and Sandra Lee to simplify LTH and get rid of all those pesky polysyllabic words?

Will that make it Semi-LTH Forum?

By now those of us who are not big on April Fool's jokes - and I am one - should know not to bother to read the LTH Forum on April 1st.

Great stuff. Always a day to look forward to on LTH.

Just one question, who can I contact about my MealStar system? It seems to be on the fritz.

stevez wrote:In any event, I hope Gary will wisely use the money that this deal will generate to enhance the site.

Ann Fisher wrote:Surely we can condense our accumulated wisdom into the Zagat rating.

nr706 wrote:Get rid of all those pesky polysyllabic words!

This exciting news and potential Zagat-windfall could allow significant board improvement to address concerns above. Let me urge the Politburo to formalize Kanji or Chinese ideograms to be the official board language. This will save considerably on space as well as avoid burdensome Latinate polysyllables.

To accomplish this, a fund could be provided to undergo intensive language training, but I suggest instead a protocol be developed for language center mind re-mapping, to be administrated by nanotechnology enhanced Old Fashioned Donut apple fritters.

Once the remapping takes hold, it will have the added benefit of once and for all unlocking all wall specials at Chinese restaurants.

dicksond wrote:It is with sadness that I make this, my last post as GNR Czar. . . Effective immediately, I am resigning from the GNRs. I will miss the whole process, the great volunteers and even the endless second-guessing and bickering. It will leave a gap in my life and I am not certain how I will fill it. But a surprising opportunity has presented itself, and it must be taken. . .

Also effective immediately, Zagat Online will take over the GNRs. Nina will be making an introductory post in this thread quite soon, and then take over as the GNR Czar, in effect if not title. This represents a major change, and begs explanation.

dicksond,

Re: Your next visit to the Hartford area:

I sincerely regret the course you have taken. However, I wish you well in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.

On a personal note, I am sure you will understand that I can no longer afford to be seen in public with former Czars or indeed with any of their family members (apologies to Mrs. dicksond). I have my image to think of. And a surprising opportunity has presented itself and it must be taken--Nina and I will be at dinner that evening.

I, for one, think is is "good" "news." The "GNRs" were becoming a little too "esoteric" and "quirky" for "my" tastes. An "injection" of Zagat "style" will finally offer us the "proper" stature in "the" "community."

Ann Fisher wrote:I, too, will be sorry to lose the incentive we now have to write thoughtful-nay, sometimes even witty-posts. But it is true that we are all busy and quickly moving to a post-literate world. If the Guardian newspaper can bring the news down to 140 twitter characters, surely we can condense our accumulated wisdom into the Zagat rating. It will certainly make it easier to evaluate instantly. No waiting to get home or to our desks to post about a meal. Just pull up Zagat on our cell phones, hit some numbers, and we're done.

Thanks for helping us move into the future, David.

Oh Ann, I hope this isn't the case. As bitter as I am about the Zagat takeover of the GNRs, that's only one part of LTH Forum. I sure hope the level of discourse doesn't suffer as a result of this change. I can only hope the mods keep an eye on things and (hopefully) won't let LTH Forum degenerate into a yelp-like collection of pablum!