How did you find stumble across Chowhound?

[kare_raisu]

I am interested to hear how you first heard about this website? Luck, Magazine, friends, search engine.

I oddly dont remember.

[Ken W]

I was searching for a blog posting on "Top Chef" and ran across this site. It piqued my interest, so I started reading through some of the postings for hometown. Pretty soon I was adding to it.

[jakew8]

Seems like an old post, but I have a mildly interesting story about this. I'm sure I had seen the old site (w/ the cartoon dog) many times while searching for into about restaurants, but the one search where Chowhound really helped me out was when I was looking for the real identity of "Bigfoot" from Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential." I found a couple of discussions about it.

Oddly, I had never heard of the guy (and haven't heard about him since).

[Bettini]

I can't beleive that I am finally in the site!!!!

Well, I am at my home now in the South of France, but I will be leaving from my home in Geneva, Switzerland on the 20th of January 2007, for Pompano Beach, Florida!

I found Chowhound by asking a question on Google. The question was, basically, as follows: "Does Air France still serve hot meals on their flights in Economy." I am very concerned about this as I must eat often. I am 54 years old and weigh 106lbs. I think that my husband and I will wind up with a bag of potatoe chips or worse, peanuts, during 15 hours!!

You all have NO IDEA how delighted I am to have found you. I was born in New York City, but have been living in Europe since 27 years.

When I arrive at Pompano, I intend to make up for lost time. I have not been to America since I took care of my parents in 2000 and 2002. I NEED a hot pastrami sandwich. I think that the best place would be in New York, at a good deli.

Actually, I went to Wolfies at South Miami Beach in 1999 and the hot pastrami was quite good. I still think that nothing beats New York, but that is normal as I grew up there.

I know that many people like fois gras and duck, but I have grown to dislike, very much, the two. In the South West of France they even put it on their pizzas! Thank goodness you can choose. My favorite pizza has always been at Penn Station in New York. Also, in Lake Worth, Florida there is "New York Style Pizza". Not bad at all, but still not New York.

I miss American food SO much and finding Chowhound, just yesterday, is going to save my sanity. When I read all that good food that you are eating well, my tastebuds are going nuts! I need American food and now I have finally found people that understand.

Thank you so much Chowhounders!

Bettini (Laura)

P.S. I am worried because aside from being able to post the above, I don't know what to click on for future additions. Can someone help me?

[medrow]

I got here from Google. I was trying to find a desert recipe to match something I had tried at a restaurant and saw a link to chowhound and was intrigued.

[Andiereid]

I was googling restaurants for our trip to NYC last weekend and it came up. Was most happy to have found it.

[Jimbosox04]

doesnt really matter how I found it, just that I BETTER NOT LOSE IT.....actually looking for the best pizza in the North End of Boston and Whalla there it was... LOVE YOU GUYS...try the CHOWDA here its the best in da world..Home of the Chowdaheads

[marthadumptruck]

www.slashfood.com, I think.

[cherrypie]

Just today, by accident!! Looking for a recipe for biscotti without any shortening, found it here!! Anyone have any tips on storing for holiday baking?? Plactic bags or freezing??

[karins]

i went to a dinner at the james beard house recently and a very knowledgeable person at my table told me about it...fascinating site, great dinner at beard house and interesting people at my table.

[Dommy]

I'm a HUGE simpson's fan and the creator had named Chowhound one of his favorite sites...

The reason I stayed was that also at the time I also had a large expense account and clients to impress, so I mostly hung around the LA Board and lurked the SF and Chicago boards. Then I got a new job where I stayed put and started cooking more and hence my addiction to the home cooking board. And then of course, there is P. :)

All in all, it's all been a match made in heaven!! :)

--Dommy!

[PolarBear]

Back in 2001 I was making frequent trips from the left coast to DC, iirc I found out about CH by word of mouth while employing my usual (at the time) method of chatting up bartenders, waitstaff, etal, to learn the local gems. Sure came in handy over the next couple of years of having to travel all over the west coast and Alaska.

