dining - Gawker

posts about #dining more →
On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
The New Restaurant Bribery
Bernie Madoff's Favorite Restaurants
'Do You Have Anything Open Outside?'
Hot New Restaurant Brings High Prices, Hassle, Mystery To Dining Experience
Nobu Busted for Secretly Selling Endangered Sushi
Gjelina is the Brangelina of Restaurants: Pretty, But Ultimately Kinda Empty
There Is A Bomb In An Undisclosed Ruby Tuesday. Visit Now!
Pope Birthday Cheese Selection Revealed!
US Restaurants Distract You, Steal Off Your Plate

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

rmric0.wedding.photographer.and.manny
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
This is a problem with a lot of online reviews, you tend to get extremes rather than an accurate reflection of sentiments. After all if you go some place mediocre you're not going to care enough to review it, but if you go somewhere stellar (or shitty) then you're going to tell everyone.

This is why Ebay changed the way it does seller ratings, and why you have to read way too much into reviews on Amazon (setting aside the paid for reviews if you can).
Reply

raincoaster
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
Yelp is so five nanoseconds ago. It's all about the Foursquare now, baby.

signed,

Mayor of my own apartment and the off-sales window at the pub.
Reply

raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred

sharonckelly
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
I own a yarn store. Twice a year I get a call from Yelp and am told exactly how much it costs to get the low star reviews moved to the bottom of the list.
Reply

mommy_dearest promoted this comment sharonckelly was starred sharonckelly was unstarred

raincoaster
10/13/09

@sharonckelly: Very useful to know.
Reply

raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred

DorothyBarker
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
This can, weirdly, be seen as defense of print media and 'real' reviewers. I'm sure part of the 'star inflation' simply has to do with the fact that 'civilians' are more likely to go to restaurants they have heard (or read) are good; continued positive reviews are just a self fulfilling prophesy. By contrast, professional reviewers (ideally) go to every new restaurant, see every new movie, etc. etc., and with a broader array of choices can hopefully provide a better determination of overall quality. Not to mention that (again, ideally) they visit a restaurant more than once, evaluate a movie with thorough knowledge of its context--and don't have weird personal grudges. Hate to sound like an MSM apologist, but I'd believe Frank Bruni any day over EatrGuy72.
Reply

Cynical Media Bitch promoted this comment DorothyBarker was starred DorothyBarker was unstarred

raincoaster
10/13/09

@DorothyBarker: Not only that, but you've also got that "I want to say nice things about them, they might buy from me/might run into me at the store/might send me something free the next time I'm in the place." People do pander to get freebies, even just esteem from strangers who run restaurants. They see it as natural, they see it as "being nice." Which is why I love reviewers who pay for their meals, aren't on the social pages every damn day, and write objectively (if well).

Mind you, my favorite reviewer is AA Gill. He makes me thank GOD I never got into the restaurant business in the first place.
Reply

raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred

Matt Cherette
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
This is why, if I'm going to research a restaurant using consumer reviews, I gravitate toward Zagat. It's probably not terribly different than Yelp, yes, but I feel that those who fill out Zagat surveys are usually more discerning than those who spend their time rating eateries on Yelp.
Reply

Matt Cherette was starred Matt Cherette was unstarred

OldTowneTavern
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
No shit. I was so disappointed when I used Yelp in New York this year (my hometown let me down!). It sent me to crap delis, bakeries and restaurants. I couldn't believe it. Surprisingly, I actually found the LA yelpers to be more discerning. And I'm cheap, so I'm talking about low rent and medium priced neighborhood joints that are more likely to be frequented by locals than tourists doing up the town. I don't know what happened.
Reply

OldTowneTavern was starred OldTowneTavern was unstarred

morninggloria
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
Yelp sounds a lot like Yale.
Reply

morninggloria was starred morninggloria was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
The Wall Street Journal recently did a story, available on the web only to subscribers, about how reviewers on rating sites consistently award such high star counts that the stars are meaningless. Because of this phenomenon, eBay now ranks sellers by how many one- and two-star reviews they get. I should think people would use this reviews to complain, not to commend, but I guess I'm too cynical about humanity.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

blix
10/13/09

@TheBusinessGuy: A+++++, would read this commenter again!
Reply

blix was starred blix was unstarred

mfnher
10/13/09

In reply to On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special
People don't feel inclined to write reviews on restaurants that are three star worthy. One is much more likely to spend the energy writing reviews on restaurants they love.
Reply

mfnher was starred mfnher was unstarred

greengrey
10/13/09

@mfnher: I would think people would be more inclined to review restaurants they hate. Nothing like a scathing internet review to make you feel better about awful service or slow delivery.
Reply

The-Littlest-Hobo promoted this comment greengrey was starred greengrey was unstarred

The-Littlest-Hobo
10/13/09

@greengrey: I agree - plenty of the reviews on Yelp are very bitchy, normally in a pretty idiotic way. A good example being the guy who gave a restaurant 1 star because he got a parking ticket whilst dining there, or the person who gave a place one star because she saw the chef in the kitchen "handling the food". I hate Yelp.
Reply

The-Littlest-Hobo was starred

mfnher
10/13/09

@The-Littlest-Hobo: Yeah, there are some horrible reviews. My husband and I have a restaurant. We got a poor rating from someone who claimed the amuse bouche was too small. Apparently, he is unfamiliar with what the hell an amuse bouche is.

