Culture: Inviting Restaurant Reviews, Theater Reviews and Travel Essays

In the last two months or so that DesiCritics has been in existence, we've seen a tremendous variety of culture-related posts ranging from thoughtful commentary on current social issues to personal essays to book reviews to insightful posts on historical events to scathing criticism of our flailing public institutions.

There are very few posts, however, that could be classified under "Food and Drink", or "Travel" or "Theater". We would love to see restaurant reviews, reviews of plays and essays about travel.

Restaurant Reviews: Have a favorite restaurant you like to hang out in? It could be a hole in the wall or a fancy restaurant. It could be the place where you love to go with your friends or it could be the one that you've reserved to take that special "someone". No matter what kind it is, tell us about it.

Of course, in addition to your thoughts on the quality of service and whether you love it or hate it, your review has to cover a few of the basic facts about the restaurant such as what kind of cuisine it serves, where it is located, etc. Readers would also find it immensely helpful if you provided details regarding pricing, the ambience, directions, dress code and whether reservations are required.

Theater Reviews: If you are a theater buff and have a thing or two to say about the plays you've seen or the theaters you've been to, don't hold your peace! Write! Most of the large cities in South Asia and quite a few of the smaller ones have a thriving theater scene and there is some play, dance, music or other performance taking place every week, if not every day.

The parameters for a theater review would be similar to those for restaurant reviews. In addition to your take on the play, the way it was staged, etc., valuable information for the reader would include pricing, location of the theater and directions, play dates, some background information regarding the playwright and the actors or the subject matter itself, dress code and whether reservations are required.

Travel Essays: Again, there is no one particular type of travel destination that is ideal. If you made a quick weekend trip to your grandma's house in the village or make a week-long trip to Hong Kong, both are equally interesting and welcome.

As the saying goes, "It's the journey, not the destination."

Some valuable information to think about including would be aspects such as travel modes, travel times, weather conditions, recommended eating and staying places (if any) and things to do and visit while there.

In short, if you have an opinion you want to share with readers on any of the above, we want to hear it. If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment to this post and you'll sure get a response. If you are not a Desicritic yet, head on over here and find out how to become one.

So put on your walking boots, hit the trail, be a glutton for the sake of art, head to the nearest play. Do whatever it takes. But when it's all done, don't forget to put on your thinking cap, let your fingers go clickety clack, and most important of all, don't forget to post it on Desicritics!