New Factual Table for Vegans
Check out this new table by Factual that helps you instantly locate vegan restaurants in the US, and includes mapquest links as well as links to reviews. Would you use it? What do you think about the idea and how it is executed? (I am not involved in any way other than I was asked to post it for feedback.)
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Well, it's not exactly new information… happycow.net and vegguide.org have been available for a while. But it could be useful. When it develops more (giving users more options) I'd use it more.
I was looking for a guide, such as this one through our co-op, but no one seemed to have the information. Still looking for a vegan or vegetarian restaurant in Montana. Our local one closed recently, and it was the only one in the whole state, as far as I could see.
I would love to see an updated guide to use while I travel. Thanks for the tips!
It seemed interesting, but not very well organized — I expected it to be organized by state as the default. I learned that my state does have vegan restaurants, which I had not realized — although a couple hundred miles away from me (I'm not vegan, but I'd like to try a vegan restaurant).
Elaine,
My comment to the creators was that I use happycow and vegguide, and when I'm in NY supervegan's great, and I'm just not sure why I'd use this instead of something I already use that I like. It would have to have some fabulous feature OR be created by vegans (for me, as I like to support vegan products).
And Morganna, by using the "search" feature you can instantly get what you need (say, vegan restaurants in Montana, which I just searched for). The alphabetical thing is odd, I agree, and I too expected it to be alphabetical. With that said, the search feature instantly resolves that.
I'll keep you updated. Perhaps a new interface will make me like it more. Not sure . . .
I really like this and would definitely use it, mostly because I never found sites like Happy Cow to be very useful (maybe I hate the interface, maybe I found them to be outdated…they just never stuck with me as places to look for resources). Would be great if this was open source though so everyone could contribute. Would also love to see international listings!
I think it's a great idea, but that it's too complicated. If it just had location, website and phone number and a bit more relevant info, it would be easier to use and to keep updated. As it is, data on hours of operation, or whether credit cards are accepted or not just seems like "too much". Also, it will be hard to keep current, and that might lead to disappointed customers, should policy be changed…
I wanted to add Ethos Vegan Kitchen in Orlando:
http://www.ethosvegankitchen.com/
But it's just a lot to fill out. Maybe the owners of the establishments might take the time to do so. But I seriously doubt patrons would.
I think if this table was reduced to a "kiss" method it would be a lot more user friendly. 🙂
Hi everybody! This is Grant, I work at Factual. I really appreciate the feedback.
Michelle: As Elaine said, if you search "Montana" for ALL FIELDS or "MO" for STATE, you can find 59 restaurants that serve vegan food.
Brittany: I'm so happy that you like it. You said, "Would be great if this was open source though so everyone could contribute." It is open source and everyone can contribute! Double-click on a cell to edit it or click "Add Row" to add a new restaurant.
Bea: I can sympathize with your "too complicated" sentiment. This table view that you see above is not the most user-friendly way of viewing the data. Soon we will offer map and graph widgets, which are more fun and useful. We encourage anyone to add information, and we don't expect people to fill in all the columns…the name and address is good enough, because ultimately, that is what other vegan will want to know.
You can check out more open data at factual.com. Thanks again for the comments.