Notes
Notes on the places where we spend our money
Guides tell you where to go. Notes are the rest of it: essays, trips, conversations with owners, and the small things we keep noticing about who businesses are built for. Signed, dated, and never quietly rewritten.
This Week
This Week: Pride in Atlanta, a Parade in Philly and an Empanada Showdown in Ybor
Five things worth knowing for Oct. 2 to 11: Atlanta Pride, National Coming Out Day in Philadelphia, an empanada contest in Ybor and new listings.
Luke October 2, 2026
The Label
70 Million People, One Label: What "Hispanic" Can and Can't Tell Us
October 1, 2026
We Noticed
The Menu Is a User Interface
September 30, 2026
Essay
Maybe "Authentic" Is a Terrible Word
September 28, 2026
We Noticed
Why Are Restaurants So Loud?
September 25, 2026
Essay
The Strip Mall Is Better Than You Think
September 25, 2026
We Visited
Three Days Around Tampa Bay: Great Food, Warm Welcomes, and a Few Moments That Weren't
Tampa Bay and Sarasota, Florida
September 9, 2026
What runs here
- Essay
- A bigger idea, argued out properly.
- We Noticed
- Something small about how places work, and why it matters.
- Right Now
- What is happening this week or this month, and where to go for it.
- The Label
- What an ownership label tells you, and what it cannot.
- Meet
- A conversation with someone behind a business in the directory.
- We Visited
- Places we went, what we ate, and how it felt.
- This Week
- Five things worth knowing, every Friday.
Looking for the research?
Notes have opinions. The sourced, checkable articles on finding and verifying diverse-owned businesses city by city live in the guides.
Browse the guides