Plans for a kosher directory
I’m planning to build an online directory of establishments which are either certified kosher or offer an especially large number of kosher products. At first, it will be solely a New England-centric resource. I’d like it to be as comprehensive as possible, both in terms of the number of establishments and in terms of informational detail. Below, I’ve written up a quick outline of potential data items to include in each profile. Each listing will also allow for visitor comments and ratings. I’d appreciate any comments as to other info we should capture.
ESTABLISHMENTS
This will include stores, markets, restaurants, hotels, and caterers.
• Establishment Name
• Description
• Address with link to map
• Phone Number(s)
• Fax Number
• Web URL
• E-mail address
• Manager/Owner name
• Hours
• Cuisine Type(s) (if restaurant)
• Products/Services Offered
• Atmosphere (i.e. Casual, Upscale, etc.)
• Kashrut Supervision By (see below)
• Supervision Attributes: Particular aspects of supervision at this facility (like presence of a mashgiach temidi, etc.) that might not be universal to all facilities overseen by a kashrut organization. Please suggest some attributes to record.
• Photos
• Payment Methods
• Parking
• Price information
• Comments/Ratings (see below)
SUPERVISION
• Organization Name
• Address
• Phone Number(s)
• Fax Number
• Web URL
• E-mail Address
• Rabbinic Administrator Name
• Denomination
• Kashrut Attributes: particular aspects of supervision that might distinguish one organization from another. Please suggest.
COMMENT / RATING
• Author Name
• Comment Text
• Food/Product Quality Rating (1-5)
• Service Rating (1-5)
• Ambiance Rating (1-5)
• Would Recommend?
Great Idea, but already done.
check out http://www.shamash.org/kosher/ and update any places that are not current.
Jeff–
I know such databases exist, but the ones I’ve seen — including the Shamash database — aren’t comprehensive enough, aren’t descriptive enough, and aren’t updated enough. Certainly, if you compare Shamash to the type of resource I outlined above, you’ll see Shamash falls short in many areas of detail.
I envision something more like Citysearch.com’s restaurant profiles, organized in a Yahoo directory format.
And to be sure it doesn’t end up as “just another restaurant database,” I’ve decided to focus it on New England. My efforts will be concentrated on this small subset of the kosher community. I have plenty of first hand experience to contribute, and judging by the great insider comments that showed up regarding Boschetto’s and Zeppy’s in a recent post, so does the Kosher Blog community.
In short, there are a lot of subtleties to any restaurant, and especially kosher restaurants. I don’t think they’re captured by anything out there yet. Of course, I’m not a stubborn fool; if there’s something out there already that does the trick, please let me know.