A matter of opinion

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Preblogosphere, the restaurant critic was in a rare and lucky position; today, however, these “official” critics add just one more voice to an ensemble (filled with amateur critics who blog about their meals) that has quickly become saturated. Depending on your viewpoint, this is a good or a bad thing: On the positive side, more voices lead to more information and, possibly, to a more comprehensive overview of a restaurant. But with more information comes a downside. Conflicts of interest or ulterior motives are hard to detect, and while bloggers may write authoritatively, there’s often nothing in their background to suggest they’ve earned that authority. (A claim that a certain restaurant’s pad thai is the “best I’ve ever eaten” has little weight if the truth is the writer has eaten pad thai three times.) With that in mind, our favorite local blogs are those that have a narrow focus and a unique viewpoint, such as:

Sweettooth.typepad.com Journalist and documentary filmmaker (as well as occasional TOC contributor) Misty Tosh unearths under-the-radar eateries all over Chicago (that is, when she’s not blogging about finds in places like Bali) and writes about them with an infectious enthusiasm.

Thinkingofdrinking.blogspot.com The blog of Sonja Kassebaum, co-owner of North Shore Distillery, covers cocktail culture—everything from making the spirits themselves to taste-testing tonic waters—from a unique and fascinating perspective.

Nataliecakes.wordpress.com Columbia journalism student Natalie Slater applies her punky, aggressive (and hilarious) attitude toward sweet, innocent cupcakes in her blog, titled Bake and Destroy.

Blogs.menupages.com/chicago Yes, the Menu Pages blog. Even though Adam Peltz, the blog’s author, doesn’t live in Chicago, his blog is one-stop shopping for information about what local newspapers, magazines and websites are talking about.

— Heather Shouse and David Tamarkin