Hiatus
Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 01:22PM 
Last week, my wife and I took possession of this beauty, a 3-story Tudor in Pelham, New York. We haven’t moved yet: the place is badly in need of renovation, which’ll happen a lot more quickly if our stuff isn’t in the way. We still own our NYC co-op, which is in contract, and won’t close until July or August. We intend to get every last day of city living that we can.
But now seems as good a time as any to put the blog on hiatus—a step I’ve been considering for a while. I’ve posted 1,010 restaurant reviews in just over 11 years, which averages out to nearly two reviews per week, for roughly a decade. That’s an awfully long time. In recent months, it has felt more like a burden, and less of the joy it originally was.
Of course, that burden was entirely self-imposed: this blog has never accepted advertising. No one’s livelihood—and certainly not mine—depended on its existence. Yet, having created this tiny franchise in my little corner of the Internet, with a very small but nevertheless appreciative (and appreciated) core of loyal readers, for a long time I felt obliged to keep it going.
But my free time over the next several months will be increasingly taken up with a complex renovation, moving house, getting to know a new neighborhood, and a quite different lifestyle than I’ve been accustomed to. Something needs to be edited out, to make room for all that, and the blog is it.
If our impending move to the suburbs provides a convenient excuse, I might have reached the same decision in any event: the sense that food blogging had run its course (for me) was lingering in my mind even before we started house-hunting, although it certainly intensified after that. I think I’m going to enjoy dining out for its own sake, as it used to be: no more photos, no more “writing the review” in my head as I eat.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the pleasure of dining out, which I love as much as ever. My wife and I intend to keep up our weekly Manhattan “date nights” (usually Wednesdays). I still work in the city, and Pelham isn’t all that far away—one of the reasons we chose it. (Pelham to Grand Central: ~35 minutes. A Train to 42nd Street: ~30 minutes.)
Will the blog return after we’re settled in our new home? Surely not with the frequency it has been, and perhaps not at all. As I write this, I’m feeling like I won’t miss it.
Reader Comments (3)
Marc,
Good luck in your new digs. I have enjoyed and used your blog for years and will miss it, but I certainly understand. Ciao.
Michael
@Michael: Thanks. Perhaps I will return to blogging after we get settled in the new house. I am undecided!
This blog showed up today in my search for "New York Journal." It is enjoyable. Starting with the first entry in 2004 and working my way up.