My mission: 3 months to go

When I began my Girl Eats Oxford project in April 2011, the idea of eating in and reviewing one Oxford establishment per week seemed doable. Daunting, but also doable. In many ways, my first naive thought was right: it's certainly possible to dine out once every 7 days, but finding the time to review is sometimes tougher. This isn't the real challenge, though. The problem is that by the end of March I'll only have scratched the surface of Oxford's restaurant scene.

This came as something of a surprise. As the city is frequently labelled a 'culinary desert', I had an ill-considered idea that it would be possible to review the majority of the restaurants worth visiting in 12 months. How wrong I was. Nine months in, I've eaten at around 40 different establishments - with much better results than you'd expect of a gastronomic wasteland. So far, so good. But the list of recommendations still to visit numbers over 40.

Will I continue my project for another year? I thought I'd let you decide: if you're keen to keep reading, please leave a comment below or get in touch via Twitter or Facebook. Whatever happens, I've decided to celebrate the end of the year with a dinner at the top-scoring restaurant of the project. So far, the only perfect 10 has been awarded to The Ball Green Door supper club, but with the chef currently away and its future uncertain, there's everything to play for. Please keep your suggestions coming, as comments, emails, Tweets or Facebook posts. And if you'd like to join me for dinner at the end of March, please email me your details.

The Ball Green Door may have scooped the top score so far, but I've discovered plenty of other favourites. For the most part, my top picks from my six-month anniversary still apply: Santorini, Al Shami and the Magic Cafe remain some of my most enjoyable experiences. Since September, I've also had excellent experiences at Oxfork, La Cucina and No1 Folly Bridge.

Who knows what else I'll discover in the final 3 months of my mission? For January, I'll be focusing on budget eats, with the results revealed on BBC Radio Oxford on 10 February. Following reader suggestions, I'll also be trying out more cafes, date-friendly restaurants and family-friendly spots. As ever, if you have any suggestions for me, let me know!

Thanks for reading and happy new year.

Radio show 26 August: Pubs and gastro pubs

I'll be back on BBC Radio Oxford this Friday 26 August to discuss the topic of pubs and gastro pubs in Oxfordshire. The county's certainly not short of great places to eat in this category, and although I'm doing my best to explore them all, it's entirely possible I haven't yet visited your favourite pub for a spot of grub.

Presenter Jo Thoenes is keen to hear from as many of you as possible, so if you could get in touch with your thoughts and recommendations of pubs and gastro pubs to read out on air, it would be much appreciated. Please leave your comments on Jo's Facebook page or email them to jointheafternoon[@]bbc.co.uk. Looking forward to hearing from you!

You can listen live here from 1pm on Friday or listen here during the following 7 days.

Girl eats Oxford hits the airwaves

It turns out I have a face for radio. Well, a voice at least. From 29th July until the end of the year, I'll be appearing on Jo Thoenes' afternoon show on BBC Radio Oxford one Friday lunchtime each month to discuss dining out in Oxfordshire. On each show, we'll be focusing on a particular theme, and aiming to explore options suitable for all budgets, as well as ways to recreate some of the dishes at home.

We're hoping to involve plenty of local restaurants - and local residents. If you'd like to suggest a theme or a place for me to eat, please get in touch with BBC Radio Oxford by phone on 08459 311444 or by text on 81333 (start your message with 'Oxford'). You can also contact me via the blog, or on Twitter @girleatsoxford. We'll be looking for people living in Oxfordshire who'd like to talk on air about their favourite restaurants related to each theme, so I'll keep you informed of upcoming topics and please get in touch if you'd like to comment. Your recommendations and participation are more important than ever to make this as interactive as possible, so please do keep your much-appreciated suggestions coming.

The theme for 29 July will be fish, so if you have any thoughts, comments or favourite fish restaurants and fish and chip shops, please drop me a line. And be sure to tune in to 95.2 FM from 1pm on 29 July. You can listen online here.