Abilene, Missoula, and Gainesville aren?t the busiest cities on Urbanspoon. The listings attract thousands of visitors, compared to hundreds of thousands for Seattle, Vancouver, or Melbourne. They feature fewer user votes and opinions to help those looking for great places to eat.
In our opinion, that just makes our contributors in those areas that much more important.
This edition of our blog salutes the Urbanspoon Pioneers, hearty souls blazing trails in some of our less-travelled United States areas. We asked a few of them to tell us about themselves and their regions, and to let us know what hungry travelers can expect to find there.
Abilene, Texas
Voted on 94 Abilene restaurants
"I am a retired Air Force veteran, having served over 23 years, and traveled all over the country as well as many places overseas. I fully believe in immersing oneself in the culture in which you find yourself visiting or living. We have been here for almost four years and enjoy the area. Abilene is big enough to offer most everything we need, but not so large that it has lost its small town appeal."
What kind of food town is Abilene?
"Surprisingly, Abilene has a decent variety of food available. You will find fine dining, several steak houses, Texas-style BBQ, wonderful Asian cuisine, Middle Eastern, seafood, and Tex-Mex, to name a few. There are several wonderful "Mom & Pop" eateries that still cook things from scratch, really bringing that feeling of home to the table."
If somebody were visiting your town for one day, where would you tell them to eat?
"Texas Roadhouse for a very reasonable, wonderful steak dinner; Bonzai for sushi or hibachi; Belles Chicken House for awesome family-style dining and huge portions; Famous Dave's for BBQ (they don't serve Texas-style BBQ which I, personally, don't enjoy); Stumpy's for an incredible hamburger; Szechuan for awesome Chinese; Taste of Asia for wonderful varieties of different Asian specialties; Golden Corral for a really good buffet; and Nikki's Swirl Shoppe for dessert."
What do you enjoy about contributing to Urbanspoon?
"I like being able to contribute my honest opinions of eateries from around the country, and it's nice to see that others appreciate the time I take to share my thoughts by finding them helpful."
Bend, Oregon
Voted on 134 Bend restaurants
"Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, I have lived in Oregon with my family for eight years and Central Oregon for the last three."
What kind of food town is Bend?
"Bend has been the poster child for both the economic boom and bust of the last decade. Resort tourism brought much acclaim to the region when budgets were looser and quickly disappeared as the recession set in. Tourism brought culinary ideas and the opening of many higher-end restaurants. When people stopped vacationing, the restaurants couldn't sustain the high-end operation they cultivated and most went out of business. While not developing its own cuisine, Bend has embraced local and organic themes."
If somebody were visiting your town for one day, where would you tell them to eat?
"No single venue has everything for everyone, so a great way to learn a lot about a locale is to sample. Locals have been very supportive of the growth in very small business -- food carts, mobile kitchens and pop-up supper clubs. Stop by the mobile Honey Pot Bakery in the morning for a hand pie, the Pacific Island-inspired Pupu's Grill for lunch and a late afternoon jaunt to the silver Airstream known as Spork for an Asian or Latin fusion goodie. Bend also has one of the densest populations for hand-crafted breweries. Pairing the local fare with a pint of ale and conversing with locals or other visiting the area typifies the laid-back Bend food scene."
What do you enjoy about contributing to Urbanspoon?
"I enjoy being able to provide timely and reliable information about places to eat for those visiting Bend for the first time and locals looking for the latest restaurant news."
Ventura County, California
Contributed 608 photos
"A picture is worth 1,000 words. Instead of describing food until I'm blue in the face, people can see with their own eyes and make their own judgments."
If somebody were visiting your town for one day, where would you tell them to eat?
"ZZYZX Cafe in Camarillo or Sambo's in Santa Barbara."
A few of Mike's photos:
Gainesville, Florida
Voted on 156 Gainesville restaurants
"I have been in Gainesville for 5 years now. I also have been a vegetarian for 4 years."
If somebody were visiting your town for one day, where would you tell them to eat?
"The best place in Gainesville: Sweet Dreams of Gainesville. We moved here a few years back from the Ice cream capital of the world, Boston! I think I died and went to ice cream heaven when I discovered Sweet Dreams. Every trip there is an adventure. You never know if your favorite Kulfi, Hazelnut, Mango or Expresso ice cream will be a selection. Or perhaps some odd new flavor would make your new favorites list. Chocolate Nite or Crazy Nite are the best for true ice cream lovers! One must experience this at least once in a lifetime."
A few more Urbanspoon Pioneers:
QBJackson, Mississippi
Voted on 179 Jackson restaurants
iChang
Regina, Saskatchewan
Voted on 108 Regina restaurants
MSO72
Missoula, Montana
Voted on 194 Missoula restaurants
Jennifer Melissa Keane
Valdosta, Georgia
Voted on 77 Valdosta restaurants
Source: http://www.urbanspoon.com/blog/62/Saluting-the-Urbanspoon-Pioneers.html
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