If a picture is worth a thousand words — which it is, I just cashed in a picture yesterday — then a video must be even more valuable, right? So thinketh Yelp, as it says that it’s previously announced video feature is now ready for users who want to add short clips to their reviews. [More]
restaurants
Yelp’s Video Feature Is Now Live, So You Can Show Exactly What You Mean By “Ear-Splitting Music”
By 7.29.14
Popeyes Customer Claims Drive-Thru Worker Spiked His Drink With Antimicrobial Wipes
By 7.28.14
While one might think that the only substances that could be used to spike a drink would be perhaps liquid or powder, you learn something new every day. Because it’s possible to spike a soda with not one antimicrobial wipe, but two, as one unhappy Popeyes customer claims. [More]
N.Y. Bar Changes “No Irish Drunks” Sign To “No Sensitive Drunks”
By 7.28.14
It’s time for us to make peace with our Irish brethren, America. A veritable war of words between our country and the Emerald Isle sprung up when a cafe in Ireland posted a sign telling “loud Americans” to stay away, a controversy that pulled in a New York establishment warning “NO IRISH DRUNKS” were allowed. The good news is we seem to have settled things and can all agree that anyone can be loud and drunk, we’re all humans, after all. [More]
Restaurant Turns Yelper’s Lame Abortion Joke Into Fundraiser For Domestic Violence Crisis Line
By 7.24.14
Just like the rest of the Internet, Yelp is not immune to idiots who pepper their “reviews” with boorish, sexist statements that are probably intended to be funny. Most businesses would simply ignore this sort of non-feedback, but a restaurant in Portland (the one to the upper-left) saw a chance to turn a cheap abortion-based semi-joke into a worthwhile cause. [More]
If You Dream Of Playing Piano While Shucking Clams, We Know A Place That’s Hiring
By 7.23.14
Did you put yourself through music school by working at a seafood restaurant? Well now you can put both your piano skills and your clam-shucking chops to good use at the same time. [More]
Irish Cafe Tells “Loud American’s” & Other Tourists To Stay Away
By 7.22.14
Perhaps it’s a form of anti-publicity that the owners hope will turn them into the next Amy’s Baking Company, with people just coming by to see what all the hubbub is about, but a restaurant in Ireland has irked a good portion of its potential customer base with a sign telling tourist — and specifically American tourists — to get lost. [More]
Man Accused Of Burglarizing Chicken Restaurant, Returning For Lunch
By 7.18.14
We aren’t in the business of giving advice to criminals, but a man in Costa Mesa, California might want to rethink his brand loyalty to El Pollo Loco. After you burglarize a place, it’s probably a good idea if you don’t return for lunch on the same day. At minimum, change your clothes first. [More]
Restaurant Menus Remove Dollar Signs So You’ll Spend More $
By 7.15.14
When you read a restaurant menu, you might not notice that there are no dollar signs. Why is that? Removing currency symbols severs the connection between restaurant purchases and real money in your mind, and makes you spend more. No, really. [More]
Restaurant Says Smartphones, Not Lazy Staff, Are To Blame For Slow Service
By 7.15.14
Does it feel like you’re spending an inordinate amount of time sitting at the restaurant table before you actually eat? The tendency might be to blame it on bad service or a slow kitchen, but one NYC restaurant points the finger at customers’ smartphone obsession. [More]
While Other Restaurant Chains Cut Down On Sodium, KFC Meals Have Been Getting Saltier
By 7.2.14
With an increased concern about the role high sodium levels play in high blood pressure, kidney disease and other health issues, a number of restaurant chains have been attempting to cut back on the salt in recent years. A new review of meals from 17 of the nation’s most popular fast food and family eateries shows that most chains are slowly reducing the amounts of sodium in their food (though it’s still very high), while a small number of others have actually gone the other direction. [More]
From Gadgets To Diners: How To Make (Or Order) The Perfect Egg Every Time
By 6.28.14
I recently poached my first egg; sounds simple enough. And yet the amount of time I spent looking up how to do it, fretting over the steps and stressing over my inevitable failure almost made the whole thing not worth it. But when I posted a photo of that sucker on social media, the hefty number of virtual back-slaps I received made it clear that I am not alone in my fear of screwing up eggs. [More]
Australian Cafe Docks Guest Workers’ Pay For Burned Waffles, Incorrect Sandwich Assembly
By 6.27.14
It’s nice to hear that a restaurant has high standards, but one cafe in Perth, Australia took things too far by docking workers’ pay for minor infractions. How minor? Fining them AU$100 (about $94) for being five minutes late, $30 for sticking the tomato slice on the wrong layer of a club sandwich, and $12 for overcooking a waffle. While subpar waffles are a shame, these deductions are illegal. [More]
California Repeals Rubber Glove Law For Restaurant, Bar Workers
By 6.27.14
Earlier this year, a new California state law banned restaurant workers from touching food with their bare hands and required that bartenders and cooks wear rubber gloves. But following a backlash from the public and the foodservice industry, the state legislature has voted to repeal the ban, going back to rules that simply ask workers to minimize the touching of customers’ food. [More]
Putting Your Restaurant On A Reality Show About Cruddy Eateries Probably Won’t Save It
By 6.26.14
Going on a reality television show likely won’t fix all of your restaurant’s shortcomings, even if a hot-headed chef uses all the profanities in the world. Just ask the owners of half the restaurants to be featured on Gordon Ramsay’s now-defunct Kitchen Nightmares. Here’s a hint, their eateries are now defunct, too. [More]
TGI Fridays Servers Can Thank ‘Office Space’ For Their Lack Of Flair
By 6.17.14
Today’s kids may not remember, but waiters and waitresses at casual dining restaurants around the country were once covered in “flair,” pins and buttons — some whimsical, some carrying marketing messages — intended to give these otherwise anonymous eateries a level of quirkiness. It was an effort at synchronized idiosyncrasy, wherein servers were encouraged to express themselves… in the exact same manner as all the other servers at all the other thousands of identical restaurants. And then came Office Space. [More]
Priceline Announces It’s Buying OpenTable For $2.6 Billion
By 6.13.14
Travel booking site Priceline seems to be hungry, and it it seems it’s found exactly what it wants to nosh on — restaurant reservation site OpenTable, which books tables for users in their cities. Priceline is forking over $2.6 billion in cold, hard cash to buy the company. [More]
Waffle House Sort Of Sorry For Refunding Waitress’s $1,000 Tip
By 6.11.14
Yesterday we told you about the Waffle House waitress in North Carolina whose $1,000 tip was automatically refunded to the customer who’d left it because of a policy at the restaurant chain. After being shamed in the media for keeping one of its employees from keeping money that would have greatly improved her life, Waffle House is now saying that maybe it should reconsider things. [More]
Waffle House Policy Keeps Waitress From Keeping $1,000 Tip
By 6.10.14
If you’re looking to leave a very special tip for your Waffle House server, do it with cash. That’s the lesson learned from the story of one WH waitress in North Carolina who couldn’t keep the 4-digit tip left by a generous customer. [More]
