The Problem with Yelp

Image via CrunchBase

I'm not a fan of the mass review sites like Yelp. If I don't know who's making the recommendation or writing the review, their opinion doesn't mean much to me. Reader reviews with specifics ("park at the 18th St. garage" or "get there before seven or you won't get a table") hold some water, especially when I'm out of town. But for the most part, I don't know if their raves about food will be my raves about food.

There's also a culture among the non-food-obsessed to put a postive shiny spin on every place place they happen to visit. "It was great! Would definitely go back!" As if they feel any negative word is bad karma. They're like the "average user experience" write-ups popular in local newspapers and on local websites. Personally, I want someone with expertise to tell me what they liked and didn't like so I can decide for myself.

Enter Yelp!, a national online site where any user anonymously can quickly and easily look up restaurants and comment on their experiences. Not a bad idea, really, except for the, well, the making money part. Problems first surfaced last year, when the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Bauer wrote that a few chefs had encountered diners threatening them with bad reviews if meals and drinks weren't comped. As he notes:

Most restaurants have come to accept and understand the rules that guide professional critics, but they haven't come to terms with the palates of hundreds of customer/reviewers who have the power to write negative comments on a whim.

Of course, Yelp posts a review policy telling its users that it's not kosher to demand free anything. Legitimate reviewers (and even most bloggers) know the rules. But the extortion that one chef reports in Bauer's post -- comp us or else! -- is truly frightening. At least one chef commented that they tell these users to go on and write their bad review, casting further suspicion on the entire service.

Now, Michael Atkinson, founder of the social networking site FOH-BOH, reports even worse shenanigans on the part of Yelp! The East Bay Express published an article last week on Yelp's newest sales pitch to chefs and how it was gaining traction. Sales reps from the company are now calling restaurants with bad reviews posted and offering -- for a mere $299 a month -- to remove those bad reviews! As part of their service now, the folks at Yelp make money by cleaning up negative comments! Wow. Just Wow. What little shred of usability just went out the window. Talk about a no-negative review policy. How about we make some money on those?!

Yelp's CEO responds on his own blog to critique the reporter's use of anonymous sources -- but never once denies or addresses the fact that they charge businesses to remove or re-order bad reviews! What bugs me a little is that restaurant owners don't seem worried. They seem more irked by the "negative" tone of Yelp (that it allows negative reviews at all) instead of the fact that the service is extorting money to change content. The whole thing offends me. Expertise matters. Good and bad feedback matters, but transparency matters most. A content company can't censor. Worse, they can't charge customers for it.

I'd love to hear if anyone locally has been approached.

SF, NYC, Chicago...and the Whole Darn Country

*The venerable Rubicon closes in SF and Nieporent discusses how SF and NYC diners differ. No surprise that in SF, eating is more of a ritual, only earlier. [Between Meals]

*Chipotle pledges to go local for produce...sort of. [Grub Street]

*Bourdain hits Chicago to film an episode of No Reservations. (All while Achatz is taking NYC by storm.) [The Stew]

*Southern Wine and Spirits and Glazers merge forming a super-national wine and spirits distributor. Will it change the industry? Jeff shares his vision for the future. [Good Grape]

Noise Levels in Restaurants

Michael Bauer, critic at the SF Chronicle, had an interesting post on noisy restaurants this week. Apparently, it's something at critics in LA and Washington DC are looking into as well. (The Chron now includes a decibel rating along with their regular reviews.) While larger cities seem to have more restaurants in enormous open spaces with tall windows and cement or tile floors than we do, I've noticed -- especially in summer -- the penchant here for restaurants to add live music to your dining experience often overpowering instead of enhancing it. Anyone in town need to tone it down?

SF's Michelin Ratings Are Out

Last year, I skipped coverage of NY's Michelin ratings because, well, the NUVO Best of Indy list came out and I was too busy buying liquor and sleeping pills. Seeing Red Lobster as "Best Seafood" restaurant will do that to you.

For whatever reason, I've been more inclined to mention that San Francisco's shiny new Michelin guide just came out, the second in the United States. So has everyone else which has made my job muy easy. Below are pointers to some of the write-ups and comments. Those of you who see SF as merely a pit stop to get to Napa or Sonoma Valley will also take heart -- quite a few wine country eateries made the list including the only three star award for Thomas Keller's eponymous French Laundry.

