DiningBuzz! - Why do some people bother eating out?

She doesn't like most everything she eats. (http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=0U_gblFB2MpWPFB4NhUVSw)

Maybe she should just stay home?

yelp is absolutely rubbish.

its where people will complain about service in a low-brow chinese restaurant, sanitation at a food truck, if a restaurant refuses to split a 40$ check between 6 people, and -- no exaggeration -- i recently saw a guy 1* a restaurant because he had "been going [there] for years" but suddenly there was a change in staff and nobody there now remembers his name / recognize him

the fact that reviews can be rated as "funny" or "cool" steer the tone for users. i cant take it seriously if theres no option to down-vote a review. the whole site has too big of an emphasis on the social aspect, and it seems like people pump out reviews as some sort of e-popularity contest.

if im interested in restaurants in a few city, i prefer to use chowhound. seems like those folks in general are a little more wise to the food than yelpers are

Agree with deniah here; the only thing that can
redeem yelp is if it adds a dislike or even better
"useless" button.

yelp is absolutely rubbish.


I generally agree. I check it out from time to time, mostly for fun. (I've never posted there.) In some places, Yelp is about all there is. Fortunately, in these parts, Chowhound is vibrant and has high quality. Sometimes I'll check out some of my favorite places - I saw one of them had a 1* review (which seemed odd). Voila. Some people are never happy, but they go back for more and more!

Trusting restaurant review on the internet without knowing the quality of the source is like asking for legal or tax accounting advice on a site for free.

Real restaurant and real diners only look for credible review sources and qualified reviewer.

I like to use local food review sites, but i really question some users when the only places they like are McD's Wendy's Applebee's and Chilis :D

i really question some users when the only places they like are McD's Wendy's Applebee's and Chilis :D I do not even see the point of filing reviews of fast-food or midrange chain restaurants.

Isn't yelp the service that Siri uses on the iPhone 4s?

Isn't yelp the service that Siri uses on the iPhone 4s?

Yes. I used it last night as a matter of fact to find a pizza. Then I asked Siri if she was single and she said "I've found 5 escort services close to you" :D

+1 on Yelp being totally useless. I find Chowhound to be quite a bit better for informed and thoughtful restaurant reviews.

I do not even see the point of filing reviews of fast-food

http://yelpingwithcormac.tumblr.com/post/12284367278/taco-bell-2nd-review

http://yelpingwithcormac.tumblr.com/post/12284367278/taco-bell-2nd-reviewBrilliant. :D

A few years ago, while on a conference in Orlando (the culinary black hole of all popular conference locations), I used a combination of AroundMe and Yelp! apps for the Iphone and found what I thought was a great sushi place close by. I read on Yelp! how fresh the sushi was, how long the waits were and how hard it was to get a table during mealtimes, so I decided to be smart about it and called to see if I could make a reservation. The phone rang and rang and then finally someone answered. Their voice was almost drowned out by all the background noise [must be a busy & popular restaurant] and I thought the person couldn't hear me and so had difficulty understanding that I wanted to make a reservation. Finally, they understood me and just told me to just show up, and that there were no reservations...which apparently was due to the fact that they are a sushi kiosk in a food court.... :rolleyes: :p :D

Yeah, Yelp! is really reliable.... :rolleyes:

A few years ago, while on a conference in Orlando (the culinary black hole of all popular conference locations)... Some years ago I was visiting my brother, a US Navy officer undergoing training, in Orlando. After he got off one evening we decided to go out and get ourselves a nice meal. We tore that town apart looking for a nice restaurant. Finally washed up, resigned, at a Steak 'N Ale. When we walked inside the place was emptying out and they said they were just closing for the night but they could serve us if we ordered straight away. It was just 800pm. Aargh, Orlando.

Some people may genuinely dislike food and resent the time/money it takes. They probably don't know how to cook either, so they're stuck with eating out or getting delivered. This complainer is probably such a person and best ignored. Will admit I rarely bother to eat out when at home any more since I live in an area where good food, easily cooked, is easily come by, and I can cook my own to my own taste fast and easily. There are many restaurants that are bad value for the money if you're a decent cook. But some people are just whiners and whingers and best ignored. I know a man who has a mental problem and there is almost nothing he can eat other than hamburger and pizza but at least he knows it's in his head and has tried to get it treated, rather than trash other people's efforts on the internet...

