Since the first food critic bashed a prehistoric cook over the head with a rock, chefs have been trying to appease these evaluators, some of whom had the pull to sink an eatery with a few nasty words. So what happens when not only everyone becomes a critic, but when the place they post their criticism becomes a go-to source for finding grub? [More]
Travel Channel Host: Yelp Is A Forum For Uninformed Morons To Take Down Restaurants
By December 3, 2012
Hooters, Hard Rock, Friendly’s Score Low Marks On Chain Restaurant Survey
By July 2, 2012
The idea behind chain restaurants is — or at least it should be — to provide customers with dependable, consistent food and service at multiple locations. And many chains succeed in at least trying to fulfill these goals. But according to a recent survey of nearly 48,000 Consumer Reports readers, some chains are struggling to maintain a mediocre level of service and quality. [More]
Ways Restaurants Try To Squeeze More Money Out Of You
By March 27, 2012
When you sit down at a restaurant, you’re often engaging in a tug-of-war with the establishment to get you to fork over more money than you originally planned. Owners employ clever little tricks to get you to up the amount of your final check. [More]
Lose Weight By Eating In Restaurants?
By January 10, 2012
Ah yes. The dream. To lose weight while eating in restaurants and thus maintaining needed contact with other humans. Can it be done? According to one study, yes, it can. [More]
How To Spot An Awful Restaurant In Seconds
By September 16, 2011
The worst time to realize you’ve chosen a bad restaurant is after you’ve placed your drink order. You’re locked in to a financial commitment, so it’s tough to justify uprooting and heading somewhere else. If you’re careful to spot the signs of a bad dining establishment before you sit down, you won’t find yourself in that predicament. [More]
Striking Restaurant Workers Accuse Owner Of Charging $8 For Bottles Of Tap Water
By August 25, 2011
You may remember the story from January of the employees at a swanky Central Park restaurant who recorded their boss allegedly threatening them if they joined a union. Now those same employees have come out with allegations that the eatery misled customers into paying $8 for bottles of regular old tap water. [More]
Restaurant Turns Away Diners For Having Too Many Service Dogs
By June 28, 2011
Police were summoned to a Boston-area restaurant over the weekend after a group of 13 diners, including six with service dogs, were turned away by the manager for fear that so many canines could cause chaos. [More]
800 NYC Restaurants Caught Trying To Hide Sub-Par Health Inspection Grades
By June 15, 2011
Last summer, the New York City Board of Health began requiring all restaurants to post the letter-grade results of their latest health inspections. But a large number of eateries with non-A marks opted either to not post their grade or post it in a spot where no one could see it. [More]
NYC May Add Bar Codes To Restaurant Inspection Grades
By February 23, 2011
It’s been about a year since New York City eateries began posting huge letter grades to reflect their latest health inspection results, but now the city’s Health Department is thinking about adding bar codes that people could scan to get more in-depth info on that restaurant’s specific results. [More]
Should The Guy Always Pay On The First Date?
By October 29, 2010
It’s nearly the weekend, which means at least some of you will be going out on dates, a handful of which will be first date. And in spite of all talk of gender equality, many people still think it’s the man’s job to foot the bill. [More]
How Long Is Too Long To Linger After Finishing Your Meal?
By July 9, 2010
If you’ve dined out enough in your life, you’ve likely been on both sides of the waiting game… You’re the one standing at the front of the restaurant, scanning the room for diners who seem to be wrapping things up. Or you’re the ones sitting at the table, finishing up dessert or sipping your third cup of coffee, even though people are waiting for a table. [More]
The Census Is Getting Weird With Its Marketing
By March 30, 2010
“Nobody expects the U.S. Census! Our chief weapon is surprise!” A Seattle blogger posted a photograph of a fortune she received in her fortune cookie recently, and it looks like the Census is using surprise fear and surprise surprise, fear, and a ruthless efficiency to remind people to send back their forms. Oh, and they’re ruining fortune cookies. I fully expect to be forced into a comfy chair soon, which all in all isn’t a bad way to be tortured, so meh. [More]
24 Secret Menu Options To Dream About
By March 4, 2010
It’s been nearly three years since Meg put together that epic list of every secret menu known to mankind, and now Coupon Sherpa is following up with 24 items you may not have known you could order. [More]
Is It Ever OK To Walk Out Of A Terrible Restaurant Without Paying?
By March 1, 2010
Reader C wants to know if it is possible for a restaurant’s service to be so bad that you are justified in walking out. We’re thinking he means “morally” justified because we’re pretty sure you need to pay if you eat the food. [More]
Jack In The Box's Free Wi-Fi Experiment Ended. Did Anyone Notice?
By February 9, 2010
Knowzy.com, the website that’s been tracking which Jack in the Box stores were offering free Wi-Fi, reports that the restaurant chain has pulled the plug. The Wi-Fi offer came with the installation of HDTVs that displayed ads in the dining area, but those are gone too: “In mid-2009, the TVs and the Wi-Fi began disappearing. By the time McDonald’s made their free Wi-Fi announcement in December, Jack had completely dismantled his Wi-Fi network.” [More]
Secrets Of Waiters
By December 1, 2009
Michelle Crouch at Reader’s Digest has compiled another list of secrets that your waiter won’t tell you. Some are just going to make you annoyed, like the waitress who lies for sympathy tips. But there are plenty of useful secrets on the list that might improve your experience the next time you go out to eat. [More]
Let This Flowchart Tell You Which Chain Restaurant To Visit Next
By November 30, 2009
Sometimes it’s hard to decide on a chain restaurant when you’re going out to eat. Luckily, the blog Eating The Road has produced a handy flowchart. What I like best about it is it asks the important questions, things like “Are you Drunk? Do you want to be? Are you high?” And most important, “Do you mind flair?” [More]
50 More Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
By November 6, 2009
As promised, here is part II of the NYT “Stuff Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do” series. The list was written by a fellow who is opening a seafood restaurant in Bridgehampton, NY. We’ve grabbed the most debate-worthy of them for your enjoyment.
