eating, drinking, writing

It won't make you rich, but might make make you fat, according to a reviewer I met at the awards for The List's Eating and Drinking Guide 2007, who had eaten in thirteen of Glasgow's Indian restaurants in 2 months. Having done a couple of reviews myself (not enough to get fat) I'd recommend it as a writing exercise. Try describing the food, ambiance and service all in two hundred words without cliche and by being specific enough to create pictures and tastes in your reader's mind. It's certainly a challenge - a prose poem almost.

Knowing that you'll be writing a review later trains you to observe details at the time -the wobbly table leg, high ceiling, rosemary in the focacia, the predominance of shiny brogues amongst fellow diners, the exact succulence of the scallops. It's a writer's training ground and playground. And who knows, you might gather creative ideas too - identify a perfect setting, or dream up the backstory of the brogue-wearers over the creme brulee...