She doesn't like most everything she eats. (http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=0U_gblFB2MpWPFB4NhUVSw)

Maybe she should just stay home?

I know a variety of people whom I think are better off staying home because they're such picky eaters.

One time I was on a trip with three of them. Here's what happened when we went to a breakfast restaurant together:

Person #1 is very capable in a kitchen, cooks for herself frequently, and thus is accustomed to having food exactly as she wants. She wanted an omelet, but she wanted information about all the possible ingredients (e.g., "What kind of cheeses do you have? Are the mushrooms fresh or canned?") and ultimately ended up asking for a custom omelet in which she specified every. Single. Ingredient. Her order required several minutes of information gathering and negotiation. I swear it took her longer to order than it would have taken her to make an omelet in her own kitchen.

Person #2 has some dietary restrictions. He has to watch his sugar levels, and he knows he needs to cut down on cholesterol and salt, too. What he should do is order a fruit and yogurt plate and be done with it, but no, he wants to figure out exactly how much fried eggs, bacon, and hashed browns he can get without killing himself. So he's asking for nutrition counts on all kinds of "bad" foods, looking for substitutions, and asking for things like hashed browns made without salt added. Another several minutes of negotiation.

Person #3 has a few food allergies. There are also some things she plain doesn't like. Unfortunately some of these are common ingredients and condiments in restaurant food. She has to go through the ingredients list of everything on the menu and ask for removals or substitutions. "I'd like the western omelet but no bacon. I don't like pork. ... Oh, that's basically a veggie omelet? Okay, then give me a veggie omelet, but no onions. I'm allergic. I don't like toast, may I have extra potatoes instead. And a coffee, no cream. Don't even put cream on my side of the table, it grosses me out."

Finally the waitress looks at me. She is exhausted and worried because she has been standing at our table for literally 10 minutes while we've monopolized her time. "French toast, side of sausage links, tall orange juice," I say, matter-of-factly.

She looks at me again, waiting for MY questioning and negotiation to start.

"That'll do it for me, thanks."

She looks at me again, waiting for MY questioning and negotiation to start.

"That'll do it for me, thanks."

I am sorry, you seem to have met my family already.

I love them, but wow, so picky.

(e.g., "What kind of cheeses do you have? Are the mushrooms fresh or canned?") You didn't say what the rest of the conversation was, but those two seem like perfectly legit questions (canned mushrooms can be a deal-breaker). I'm supposing the other questions were not as reasonable...

You didn't say what the rest of the conversation was, but those two seem like perfectly legit questions (canned mushrooms can be a deal-breaker). I'm supposing the other questions were not as reasonable...

Asking a few questions like those is absolutely reasonable. Asking questions to the point that you have basically inventoried the restaurant's available ingredients, and then specifying a custom dish with them, is not.

Person #1 is very capable in a kitchen, cooks for herself frequently, and thus is accustomed to having food exactly as she wants. She wanted an omelet, but she wanted information about all the possible ingredients (e.g., "What kind of cheeses do you have? Are the mushrooms fresh or canned?") and ultimately ended up asking for a custom omelet in which she specified every. Single. Ingredient. Her order required several minutes of information gathering and negotiation. I swear it took her longer to order than it would have taken her to make an omelet in her own kitchen.

"I'll have what she's having".

I am sorry, you seem to have met my family already.

This is the part where I chuckle nervously and quietly mention that I was literally describing a breakfast with my wife and inlaws. ;)

Yelp is totally useless. They "filter" any bad reviews and don't include them in their ratings. I had a particularly bad experience with a restaurant, wrote about it on Yelp, then went back to my review a couple of months later to find it hidden in the "filtered" reviews. Several other reviews with the same complaints were also hidden. Basically, Yelp hides all the bad reviews, assumably to garner ad money.

Yelp is totally useless. They "filter" any bad reviews and don't include them in their ratings. I had a particularly bad experience with a restaurant, wrote about it on Yelp, then went back to my review a couple of months later to find it hidden in the "filtered" reviews. Several other reviews with the same complaints were also hidden. Basically, Yelp hides all the bad reviews, assumably to garner ad money.

