Searches Answered

Crab, Krap, gaforre, سلطعون, narahatlıq, karramarro, крабамі, краб, cranc, 蟹, rak, krab, krabbe, krabi, alimasag, rapu, crabe, caranguejo, καβούρι, סרטן, tarisznyarák, krabbi, portán, granchio, カニ, 게, krabis, krabas, рак, ketam, Granċ, خرچنگ, краба, rakovica, cangrejo, krabba, ปู, yengeç, کیکڑا, cua, קראַב

So part of being the slightly neurotic blogger that I am is keeping an eye on what searches brought people here.  Sometimes they are very specific searches.  In those cases I stop and think, “Did I answer that?”  For some I am convinced that I not only answered the question, but did so thoroughly.  For others I never even thought of the question.

Then there are another bunch that I have no idea why they ended up here.  Some of these terms come up frequently.  If I search my blog for the term, it doesn’t come up.  Yet week after week certain terms will have a couple searches each.  It is almost like the algorithmic gods of the internets have decided that I was the place to come for that information.  In fear of angering these gods, I will give the searchers what they want.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

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First 100 Posts Recap

I couldn't decide on an image. So I searched yahoo images for "tipsfortips." This was the first result.

I know I am pushing the envelope spreading the 100^th post commemoration over two days.  The first day was to thank everyone who showed patience and support in getting this blog off the ground.  I really do appreciate each and every one of you.  Today is going to take a little different tone.  Today I want to give you all a little peak behind the curtain to share some insight from this side of the screen.  This post is a bit more for the bloggers, those who have thought of starting a blog, and those who just wonder about how I put this thing together.

After 100 posts there is still no shortage of topics.  Right now I have about 30-40 on a list.  A few times a week I will get and message on facebook or text message with a topic idea.  I appreciate all of them.  I still wake up every morning though and wonder, “What the hell am I going to write about today.”  When you write everyday it becomes almost ritualistic.  It is part of my routine.  I wake up, check stats, check facebook, check my newsites, make a pot of coffee, read a few blogs, and then I write.  Each day I pretty much write about what I find interesting that day.  If I get stumped, I have the list.  The list generally gets longer rather than shorter by the week.

The problem with determining what to write is usually convincing myself that anyone will want to read about it.  When I look over my top 10 posts of all time, at least half are things that I really didn’t think would catch on when I wrote them.  At least one was thrown together between shifts on a double when suffering from writer’s block.  When I look at the 10 least read I note two that I did a ton of research for and found fascinating.  The combination of reader preference and search engine fickleness makes for some strange results.

So without further ado, lets get on to some stats.  Yesterday I asked for guesses on my most popular post of all time.  I received some great guesses, but for those of you playing along at home, here are the 10 most read posts on this blog.

1)    Foodie Friday: Types of Crab

2)    A Tale of Three Burgers

3)    Servers Vs Dentists

4)    Foodie Friday: Beef Made Easy (Part One)

5)    Fighting For The Server Wage

6)    Cherry Limeade Recipe

7)    Understanding Restaurants: The Owner’s Perspective

8)    Three Ways to Describe Dishes

9)    Why Not To Date Co-Workers

10) The Rules: Rules 1-10

What you can’t tell from this list is that the crab post has nearly triple the views of second place.  Some search engine has made sweet algorithmic love to that post.  There is a similar story behind the cherry limeade post.  In another week or two my post on olive oil and balsamic vinegar will break into this list as well.  Three of the top 10 received love from Tony’s Kansas City.  Another got some serious love from Frothy Girlz.

Which leads me to another interesting list.  These are the top non-search engine referrers to my site:

slightlycrankywaitress.blogspot.com/

tonyskansascity.com/

teleburst.wordpress.com/

frothygirlz.com/

blogs.pitch.com/fatcity/

As discussed in yesterday’s comment section, I think many of us owe the only slightly cranky waitress a beer.  The same goes for everyone on this list.  Three of them are great local bloggers.  Kansas City has a great local blogging scene and they have all been very supportive of this little corner of the internet.  Well with the exception of my nemesis, Charles Ferruzza.  If you missed that post, you are missing out on some fun.  The latest comment to his original article should be good for a little rage and since Chuck has decided to ignore my intervention I think it might be fun to unleash the kracken on him once again.

So yesterday I expressed my gratitude to a ton of different people by name.  It got a little sappy and I caught a little flack for being sentimental so I will skip calling out bloggers by name today.  Instead I will unveil one last feature that I am introducing on Monday.  I work doubles on Monday and Wednesday so I often struggle to get something posted.  I have been trying to come up with a way to have something to post that does not require tons of writing and editing.  This led me to an idea.  Starting Monday I will recap some of the funnest posts of the week from the bloggers in my blog roll.  It is a great way to highlight some of the other super talented voices out there and still not be late getting back to work.  If you are not already on my blog roll, drop me a comment to make sure I am not missing you.  If anyone wants to nominate a post they read, drop it on the fan page or leave me a comment.

Thank you again for all you indulgence over the last two days of celebration.  Tomorrow I get back to work on another weeks worth of weird restaurant stories.  Sunday I am planning on revealing my ballot in The Pitch’s Best of Kansas City competition.  Monday we will debut the best server blog posts from around the internets.  Then back to trying to help all of us make more money taking care of the people who leave us tips.

Foodie Friday: Types of Crab

Guests often bring up the names of Food Network and Cooking Channel chefs to me at work.  The jokes usually go right over my head.  People assume that I am somewhat familiar with these chefs because of my job.  It is actually quite the opposite.  After spending a shift staring into a kitchen wondering if that well-done filet is every going to be plated, the last thing I want to do is watch people cook on television.  There is one exception; I love Deadliest Catch.

So does most of America it seems.  I receive several good crab questions every week from guests who are perhaps more familiar with crab than any other type of seafood.  This has required that I in turn learn more about crab to stay ahead of them.  So whether you are a server looking for answers or a guest just curious to know more about the fascinating creatures, this post is for you.  I will look at the four main types of crabs on restaurant menus and try to share a few fun facts.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge