The maximum temperature in our southern Minnesota town on Tuesday was in the low 80s; yesterday, we got light snow and this morning woke up to a frosted backyard. I want to say that fall/autumn is finally here but who knows which season we’ll have next week. Blog traffic did also cool off a bit in October (“Now, there’s a transition!“). After rising traffic all year, August and September had seen new highs hit for both page views and unique visitors. The first half of October seemed like the month was on track to top the previous two but the last 10 days or so have seen a return to the normal traffic of the first half of the year. October still recorded the third-highest traffic this year but I suspect November and December will follow the trends of the second half of the month. This because I think the increase in traffic over the summer had to do with travel/tourism. My Italy reports from last summer were particularly popular during that period. Interestingly, as the viewership numbers for those posts have been dipping, those for my Seoul reports have been steadily rising—though not to the levels of the Italy numbers. Which is another way of saying that the majority of my readers continue to come from the United States, and far more of them are likely traveling to Italy than to South Korea.
Still, Seoul dominated the top 10 posts by views in October. Those posts were:
- Eating at Mercato Centrale (Florence, June 2023)
- Eating at Noryangjin Fish Market (Seoul, February/March 2024)
- Bukhara (Delhi, March 2022)
- Lagavulin 11, Offerman Edition, Rum Finish
- At Namdaemun Market, Pt. 2: Eating (Seoul, March 2023)
- Andale, Three Years Later (Richfield, MN)
- Trattoria Monti (Rome, June 2023)
- Eating at Tongin Market (Seoul, February 2024)
That’s five in the top 10, and there were four more Seoul reports in the top 20. The only Twin Cities report to crack the top 10 was my brief report on lunch at Andale but my reports in October on meals at Grand Szechuan, Spoon & Stable and Oro were all in the top 20 as well. Interest in this year’s Lagavulin Offerman Edition continues to be high as well. I’ll be curious to see if the numbers on my review of the 2024 Laphroaig Cairdeas pick up in November (it was posted too late in October to have a chance at the top 20).
So, what’s on tap in November? This is the busy season at work, as we are heading into the final three weeks of the term. I am not going anywhere this month either (though I will be leaving for a short trip to Delhi at the very end of the month) and we don’t have fixed plans yet to eat out anywhere locally either. I do have a few reports in the local backlog: a dinner at 112 Eatery in September, lunch at House of Curry in August, lunch at El Sazon Tacos & More in October. The last two of those I hope to round out with another visit each. If I can manage those visits this month then I’ll post those reports. Places that we might eat at this month: Petite Leon (we have tentative reservations but plans are in flux) and El Chivo Crazy (recommended by Jim Grinsfelder in the comments a while ago). We’ve been trying to get to El Chivo Crazy/Plaza Mexico for a while now but the plans have fallen through each time. Maybe this will be the month. Oh yes, I really will post the last two reports from California this month; maybe even this weekend.
On the booze front, you can continue to expect one review per week. I will probably have 2-3 mezcal reviews in November. These reviews don’t seem to interest very many people but hey, though I talk about traffic numbers in these monthly roundups/look-aheads, I don’t actually chase traffic. As for cooking, there’ll be no recipes on the blog in November either (or in December) but those interested in my kitchen activities can follow along on Instagram (I’ve recently become a tedious bread baker).
Alright, that’s enough.