Taylor Rea is a writer and data quality specialist and has been with the Eventful family for close to a year now. He attended California State University Long Beach where he threatened numerous administrators until they gave him his degree. He enjoys stale movie popcorn and long, romantic walks in bad neighborhoods. Another interesting tidbit about Taylor is that he also reviews restaurants, bars, and clubs in his spare time. To let all of our users and customers know a little bit more about the people that work here, we decided to ask him a few questions about his side gig.
: Hey, Taylor! How have you been? Did you get that little medical problem you were experiencing cleared up?
Taylor Rea: This isn't going to be a part of the real interview, is it?
: No way! I'm actually concerned.
TR: Then no.
: Well your boyish charm and good looks more than make up for it. Let's just get down to the nitty gritty: what kind of places do you normally review?
TR: I've reviewed a number of restaurants in
San Diego, mostly in the historic Gaslamp Quarter, but I've also reviewed some bars, clubs, restaurants, and casinos in
Las Vegas.
: Wow, Las Vegas; that must've been fun! I bet some of the bars and clubs there get pretty crazy, especially when you're on the job.
TR: Well, I'm not sure if you should put this in the interview, but part of that assignment was to review a majority of the gentlemen’s clubs in town. I had never really been to a strip club before, so it was an interesting experience. Some places were super laid back and welcoming, while others were wretched hives of scum and villainy that treated their employees like crap. I usually ended up just having drinks with the girls that worked there and learned a lot about the industry. By the end of the trip, I realized that strippers are really just normal people trying to make a living with unique jobs that a majority of society has put a negative label on. This isn't going in the interview either, right?
: Don't worry about it. It sounds like you're a consummate professional with nothing to be ashamed of -- probably. So what's reviewing restaurants like?
TR: It's pretty amazing! You will never have a more pampered and delicious dining experience than when a chef and their restaurant staff are trying to impress you. I usually bring a friend and end up sampling the place's five most popular dishes, drinking some signature cocktails or other drinks, and interviewing the head chef. I spend more time writing than I do eating, so it takes a couple of hours.
: That sounds delicious! Maybe you could bring me along with you on your next review.
TR: Uhhhhhhh…
: Fine. Be that way. What's your main goal when you're conducting and writing these reviews?
TR: It's all about enticing people to visit the restaurant, so I try to paint a picture with words of what the restaurant is like: what colors and decorations are on the walls, how friendly the staff is, and even what the tables look like. If people can imagine the surroundings, then they get more excited about going. It's the same with the food. If you can describe the texture of the food and what different flavors are combining and mixing, then I think people can actually taste the food a bit while reading the review. Sensory adjectives and descriptions are a big part of that.
: That sounds great, Taylor. I'm sure that the same excellent writing you do for these reviews shines through in your artist and venue profiles on Eventful, as well as your work on The Reel Buzz emails.
TR: Thanks, but I'm just a simple yet ruggedly handsome man doing what he can to make a living.
: So modest.
Well, that's it for the Taylor edition of Eventful family spotlights. But check back soon to see some of the interesting stuff that other Eventful people do outside of the office.