I use Yelp frequently. I have not seen a problem with their filtered reviews. I do check them occasionally when I'm curious about a particular business. What I invariably find is that the filtered-out reviews are all 1 or 2 sentences long, full of superlatives (best or worst ever), and written by people who've contributed only a few reviews total.

Basically the filtering is designed to address two problems with crowd sourcing: the business operators who create throwaway identities to post rave reviews of their own businesses, and the angry crusaders who feel wronged by a business and pan it on every reviews site they can think of. As a reviews site user I am glad to see these types of reviews filtered out. Does this filtering approach also catch some legitimate reviews by infrequent users? I'm sure it does. But you can write more or better reviews to get out of the filter.

My "favorite" Yelp review from Chicago was, in essence "I drove past and didn't like it." This before the place was even open.

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=8zOz9zXLPmPA4yeR0h7yRw

Here's another one. I went out for a nice din - looked up the place afterward.

I use Yelp frequently. I have not seen a problem with their filtered reviews. I do check them occasionally when I'm curious about a particular business. What I invariably find is that the filtered-out reviews are all 1 or 2 sentences long, full of superlatives (best or worst ever), and written by people who've contributed only a few reviews total.

Basically the filtering is designed to address two problems with crowd sourcing: the business operators who create throwaway identities to post rave reviews of their own businesses, and the angry crusaders who feel wronged by a business and pan it on every reviews site they can think of. As a reviews site user I am glad to see these types of reviews filtered out. Does this filtering approach also catch some legitimate reviews by infrequent users? I'm sure it does. But you can write more or better reviews to get out of the filter.

I agree with your assessment of the Yelp filtered reviews. Most of them are from first time posters or they are from first time restaurant posters whose previous reviews were for mechanics or dry cleaning establishments. Frankly, I am more likely to read and trust Yelp reviews than Chowhound. I find the pretentiousness at Chowhound mind-boggling.

Trusting restaurant review on the internet without knowing the quality of the source is like asking for legal or tax accounting advice on a site for free.

Real restaurant and real diners only look for credible review sources and qualified reviewer.

What's a good source to look at then? I tried looking up Frommer's reviews and similar, and seems like some of the more reputable sources require a subscription.. but these are professional reviews.. I do seem to be able to query reviews off the net, not knowing how reliable they are..

There are some restaurant critics I consider trustworthy. One is Jonathan Gold who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reviews in a decidedly non-mainstream paper, L.A. Weekly. He's a terrific writer and fun to read.

There are some restaurant critics I consider trustworthy. One is Jonathan Gold who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reviews in a decidedly non-mainstream paper, L.A. Weekly. He's a terrific writer and fun to read.

Wow! Unbelievable for him! I can't believe him that he won a fabulous prize, huh?

Trusting restaurant review on the internet without knowing the quality of the source is like asking for legal or tax accounting advice on a site for free.

Real restaurant and real diners only look for credible review sources and qualified reviewer.

Amen !!!!

^

I know a variety of people whom I think are better off staying home because they're such picky eaters.

One time I was on a trip with three of them. Here's what happened when we went to a breakfast restaurant together:

Person #1 is very capable in a kitchen, cooks for herself frequently, and thus is accustomed to having food exactly as she wants. She wanted an omelet, but she wanted information about all the possible ingredients (e.g., "What kind of cheeses do you have? Are the mushrooms fresh or canned?") and ultimately ended up asking for a custom omelet in which she specified every. Single. Ingredient. Her order required several minutes of information gathering and negotiation. I swear it took her longer to order than it would have taken her to make an omelet in her own kitchen.

Person #2 has some dietary restrictions. He has to watch his sugar levels, and he knows he needs to cut down on cholesterol and salt, too. What he should do is order a fruit and yogurt plate and be done with it, but no, he wants to figure out exactly how much fried eggs, bacon, and hashed browns he can get without killing himself. So he's asking for nutrition counts on all kinds of "bad" foods, looking for substitutions, and asking for things like hashed browns made without salt added. Another several minutes of negotiation.

Person #3 has a few food allergies. There are also some things she plain doesn't like. Unfortunately some of these are common ingredients and condiments in restaurant food. She has to go through the ingredients list of everything on the menu and ask for removals or substitutions. "I'd like the western omelet but no bacon. I don't like pork. ... Oh, that's basically a veggie omelet? Okay, then give me a veggie omelet, but no onions. I'm allergic. I don't like toast, may I have extra potatoes instead. And a coffee, no cream. Don't even put cream on my side of the table, it grosses me out."

