Laura

August 27, 2001

For the First Hyptertext assignment, I propose to create a website that will function as restaurant reviews and recommendations to restaurants in the local area that I frequent. The website will address only restaurants that are non-chain and will cover everything from "fast food" to "elegant dining" and a variety of different cuisine types. Every restaurant will have a "review page" that details what I do and do not recommend, as well as information on the décor, location, and so forth. Whenever possible there will be a second webpage for that restaurant, giving their standard menu. It is also possible that I will include links to more information about the restaurant from other websites (such as reviews from the Orlando Sentinel’s restaurant critic and so forth.) The site will likely be designed using frames, with a main banner frame across the "top" of the page and links down the left side of the page. Restaurants will be listed based on vicinity, based on cuisine type, and based on "speed" (fast food, etc.) It is important to note that this website will be designed for easy expansions and revisions, as more restaurants are included and as others change hands and so forth.

The website will be coded in HTML, likely using Microsoft’s FrontPage software program, with straight HTML coding being incorporated whenever necessary.

The purpose of this website is, on the surface, simple: to create a website, which will eventually be published on the web, and that will celebrate the cuisine and atmosphere of non-chain restaurants located in the Orlando area. I am a Florida import, having moved here four years ago from Northern California. One of the most frustrating things about moving to Orlando was the discovery of how difficult it is to find quality, non-chain restaurants that serve decent food in an appetizing manner. Amador County, California, my home for many years, is home for many fine, family-owned and operated restaurants. The entire county, with a population of about 35,000 residents, is home to few chain restaurants. The vast number of restaurants in the county, instead, serve unique, delicious meals that are based on fresh ingredients and the dishes created by the restaurant’s chefs, more likely than not someone I went through school with, or their parents.

When I moved to Orlando I started seeking out similar restaurants, where I knew I would find food that was fresh, well prepared and served, and that was not "created" as dishes whose main concept is that they can be easily recreated through a thousand different locations. Fortunately, I have found many restaurants, through the recommendations of friends, coworkers, and fellow students, that meet my desires. To put it simply: I would prefer to have a mediocre restaurant meal where I know that the chef has tried their best with the ingredients and cooking implements available to them than a good meal from a restaurant where I know that the cook has been following the stringent guidelines set forth in a corporate recipe book.

I want this website to be accessible and friendly to people who are going through the same searches I went through (and that I am still going through.) I certainly do not claim to be a professional critic, and would never presume to assume that role. However, I do have a good working knowledge of what makes for a good meal, and I feel strongly that it is important to encourage and support (through patronage) restaurants that are struggling to find customers in a market that seems more and more overwhelmed by the proliferation of chains.

The primary content for the proposed hypertext document will be textual. However, graphical elements such as photographs and clipart will be incorporated, when appropriate, for visual stimulus.

The restaurants that I propose to include in this hypertext include:

• Michael’s (Italian);
• Pasquale’s (take-out Italian);
• Five-and-Diner (American);
• Chin Hua (Chinese);
• Miss Saigon (Vietnamese);
• Pumpernickle’s (German Deli and eat-in);
• Colorado’s (steakhouse);
• Maison et Jardin (French/American, fine dining);
• Shin Jung (Korean);
• Bagel King (New York Deli);
• High Tide Harry’s (seafood);
• Viet Garden (Vietnamese and Thai); and
• Falafel Café (Middle Eastern).

Each restaurant will have at least one page devoted to discussion of the food, atmosphere, and so forth, as well as physical location, phone number, and hours of business. Whenever possible each restaurant will also have a second page (linked to the first) that gives the standard menu. If the restaurant has its own website, or there is other material that I feel would be helpful to the website’s audience, I will include links that open a new browser window.

The proposed "Laura’s Restaurant Recommendations" (the working title) hypertext document will be designed using frames. Across the top of the screen will be the banner frame, containing a graphical element/logo with the title of the site in it. Along the left side of the document will be a frame that gives links to the "home", to each restaurant, and to the restaurant’s grouped by location, cuisine type, and whether it’s dine-in/take-out, fast food or fine dining. The main text will appear in the "main" frame of the site, located below the banner frame and to the right of the left border frame. I will review several websites that provide restaurant reviews/recommendations and explore their navigation plans and possibly incorporate those navigational techniques into my site. Although most major navigational links will appear in the left border frame, each "restaurant page" will also have links on it, to related cuisines, to other restaurants in the area, and so forth. I have not yet decided if the links will appear at the end of the main text, before the main text, or in a text box off to the side.

As stated earlier, the website will be built using frames, with the main links being provided in the left border frame. I will create a "food" color scheme, likely using dark greens and tans, yellows, and reds and oranges to carry a consistent theme throughout the site. I have not yet decided how this theme will be managed, though, and will experiment with that once I have created and formatted the text.

I want my final hypertext document to feel informal and "comfortable" while at the same time being professional (that is, trustworthy and deserving of someone taking time to explore the content.) I will have lots of white space within the document, and keep all graphical elements simple instead of cluttered, as I want my audience to be reading what I have said rather than being distracted by visual junk. Additionally, text will be kept to short sentences and small paragraphs, for ease of reading on the screen.

The writing style will be reasonably informal, though I do not want it to be so familiar that it offends readers that I do not personally know. I do, however, want the reader, after having read a review, to feel as though they were there at the table with me. I want them to "know" what the restaurant is like, so they can determine whether or not they want to visit it for a meal or two.

I am most familiar with coding websites using straight HTML codes written in "Notepad." However, I do want to explore using some "website creation" programs so I will be purchasing Microsoft’s FrontPage software and experimenting with what it offers and where it is lacking. I think it is likely that at least some of the site will be still be coded in straight HTML, as it is my understanding that the software cannot do everything. Additionally, I have explored using Netscape’s Composer and have not been impressed with it’s capabilities (or lack their of) and so I will not be using it for designing the site.

Once the website has been developed, I will test it using the latest versions of the Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator to ensure that all links work correctly and that the pages are readable, navigable, and that everything appears correctly. I will create the site so that it can be viewed at a resolution as low as 800 X 600 pixels, and will test it accordingly.