I’ve always been a foodie, but I have seldom attempted to put my opinions about restaurants into words. I have enjoyed the process of learning through experience the demands of food writing as a genre. For the dining genre, there seems to be a combination of descriptions necessary: both outward factors and flavors. No description of a restaurant or the minds behind it can be complete without both describing the setting and the food itself. Therefore, the language is twofold—of aesthetics, design, and logistics, as well as flavors and culinary specials. As such, like for design, a whole new vocabulary is required to write accurately about topics on dining including eateries and chefs. Adjectives seem to be particularly important for describing food, its creators, and the settings in which it is served.

For descriptions of food, it can be difficult to describe flavors without having tasted them firsthand. When I’m writing about restaurants in Hawaii or Texas that I’ve never been to, I’m not familiar with the exact dishes on the menu. Therefore, I have learned to make sure to ask about flavors and dishes served up when contacting the restaurant, their chef(s), and/or their public relations. Upon the request of my editor, I also began to ask the contacts what the most popular and/or exclusive dishes are of each restaurant to best represent their specialties as opposed to just what catches my eye on the online menu. Additionally, with restaurants, it is necessary to also include details about how readers may dine at the establishments such as when they are open, their location, and if reservations are necessary. One detail that is not important to include for Modern Luxury’s audience is price. Because of the luxury audience, unless a restaurant’s price point is of particular interest, it need not be included and is not of particular concern.

In this case, I have made use of lateral skills obtained from PWR courses such as the ability to analyze the rhetorical situation identify demands of the genre. The goal here is to present stories about dining, indicating their appeal and at times, exclusivity. For example, two of the stories below are about restaurants serving Thanksgiving meals and imply that one may take their loved ones out over hosting at home. In many ways, the entries try to convince readers to go to each given restaurant, using words such as “perfect” and “mouthwatering,” but not including elements such as pricing, implying that the reader is likely able to host a restaurant dinner party, and this is not a concern. In this case, the context and audience have created a rhetorical situation that holds this standard, adding an element of inherent exclusivity to the genre, which this publication continues to emphasize.