Re-launching in 5, 4, 3, 2….

I am sure this wasn’t much of a concern to many of you but I am still here! I must first apologize for my hiatus of almost a year. Don’t worry, I haven’t stopped eating (my straining belt can attest to that). I guess there are two main excuses reasons for my, what we will call “sabbatical.” Do you remember that Hagerty lady? You know, the small town North Dakota lady that wrote the review for the Olive Garden that sent the food world on its ear. Well, I was writing a piece on her and some opinions about the whole ordeal, when I had technical difficulties (Read: I accidentally deleted the post without saving) and it totally ruined any inspiration or motivation to continue. At the time I just thought, “Oh well, I will continue this later.” I should have known better. One day turned into two, two days turned into a week, a week turned into a year. And before I knew it, this little slip lead to a year of laziness ,of the blogging kind. That’s not to say that work and life didn’t get in the way at times, but that isn’t much of an excuse to not post pictures and write little blurbs about food and restaurants. So, carelessness and laziness. There, I said it. The part of moving on is admitting the problem, right?

 

So, after some well-intended hastiness and deep thought, I have decided to do a re-launch of Castorrated. With this re-launch will come some new focus. I will continue to review and write about restaurants. I will continue to write about everyday/normal people places (I can’t afford to always eat at all the swanky, trending spots) but I am widening the scope beyond reviews a bit.

 Here is what you can expect in the months to come: 

News: Gastronomy has been becoming a major pop-culture issue the last several years. There are debates, scandal, and just plain silliness that infect media outlets like Yahoo! News, Facebook, and even the morning talk show circuit (See Marilyn Hagerty’s Today interview here). I will devote some time to talk about this.

 Events: Along with the ballooning gastronomy culture, there are more and more foodie type events, tastings, and discussions. When I hear of something, I will pass this along. If I am fortunate enough to go, I will share these experiences.

Stories: I will touch on this in a soon-to-be-published post. For now, eating, drinking and general consuming isn’t just about food. It’s about the people, the situation, the reason. This is what makes food special. These stories of experience will be intertwined with the other reviews and posts.

Photos: There is no reason to not include more photos. Don’t worry; there will be more than just pictures of food on plates in dimly lit restaurants. After all, we eat with our eyes as much as with our mouths. In fact, many times, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. For now, you will have to settle for my Flickr account and Twitter feed for pictures until I decide on another delivery platform.

Social Media: It’s no secret that social media drives much of our world. Expect more social media interactions from me. I will also be sharing other sites, accounts, and blogs of some of my favorite people. The ambitious goal is to make a dedicated Facebook page for this site, but we can’t put the cart before the horse here.

General Topics: As stated earlier, pop culture is full of foodies and gastro-minded people. We will explore and enjoy that adventure together.

Profiles: I would love to be able to sit down with restaurateurs and other industry people and talk to them about their world. Anyone from up-starts, to celebrity chefs, to managers of chain restaurants. If not for my readers, then selfishly for myself. I would love to pick the brains of these people and get their stories. If anyone out there is willing to have a sit down or if you know of anyone who might, let me know!

So there you go. The re-launch has started. Let’s feed our passion for all things food, together. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or even want to write a post for the page, let me know! I can’t hoard the fun all to myself!

While we are on the topic of sharing, I have to share some credit to my very good friend, Brian. Brian says that I am one of the reasons he started his social media campaign in the world of agriculture. After I fell off the blogging wagon, Brian kept on truckin’. Now he is becoming a nationally recognized figure among agrocates. Now Brian is a big reason I am finding motivation to start. If I were you, I would take the time to check out his website http://thefarmerslife.com/, his Facebook page, and his Twitter feed.