Latest Roadfood book: somewhat disappointing

Dare I say? I was in a Barnes & Noble in El Paso TX yesterday perusing the new Roadfood book, and sadly, walked away without purchasing. I made this decision based on lack of updated content of restuarants around my new town, Las Cruces, New Mexico. El Paso Texas's restaurants are an identical representation from the previous edition as well. Wanting to buy the book for other regions, I went to my previous home of NJ, only to find no new entries as well. I understand that some regions, such as Connecticut, will always be updated, but I was hoping for a more balanced national update. As a result, I can still only rely on Chope's here in Las Cruces, or the Little Diner in Cantuillo. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but I wanted to make my opinions known, and wonder if anyone else shares my disappointment.

I would hope that no one gets offended that your opinion is that you don't like something. I do think that perhaps the scope of the regions that interest you might be a bit small and that you might have found more updates if you looked at a few more places. I view my roadfood books (and some others) more as encyclopedia-like reference materials that last for some years. For as infrequently as 'Roadfood' is updated, I will purchase my copy (when I am home long enough to hit the book store!) to update my reference materials.

Steve

T&M....I had no idea that Roadfood had a book. I'll check it out soon. Thanks for the info...it might do me some good, I have never read it before

My favorite is still the '86 edition.
T & M - I have to agree, I was looking for more in the way of new finds in this edition, and was let down a bit.
Hogbody, Get the new one , but you can find older editions on ebay and in a lot of bookstores, It is worth a few bucks to come up with one of the earlier copies, if only to see what has closed down since they were published.

quote:

Originally posted by Hogbody

T&M....I had no idea that Roadfood had a book. I'll check it out soon. Thanks for the info...it might do me some good, I have never read it before

Hogbody... You really need to check out this link!
http://www.roadfood.com/Merchandise/

ENJOY!!!!

PS... Not that I want this to be a sales pitch or anything, but if you purchase thru the link it helps support this website...

I bought Roadfood '05 last week.

First of all, there are hundreds of additions---including some re-entries of restaurants written about in previous RF and Eat Your Way volumes. It's only been three years since the last Roadfood book and in that short time, you can't expect Jane and Michael to find new places in every section of every state up to their high standards. (For long time Stern fans, think about how minor the changes were between the first and second editions of Eat Your Way. This is a very similar situation, except for all of those upscale places.)

This website has grown so much since 2002, and now it's WELL AHEAD of the books. It would be unfair to this site to withhold discoveries until each print edition is updated. That's why there are very few "surprises" in the new book. With the hundreds of new entries, non-webbies are thrilled I'm sure, but we Roadfood.com'ers have been spoiled with all of these tips over the past three years. (This is the first time where I've been to dozens of places BEFORE they hit the book---thanks to their inclusion on the website).

So, let's think of the latest edition as the definitive source (the classics, the best new discoveries) and the web listings as the addendum. Take the book when you travel and print out a few new Roadfood.com entries to tuck in for each journey. You and your tummy will not be disappointed.

We got ours about 10 days ago. I'm disappointed in the coverage beyond the east coast. Perhaps the Sterns need more help in the rest of the country.

I'm not disappo0inted with the book. My only worry is that 3 places in Oregon that are in tje book have already closed.

I have several old versions of Roadfood (and the old Goodfood book from the early '80s as well). If one is on this site all the time, are there any restaurants that aren't currently listed here? I'll probably buy the book either way, just so there's something I can throw in the glove compartment when we travel, but I guess I would be a little disappointed if there was absolutely nothing that I couldn't download here for free.

I am also not dissapointed. The book works great for me by just browsing through it.

I guess the reason I was disappointed is that there was no reason for me to update it, being there were no updates made to restuarants local to the El Paso/Las Cruces area. The existing version that I own is first rate, however, there seemed to be no relevant updates in this new edition to warrant me spending money on it.

I received the new book about 2 weeks ago and emjoy it as much as the last one. This reference book will replace the previous edition in the back seat with the Rand McNally Road Atlas.
BTW, What happened to Uncle Willie's in Connecticut??

I thought it would be a cool idea to have a Roadfood-type book in a notebook type set-up where you could add updated pages as they come out over time.

I have been a Roadfood fan for years and my only complaint has been its inability to remain current. This web site is a big step forward. I have a suggestion:

Why not combine the two of them. Offer the book in an 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 3ring binder for $19.95 - $25.95 which would include one years membership to this site.

Updates (i.e. new finds, closings etc.) based upon input from the community, could be published on the site in downloadable form, which we could print and update our books. Those that don't care about staying "current" could buy the perfect-bound version or not renew the site membership the next year.

This would result in more total sales and more readers becoming aware of the site.