We have no recourse to keep people from posting that crap. For the most part, we have received very positive reviews. I do think that people want to write bitchy reviews, but most people only post when they have something positive to say. I think it's because your name is associated with the review.
Reply

Edited by mfnher at 10/13/09 1:58 PM mfnher was starred mfnher was unstarred

A Message To Rudy
10/13/09

@mfnher: ". We got a poor rating from someone who claimed the amuse bouche was too small. Apparently, he is unfamiliar with what the hell an amuse bouche is."

Hence my post above. Not saying people aren't entitled to their opinion, but a lot of times it's an uninformed one which does no one any good.
Reply

blix promoted this comment A Message To Rudy was starred

blix
10/13/09

@Ken Green: The gazpacho was cold to boot!
Reply

blix was starred blix was unstarred

A Message To Rudy
10/13/09

@blix: Waiter: Would monsieur care for another bottle of the Chateau Latour?

Navin Johnson: Ah yes - but no more 1966. Let's splurge! Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you've got - this year! No more of this old stuff.

Waiter: Oui monsieur.

Navin: He doesn't realise he's dealing with sophisticated people here. [Navin realizes with horror what is on Marie's plate] Marie, now just stay calm. Stay calm. Don't look down, don't look down! Look up! Just keep your eyes up and keep them that way, OK.

Navin to the waiter: Waiter - there are snails on her plate. Now get them out of here before she sees them! [to Marie] Look away, just look away, keep your eyes that way! [to the room of people, which is now watching the pair] You would think that in a fancy restaurant at these prices you could keep the snails off the food! There are so many snails there you can't even see the food! [to the waiter] Now take those away and bring us those melted cheese sandwich appetizers you talked me out of!

Waiter: Oui, monsieur.

Navin: Can you believe this? First, they didn't have the bamboo umbrellas for the wine, and now snails on the food! Two boobs! That's what he takes us for!

- Steve Martin, "The Jerk"
Reply

A Message To Rudy was starred

blix
10/13/09

@Ken Green:
Restaurant Patron: "Taste the soup."
Waiter: "I don’t wanna taste the soup."
Patron: "Taste the soup."
Waiter: "But, I don’t wanna taste the soup."
Patron: "Just taste the soup."
Waiter: "Why do you want me to taste the soup."
Patron: "C’mon, just taste the soup."
Waiter: "I can’t, there’s no spoon."
Patron: "AHA*….. AAAAHHHHAAAA*!!!"

-Eddie Murphy, "Coming to America"
Reply

blix was starred blix was unstarred

raincoaster
09/01/09

In reply to The New Restaurant Bribery
Whoring your reputation out for 20% of a burger and coleslaw? And I thought I was cheap.
Reply

raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred

Scott Kidder
08/31/09

In reply to The New Restaurant Bribery
The shrimp were delicious.
Reply

Edited by Scott Kidder at 08/31/09 9:38 PM Scott Kidder was starred Scott Kidder was unstarred

Perhaps Not
09/01/09

@Scott Kidder: Yelp is that-a-way, but good try.
Reply

Perhaps Not was starred Perhaps Not was unstarred

If_I_Had_a_Poodle
08/31/09

In reply to The New Restaurant Bribery
but if they didn't like it why would they go back even at 20 percent off?
Reply

If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred

SeaBassTian
08/13/09

In reply to Bernie Madoff's Favorite Restaurants
What the hell were the Madoffs doing in the decidedly downscale Mount Olympos Diner in Yonkers? I mean no disrespect, but if I had his cash flow and I was in the burbs, I would at least spring for Charlie Brown Steak House.
Reply

SeaBassTian was starred SeaBassTian was unstarred

lobstr
08/13/09

In reply to Bernie Madoff's Favorite Restaurants
My MasterCard bill never breaks down tip amounts in my statements... is AmEx special that way?
Reply

lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred

i'm a bottle
08/13/09

In reply to Bernie Madoff's Favorite Restaurants
The Per Se tip, $60 on a $1200 tab can be accounted for by the fact that there's a 20% service charge already included. It's the same with Outback with its $800 tab, they didn't tip because the service charge is included for parties over a certain number.
Reply

i'm a bottle was starred i'm a bottle was unstarred

misslinda
08/13/09

@i'm a bottle: You're right--Per Se and Outback are the same.
Reply

misslinda was starred misslinda was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Gawker

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment