Yelp Sucks!! Sort of...

So out of nowhere I got hankerin' for some hot wings and a beer. Mmmmm tasty spicy vinegary goodness washed down with a nice pilsner. The only question was where would I want to go should I need to fulfill this craving.

For me my favorite place is Hooters, they have some awesome wings. Service isn't all that great but I like the food there. They also have a decent seafood sampler platter. Second is Buffalo Wing's n Things in Huntington Beach, though I haven't been here in well over 5 years. So I was trying to think of what other options are available to me. This brings me to Yelp.

On a normal given day they are about 80%-90% on the money with suggestions and ideas of culinary exploration. Though today I'm reminded yet again at how lame they are on occasion. So I do a search for hot wings and I'm hoping I get places that specialize in this item, though I get all these places that are not really related but because they offer it on the menu and someone decides to comment about how they did or did not have them. Really blows!

Now some of the places mentioned I wouldn't even consider getting hot wings at them... um.. the Boiling Crab is awesome for Louisiana style peel n eat shrimp and crab and what not.. but hot wings?? um.. no thanks!!

So if there is a specific culinary food item your looking for I would not recommend Yelp... perhaps Chowhound though... it's a little more of a forums board but at least it's more relevant.

Speaking of which I've still yet to go to Buffalo Wild Wings and Wingnuts.

Where is a good place to eat....?

In some ways I reluctantly took up this mantel of "blogging about food", partly because one I've sort of come to terms that it really is the one thing that I gravitate towards again and again, b) I find it a bit pretentious (and I'm usually not on most things) and also feel I'm 10 years too late for this medium. Seriously, the gamut of reality shows has come and gone. Where is the "Am I Hot or Not" website these days? Not that it's gone, but as far as popularity, I think I smell the death of MySpace on the horizon.

So today I read a article on Wired about Yelp' potential extortion advertising racket. Now like most people I've already formed an opinion and actually at first wanted to hang Yelp out to dry, however after finishing the article I calmed myself down a bit and have resumed a neutral by suspicious stance with Yelp.

For me Yelp is my defacto go-to "where to eat" reference and I have used it on occasion to post a actual review for a handful of places. Now understand that I take the sight with a fairly small grain of salt, as it is just one component that I use to compare the place. Like I said earlier, I feel like I have jumped into this "blog" thing 10 years too late and why does my opinion matter.. again a bit pretentious.

When there is someplace I want to go eat at I use a number of factors, type of food/cuisine, and the amount of vocal traffic the place has received from any number of sources, ie. Yelp, Chowhound, misc. food blogs, friends, etc.. This is what I use to make a decision, then after which I file the experience away.

So with Yelp potentially being involved in crap of this nature is a bit shitty, honestly. First understand that nothing prevents their site from being padded by any party good or bad from posting reviews. Hell I think something worth promoting for a business would be post a positive review and get a percentage off of your bill. All you have to do is bring in a print out of it, but conversely nothing prevents you from changing said review afterwards. So to keep the philosophical rants to a minimum, let's just say I have similar views about people as a whole as that of Julie Powell, so needless to say this is the way things are - shit or get off the pot.

While there is no sure rating/scoring system for making recommendations, Yelp is fairly good though a bit too mainstream/top40/whitebread in it's reviews for my personal tastes. What I mean to say is that I feel that some of the reviews are made by scared people, people who are scared to leave their bubble of reality. If you like food like me, then does it matter where you go or where you eat?

If you could find the best carne asada tacos from a taco truck smack dab in the middle of the ghetto, would you go? I sure as hell would! I'm going for food, not to roll someone.

If you do any bit of traveling to other countries you'll run into scenarios like this. Hell I recall a Anthony Bourdain episode of being in India... I think he went to one "tourista" restaurant... or am I thinking of Andrew Zimmermn? Again, food is about exploring the world with your mouth. I myself have many things that I timidly draw the line on, offal being one, but not including menudo.

I'm interested on how this turns out, better or worse.