Storing places to go - wheel of restaurants?

[joshekg]

Does anyone have a good system they use for cataloging the list of places that they want to go that get mentioned here on the board? I sometimes email myself or save a list in a text file but I want something better.

I'm imagining some service where I can store the list of places I want to go along with some notes as to what dishes are great / why I want to go there and then when I can't decide what to eat I can just click a button and have it spit out a recommendation based off my list.

Maybe something along those lines doesn't exist, but what is everyone on here using?

[Miss Needle]

It looks like you're located in the LA area. There's a great website out there called foodistcolony.com. You can add restaurants to your "Wish List" and check them off when you're done. It also has a place for you to keep your notes about each restaurant. I'm not so good about updating my account and restaurants I've been to. But when I'm deciding where to go to eat, I just check my wish list.

DH used to have a spreadsheet of all the restaurants he visited (included ratings) and all the restaurants he wanted to hit. But it got to be cumbersome, and he gave me his wish list and I just input that info into foodistcolony.

[joshekg]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out. I've started using the chowhound lists, but it's not particularly user friendly. There isn't a way in a post to take a place and add it to a list so I have to manually keep another page open with the lists section.

[fourunder]

Electronically, I mark a topic with good information as a favorite topic (on Chowhound) and then I send it to myself at my e-mail account as well, where I have a file created for recipes and places.

I also have a steno pad which I keep in my car glove box.....pages or sections broken down into food items or categories,e. g.

Burgers
Hot Dogs
Pizza
Sandwiches/Heros/Delis
Tacos/Burritos
Empanadas
Fried Fish
Fried Chicken
Dumplings
Dim Sum

Italian
Chinese
Japanese
Mexican
Polish
German
Seafoods
Barbecue
Bakery
Diners
Breakfast
Brunch

Bars/Pubs

Chinatown
Flushing
Jersey City
Newark/Ironbound
Hoboken

Food Stores

When I'm on the road in a particular area, I have the address and telephone number readily available......I do not record directions, as I have GPS in my vehicle.

[barryg]

You, sir, are a true Chowhound,

[fourunder]

Thank you for the compliment. :-)

[tsackton]

I have a spreadsheet on Google Docs, so when I see a restaurant I want to try I can just copy it over, regardless of what computer I happen to be on at the time. I generally add cuisine, price, and neighborhood, along with name and street address. Haven't tried the Chow lists, that might also work well.

[Rmis32]

I use a database program called FileMakerPro

[MsMaryMc]

I use FileMaker, too. I created a simple database with the basic info--name, address, neighborhood, hours, etc--plus a few notes on what people are saying about the place (I can usually cut and paste from online reviews or message boards like Chowhound). Then I synch it, using Filemaker Mobile, with my Palm--so I always have a searchable list right there in my purse.

[limster]

I store them on google maps.

[meatn3]

I do this too. You can add a few notes in the "box" that appears above the marked location.
I'm very visual, so this systems works better for me than just seeing addresses.

[barryg]

This is a great use for a general notetaking tool like Evernote (http://www.evernote.com) which is where I dump all my recipes, places to try, phone notes, etc. It's fully searchable and is accessible anywhere.

[TomSwift]

I keep my CH printouts in a 3 ring notebook, tabbed by topic. One is places to go.

[Michelly]

I write down the local places in my things-to-do notebook, along with addresses, phone #s, and any info like their hours. If I see an interesting-looking place while going around town, I'll jot that down, too, then come here to Chow to see if anyone's been there and what they think of it. I'll also see if the place has a website so I can check out the menu.
I keep a separate notebook for out-of-town restaurants.
I keep meaning to create a list here on Chow, but that notebook in my back pocket is so very handy when we're doing the "okay, where can we eat around here?" thing.

[alliebear]

I usually just work from memory of places I want to try. Or I do a quick search when I have a specific thing I'm looking for.

Apparently you can create lists here on Chow. I've never used it before, though.

[joshekg]

Ah, there is the nice big promotion for lists over there on the right. I will give that a try, at least it will catalog them in one place.