[OCAnn]

I was in Seattle for a wedding (my own), dining @ Salumi's (w/SO now DH), when a chowhound seated next to us recommended the website.

[silverbear]

I discovered CH years ago as a result of various Google searches on food-related topics. I found the interface so clunky that I used CH as a research source but never even thought of posting. I then forgot about CH for a while and was reminded of it by the recent NY Times article about the changes made after the acquisition by CNET. That brought me back for a look, and the new interface was so much better that I thought it was now worthwhile to start posting.

[howler]

i was browsing in the borders bookstore on the corner of 57th and park and stumbled across the eclectic gourmets guide ... having just boon-doggled a trip to london to eat chicken shwarma and toom, i couldn't believe that i needn't have travelled any further than bayridge brooklyn.

and then kervan, in fort lee. and then bo, and then charles southern kitchen. kam chueh in chinatwon... suddenly the boros came to life in a way i never, ever would have imagined. i knew jackson heights - all indians know jackson heights - but i never suspected i was walking amongst so much treasure.

so i came to chowhound via jim's book. and immediately discovered kway teow on the boards - do you remember this glorious thai, so sadly located just off broadway rather than on the main strip? location, location, location ..

[yumyum]

I found it thru google, too. Was obsessed back in the day with the dumplings at Mary Chung, in Cambridge MA. (I think I first found out about those dumplings via an MIT student website -- I couldn't believe I'd never heard of them since I'd been in Boston for a while by then and thought of myself as quite the adventurous eater -- I had NO IDEA that there were other people in the world like me.) Googling on "suan la show chow" linked me to a chowhound post. I've made many dear friends on the boards since then and I've always had a very soft spot for Chowhound even tho I spend time on a lot of other boards now.

[toodie jane]

From a list of links on the Orangette food blog over a year ago.

The helpfulness and generally egalitarian and friendly character of the forums are encouraging.

I have come to depend on 'home cooking' and the 'calif' boards--don't venture out past that too much.

[SunnysideUp]

I heard Jim Leff discussing it on the radio with Arthur Schwartz (foodmaven.com) in 1998.

[mellycooks]

I was google-ing local restaurants a couple years ago and I kept finding stuff on Chowhound.

[Ally Cat]

Article in Boston Globe, probably 8-10 months ago (??). But, I'm really bad with time so it could have beeen way more or way less.......

I'm a relative newbie compared with the rest of you! Wish I knew about this a long time ago!

[Bobfrmia]

4 years ago, give or take, I read about Chowhound in Playboy.
See what can happen if you really do read the articles.

[LindaWhit]

LOL!!! SURE you read the articles, Bob. <vbg>

[The Ranger]

I was reading a local Usenet 'group when one of our regs mentioned CH. I respect his opinions so I took a look and got hooked. I've been feeding the urge ever since.

[Funwithfood]

David Rosengarten had a link to Chowhound on his website.

[TexasToast]

I did a search for a fairly new restaurant and this was one of only a handful of sites listing it.

TT

[Carb Lover]

I had just moved from LA to Santa Cruz, but my Los Angeles Magazine was forwarded to me. The Sept 04 issue had an article about Thi N. and Chowhound, and I was so surprised that I had never heard about it before.

I surfed the boards and started posting within days to find some chow in my new surroundings. Everyone was so incredibly helpful; I've been eating better than ever; and the rest is history...

[Pan]

I came across a mention in an article in The New Yorker in the late 90s.

[zorgclyde]

I don't remember either, but it may very well be through google.

Now of course, I don't understand how I managed to live without it for so long.

[Dave Feldman]

I think I was among the first 50 or so folks on Chowhound, and I have no idea how I found it. I think I detected the aroma of caramelized onions seeping through my modem and and followed my nose.

[Pat Hammond]

I was close behind you somewhere, Dave. I'm pretty sure I found Chowhound by following a link at John Thorne's website, Outlaw Cook. I was (and still am) a huge fan of his work.

[Michele4466]

I remember following both your posts back then... :-)

Off subject just a bit...

Do you remember Gary Cheong? Lost touch with him years ago when I lived in LA but enjoyed a wonderful dinner with him at the James Beard House (visiting chef night, probably ten years ago) that I would not have experienced on my own. Fairly new CH'er at the time...

[Pat Hammond]

Yes, I do. Good hound!

[Chris VR]

I think I saw it mentionined in an article in late 2001, checked it out in but didn't click with it at the time. I saw another article in spring 2002 and was getting sick of the spam and trolls in ne.food so I slowly drifted over.

[PaulF]

On a board that does the same thing, but for a different product.

[krissywats]

Wow - Sounds like Chowhound should send google a 'thank you' basket.

I have a friend who's a CHer from way back but I didn't start getting into it until my husband did some software work for the Big Dog several years ago and then I discovered the Home Cooking board (which I consider base camp).

[Candy]

Just poking around looking for food websites about 4-5 years ago. What a find!

[BabyLitigator]

Trying to google the names and menus to the Japanese mini-restaurants at the Porter Exchange in Cambridge, MA, around 2001. I had just seen Tampopo, and wanted to find a place to get good ramen. Kept finding the message board posts, and then started reading from there.

[LindaWhit]

Probably a web search for a restaurant in the Boston area or a specific herb/spice/food item. I do know it was back in the mid-2001 that I found it and was intrigued and started posting

I had to do an advanced search on the author name I used back then, sort it by date, and click the "Next" button a gazillion times to get back to the 916th post of mine to see when it was that I first started posting. :-)

[Deenso]

My sister turned me on to Chowhound many years ago. I'm not sure if I ever thanked her.

[wontonton]

A few years ago, Calvin Trillan wrote an aritcle about the site in the New Yorker. I kept it in the back of my mind, but didn't visit until an unrelated websearch connected me.

[JoanN]

Just looked it up. That article by Trillin in The New Yorker was the September 3, 2001 issue. I'd forgotten until I read your post that that was where I first saw it as well. Been here ever since.

[Kagey]

That was my first link to Chowhound too. I didn't realize I'd been here that long!

[maria_nyc]

The article in the New Yorker was in 2001, that's how I found this site.

[swsidejim]

I was looking for the "BEst Italian Beef in chicagoland", and a thread from chowhound was one of the internet search results.

learned about Pauls in Westchester (thank you), and confirmed my opinion that Johnnies is one of the best in Chicagoland.

[ericalloyd]

i googled chowhound looking for the address and phone number of the chowhound cafe in saugerties ny.

[Das Ubergeek]

I was Googlewhacking for information on a restaurant in Santa Monica and it came up as one of the top 10 links.

[Frosty Melon]

Google here too. I had friends coming to town who wanted great clam chowder, and a search on I think "good chowder San Francisco" turned up Chowhound. Circa 2002.

[dustchick]

I stumbled across Chowhound when doing online research for a trip to New Mexico in summer of 2003 (IIRC). I've been a daily user ever since!

[Katie Nell]

From another Chowhound at a Christmas party! (Thanks Mushroom!)

[Michele4466]

I have been wracking (sp?) my brain trying to figure it out lately, not just since this post, but it was about 10 years ago and I also do not remember.

Does anyone have any recollection of CH being touted in mags, papers or anywhere else that long ago... I would LOVE to figure it out and would appreciate any input.

Perhaps someone told me about it, perhaps I was searching for something food related and it popped up...This seems most likely...

[gyp7318]

there was an article about it on NYTimes.com when this site was sold to some large corporation. It sounded neat and I've been on it ever since (early August, I think).

[Cpt Wafer]

As I recall, I was reading a story on the MSNBC site that contained a link to chowhound. Circa 1998.