Portage resident offers favorite dining picks at updated online site

Terry St. Louis of Portage sells insurance, and he spends a lot of time traveling Southwest Michigan, dining out at least five days a week. So many people asked St. Louis for advice on where to eat he decided to start Terry’s Guide to Dining and Drinking to chronicle his picks for the best places to dine in Southwest Michigan. After a little over a year, the site has reviews and pictures of 350 places where St. Louis has found good food. Wineries, bakeries and breweries are all part of the mix. The site recently relaunched with a new look and features that are more friendly to mobile phone users and is constantly updated as St. Louis finds new places to eat. There are no negative reviews, only places where St. Louis can recommend good food. “When I go into a restaurant I ask what they are known for, what are their top sellers and build my review from that,” St. Louis says.The restaurant guide covers all kind of eateries from dives to fine dining spots such Webster’s in downtown Kalamazoo. The site also can be searched by city, cuisine and specialties. Hidden-away spots only the locals know about are also part of the package.”One of my spots is two miles down a dirt road,” St. Louis says. “I have reviews of places that are out in the middle of nowhere.”The site recently has seen a lot more traffic — 4,000 visitors last month — and St. Louis attributes that to its redesign by Team Hypernet. He said the company not only provides attractive graphics but services to help drive traffic to the site.If the site continues to grow he hopes to eventually branch out and offer reviews from Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Grand Haven. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Terry St. Louis, Terry’s Guide to Dining and Drinking