If you follow the boards at chowhound or egullet, you'll know there have already been thousands of words written -- online gnashing of teeth and rending of hair -- over who got two stars and why. (Gary Danko, one star? Are you kidding me? And Michael Minna, two? Were they smoking medicinal marijuana?) Chez Panisse, Boulevard, La Folie -- they're all there. Zuni and Slanted Door are not.

At the end of the day, we should all be happy we're having the conversation. With two Michelin guides in the US now, we should take it as some sort of validation, albeit reluctant, that Europe can no longer ignore American food, at least in New York and San Francisco. I don't for a minute believe that most French chefs are the snobs as they're usually painted. Most chefs I know -- American or European -- are all obsessed with the same things: quality, creativity, and producing food that tastes good and that their customers love. But the real snobs -- Michelin critics and those who swear by the red guides only, now at least have a little validation that it's safe to eat in America. At least, if you can get a reservation at French Laundry.

*Michael Bauer: Making Sense of the Michelin Stars
*Michael Bauer: A Closer Look -- Three Year Old Information and Inaccuracies
*Slashfood: Do You Agree with the SF Michelin Ratings?
*San Jose Mercury News: French Laundry Nabs Three Stars
*San Francisco Chronicle: Who was in and who was out -- a French bias?

And for a really fun read, here are Frank Bruni's notes on trying to get a reservation at Per Se. If the New York Times food critic can't get in, then we common folk shouldn't feel so bad.

Tidbits Tidbits

So many little tidbits to share!

Keller's Ad Hoc is Open: From the SF Chron comes news that Thomas Keller's newest Napa restaurant, Ad Hoc, is open. Focusing on family style service and home-style favorites, the chefs are getting down the basics of perfect ingredients and amazingly prepared food. The idea of eating Thomas Keller pot roast is a fascinating one. Working with his chef from Bouchon, this newest concept will be open for six-months only. From the Chron:

The cuisine: Home-style American, Keller style: one four-course daily changing menu for $45. Family-style earthenware platters come with perfect amounts to share. The first night boasted an heirloom tomato salad fresh from the French Laundry garden and made-that-morning mozzarella; tri-tip smothered with a mix of olive oil-poached mushrooms served with corn on the cob and roasted piquillo peppers; a cheese course with Humboldt Fog, jewel-ripe figs and Marshall Farms honey; shortcakes with a bowl of stem-on strawberries and whipped vanilla bean cream.

The team: Thomas Keller, who also owns nearby French Laundry, Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery. He and Bouchon chef Jeffrey Cerciello will oversee the kitchen, putting out soulful renditions of favorite childhood classics, such as beef stroganoff, fried chicken and pot roast.

Restaurant Gary Danko and French Laundry Top SF Zagat: The new Zagat is out in San Francisco and who nabbed those elusive scores this time around? The Chron reports Danko and Keller both earned 29 of 30. Boulevard (which has been hit or miss for me on my last few visits) nabbed the one of the number two spots. Also from the Chron:

Just one point behind were Cyrus, Chez Panisse, Marinus (Carmel Valley) and Kaygetsu (Palo Alto). On the popularity list, Danko came in first ahead of Boulevard, Slanted Door, French Laundry and Michael Mina. New to the top 10 was Kokkari Estiatorio, while Chez Panisse dropped from sixth to 10th and Chez Panisse Cafe dropped from fifth to 11th. Ame (San Francisco) and Redd (Yountville), were the top-ranked new restaurants.

Most interesting to me were the comments on service and tipping. Who would think Californian have bigger issues with tipping than, say, New Yorkers.

Bay Area diners surveyed eat an average of 3.2 meals out a week, just under Zagat's national average. Their biggest gripe is service, picked by 66 percent -- and they show it in their tipping, which at 18.4 percent is tied with Los Angeles as the worst among Zagat survey areas.

Hmmm. Meat on a Stick! Sure, I'm a food snob, but I love a good deepfried treat any day. This might not qualify, but based on last month's declaration by the New York Times food section that pigs-in-a-blanket are back, I'd think this fits right in! Enter Breakfast on a Stick from Jimmy Dean! Why did it take this long for someone to think of this? Was it due the arbiters of taste, the NY Times food editors, finally telling us it was OK to like little sausages wrapped in pancakes? Either way, I'm hooked. Chocolate chip included. From Slashfood.