Finally the waitress looks at me. She is exhausted and worried because she has been standing at our table for literally 10 minutes while we've monopolized her time. "French toast, side of sausage links, tall orange juice," I say, matter-of-factly.

She looks at me again, waiting for MY questioning and negotiation to start.

"That'll do it for me, thanks."
That sounds a lot like a meal with my sister and brother-in-law!

She doesn't like most everything she eats. (http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=0U_gblFB2MpWPFB4NhUVSw)

Maybe she should just stay home?

This woman looks like a nightmare.

My "favorite" Yelp review from Chicago was, in essence "I drove past and didn't like it." This before the place was even open.

After a friend recommended a caterer for my upcoming wedding, I looked them up on Yelp to find they had had just a few reviews and a one-star one was dragging their average down... one star because "their truck was driving too slow on the Parkway today."

FWIW that is a 25-mph zone...

As for the picky/never satisfied guests, for some folks it's just part of the routine with them. My sister, bless her, is incapable of ordering anything the way it comes on the menu and never has been, even when we were kids and our mom would take us to Roy Rogers. I think subconciously my sister scans a menu looking for the item that is most fun to deconstruct. I just about strangled her once when the waitress painstakingly took her order for half the ingredients on the side and toted out all these wee ramekins of olives and tomatoes and what-not, then my sister cheerfully dumped each one back into the salad bowl where the ingredients would have been anyway, had she not gone plucking around with the menu. Needless to say, the list of places where we will go dine together keeps getting smaller. Although Korean BBQ works great for her, as she gets the 10 little ramekins of sides/relishes to play with whilst the bulgogi cooks on the tabletop grill.

double post

How would you coach someone who is not behaving appropriately while dining out?

Say it's your boss so you need to tread lightly, but the behavior should be corrected before they make a larger fool of themselves. Assume they are toilet trained and wouldn't put their bare feet on the table, but might normally frequent a different class of restaurant, or are used to dining in a different country.

yelp is absolutely rubbish.

its where people will complain about service in a low-brow chinese restaurant, sanitation at a food truck, if a restaurant refuses to split a 40$ check between 6 people, and -- no exaggeration -- i recently saw a guy 1* a restaurant because he had "been going [there] for years" but suddenly there was a change in staff and nobody there now remembers his name / recognize him

the fact that reviews can be rated as "funny" or "cool" steer the tone for users. i cant take it seriously if theres no option to down-vote a review. the whole site has too big of an emphasis on the social aspect, and it seems like people pump out reviews as some sort of e-popularity contest.

if im interested in restaurants in a few city, i prefer to use chowhound. seems like those folks in general are a little more wise to the food than yelpers are

TripAdvisor is the same way, along with a lot of the consumer review sites that exist. Thank god for FT!

Then I asked Siri if she was single and she said "I've found 5 escort services close to you" :D

Well, don't leave us hanging! :p

How would you coach someone who is not behaving appropriately while dining out?

Say it's your boss so you need to tread lightly, but the behavior should be corrected before they make a larger fool of themselves. Assume they are toilet trained and wouldn't put their bare feet on the table, but might normally frequent a different class of restaurant, or are used to dining in a different country.

Boss? Blend in the same way.. but make sure they are the winner in terms of unruliness.:D

Boss? Blend in the same way.. but make sure they are the winner in terms of unruliness.:D

Been there, done that. Many times. It hurt bad every time. Not worth it.

I find Yelp (and TripAdvisor) useful in small cities that Chowhound wouldn't be covering, at least more useful than the typical front desk clerk at the random HIX where I'm staying that night. In these types of situations, I'm just looking for "better than Ruby Tuesday" and I can usually piece together enough information to get down to two or three places, and then check their websites and maybe drive by them. But I tend to look at "most reviewed" and don't really differentiate between what gets an average of 4.1* vs. 4.3*.

I find Yelp (and TripAdvisor) useful in small cities that Chowhound wouldn't be covering, at least more useful than the typical front desk clerk at the random HIX where I'm staying that night. In these types of situations, I'm just looking for "better than Ruby Tuesday" and I can usually piece together enough information to get down to two or three places, and then check their websites and maybe drive by them. But I tend to look at "most reviewed" and don't really differentiate between what gets an average of 4.1* vs. 4.3*.

I've never used chowhound. Is that better than urban spoon?

I've never used chowhound. Is that better than urban spoon?
Chowhound tends to have a lot of foodies on it, and they can get a little esoteric at times, but again it's enough to give you a list from which you can form your own opinions.

In Chicago, especially if you want to get away from downtown and River North, the definitive choice is lthforum.com.

Chowhound tends to have a lot of foodies on it, and they can get a little esoteric at times, but again it's enough to give you a list from which you can form your own opinions.

In Chicago, especially if you want to get away from downtown and River North, the definitive choice is lthforum.com.

I live in the Chicago area and had never heard of this forum. Thanks You! Looks like a wealth of knowledge.

I live in the Chicago area and had never heard of this forum. Thanks You! Looks like a wealth of knowledge.

I'll second the LTHforum.com suggestion. Put it this way: FT and LTH are the only two message boards I read on a daily basis.

Been there, done that. Many times. It hurt bad every time. Not worth it.

You have good character, and probably do well in life..

consider the other side of the fence if you confront your boss..:eek::)

TripAdvisor is the same way, along with a lot of the consumer review sites that exist. Thank god for FT!

Im not sure you can take a lot of what is written on FT at 100% face value.... yes its one of the best resources in its class on the Internet but I tend to use pinches of salt for almost everything I read online.

Im not sure you can take a lot of what is written on FT at 100% face value.... yes its one of the best resources in its class on the Internet but I tend to use pinches of salt for almost everything I read online.

Gauchos do not use salt by the pinch, no matter what they are doing. :D

Gauchos do not use salt by the pinch, no matter what they are doing. :D

Unless you're talking about a Metro-Sexual Gaucho..... :p ;) :eek:

Finally the waitress looks at me. She is exhausted and worried because she has been standing at our table for literally 10 minutes while we've monopolized her time. "French toast, side of sausage links, tall orange juice," I say, matter-of-factly.

She looks at me again, waiting for MY questioning and negotiation to start.

"That'll do it for me, thanks."

Love it - some of my closest friends are picky eaters and a lot of times it is embarrassing going through the whole questionnaire on - are there eggs in it? is there meat in it? water but no ice? toast but no butter? this but no that...and so on.

Unless you're talking about a Metro-Sexual Gaucho..... :p ;) :eek:

A new year's resolution.. early..

Here's to a Metro thinner Maestro.:)

In Chicago, especially if you want to get away from downtown and River North, the definitive choice is lthforum.com.

Another huge ^ for lthforum.com. They have a Great Neighborhood Restaurant (http://lthforum.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=28&sid=c50acce06b93659c19b5c481636e8319) list that is a nicely curated to-do list for those that don't mind leaving the beaten path

I wrote a bad review on yelp for this one place that had, among other problems, a drunk waiter. Yelp deleted the review. Forget it, what a useless web site :rolleyes:

This is the part where I chuckle nervously and quietly mention that I was literally describing a breakfast with my wife and inlaws. ;)


I was at the point of suggesting you need a new set of friends when I read this . . .

Better shut me up . . .

I wrote a bad review on yelp for this one place that had, among other problems, a drunk waiter. Yelp deleted the review. Forget it, what a useless web site :rolleyes:

How often does tripadvisor delete?

Here's another site/app for getting restaurant reviews in a handful of cities in the US. These are reviews from Chefs about restaurants they like. I've tried a few, but some of what is recommended seems to be: trendy, weird food, overpriced, and strange. At least the reviews are focused on food and service and not subjective to the whims of folks from other sites:

Chef's Feed (http://www.chefsfeed.com/)

Chowhound seems to be one of the better sites IMO. It takes too much time to sort through some of the silly feedback sometimes, on many other sites. What I do to get better info (when I have time) is if I see a review on Yelp that seems sensible, I'll look at the reviewer's other reviews.

Jonathan Gold here in Los Angeles does choose some good places, but sometimes the 'really ethnic' foods (aged duck eggs, strange animal parts) are not what I want. I agree with about 25% of what he chooses, but the style, sincerity, and honesty of the reviews are appreciated.