Table 2 Items captured by the survey instrument for assessing restaurants
Restaurant survey variables | Rationale/how measured |
|---|---|
Date | Essential food establishment data that allows for identification, geocoding, and time-stamping. |
Survey start time, survey end time | |
Food establishment name | |
Street address | |
GPS reading | |
Hours of operation | |
Type of restaurant | Categorization the restaurant. 14 possible types. Check all that applied. A distinction was made between establishments that sold prepared foods: if they had 5 or more seats, they were defined as restaurants, otherwise defined as a store. |
Sit-down, take-out, western fast food, café, Chinese fast food, street stand/cart, food court, deli, bakery, bar, tea house, dessert, juice bar and other | |
Restaurant size | Seating capacity in number of persons or number of tables. |
Seating capacity | |
Type of food served | Assess availability of certain types of foods that are common to this city. 11 types. Check all that applied. |
Vegetarian, vegan, organic, dim-sum, seafood, noodles, regional cuisine, Muslim, buns/pancakes, deep-fried, and other | |
Drinks | Assess availability of certain types of drinks that are common to this city. 10 types. Check all that applied. |
None, soda, juice, alcohol, tea, coffee, bottled water, yogurt, flavored milk, and other | |
Was a take-out menu available? | Yes/no |
Was a flyer available? | Yes/no |
Advertisement | Assesses whether the restaurant advertises their food. Check all that applied. |
None, local TV station, phone directory, newspaper, and other | |
Display of business license | Indication of potential food quality. Yes/no |
Website | Indication of new forms of advertising. Yes/no |
Nutrition information available | Yes/no |
Signs encouraging overeating | e.g., all-you-can-eat, super-size, jumbo, extra-large descriptors on menu or signage. Yes/no |
Promotions | e.g., low-carb, low-fat, low-cholesterol. Yes/no. |
Portion size choices | Check if small, medium and large portions sizes are sold. Check all that applied. |
Price range | Range of pricing for vegetable dishes, meat dishes, and other dishes. |
Vegetable, meat, and others |