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I randomly stumbled onto the YouTube channel belonging to "TexasFoodGuru" while searching for an old restaurant commercial. The guru, also known as Rourke, has begun earnestly compiling restaurant reviews in video form for the last week and has three videos up on the site so far.
As far as production values go, they're terrifically low-budget and fun. Think Wayne's World for food, without the basement and with a cheerful, middle-aged man in place of the perpetually 20-something Wayne and Garth. Pictures of spaghetti and salads spin wildly out of control and fade into bizarre Technicolor fever dreams as Rourke fiddles with all the settings in iMovie, but it's always a trip to watch.
And although I might not enjoy or recommend the first three restaurants he's spotlighted, there's no mistaking Rourke's passion for the subject matter, which makes each video enjoyable on its own merits.
Is this the way of the future? Food blogs replaced by food video channels on YouTube? It's unlikely, but I'll keep looking for more of Rourke's videos as he makes them.
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