FAQ

So what’s this all about, anyway?
In 2010, I plan to visit 8.25% of Houston’s 6,000 restaurants.
The idea was to visit 8.25% of Houston’s 6,000 restaurants in 2010.

That deadline didn’t turn out to be very realistic, however, and the project is on hold for a bit. On hold but not, mind you, down for the count.

Why 8.25%?
That’s the sales tax rate in Houston.

Where did you get 6,000?
A lot of Googling with search phrases like, “How many Houston restaurants are there?” and, “Ohmygodseriously why doesn’t anyone have a straight answer?.” I couldn’t find anything definitive. 6,000 was the lowest number I found; 10,000 was the highest. It seemed sane to go with the low estimate.

Why would you want to blog about so many restaurants?
Initially, I just wanted something to do after college. Food writing is something I’m interested in doing professionally, so I thought I’d start a blog about Houston restaurants. The problem is that a lot of other people have done that, so I figured I might need something to set me apart. It grew from there.

I came up with the idea and the goal of 495 restaurants in late October of 2009. I spoke with my father over the phone, pitched the idea to him, and he had three words for me: “Let’s do it.”

In November 2009, he was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and passed away quite suddenly. Now I’m doing this in his memory. I can feel him looking down saying, “Cowboy up, kid.”

So what happened to 495 restaurants in 365 days?
As John Lennon—and my father—would say, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. Grief, a thesis defense, and a post-graduation, Dustin-Hoffman-esque aimlessness took up more time than I anticipated. Then a cute boy asked me to move to Raleigh with him. In short: life happened. (And thank goodness!)