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Do Yelpers qualify as foochebags? Up until recently, the general consensus would have been "no," or at least "probably not?," but a couple of recent developments call that judgment into question.
First: Yelp had to aggressively scold its Elite Yelpers in New York City for what Eater described as "degenerate feeding frenzies" at Yelp meet-ups.
Here's my favorite quote from an email stuffed with great quotes: "Much to our chagrin, the staff at several events has commented on the fact that occasionally some members of the Elite Squad at meals can be likened to an Animal Planet feeding frenzy, as certain people descend on appetizers as though they have not eaten in weeks."
Second: The word hipster is now an official restaurant descriptor on Yelp, as in: Ambiance: Romantic, Hipster, Trendy, Casual. How trendy and hipster are differentiated is not entirely clear, but, yes, questionable stuff.
Image source: Flickr member hittheroad under Creative Commons
yelp is a gift and a curse to me as a restaurant owner.....the problem is that anyone that shoves food in their mouth and pays for it thinks they're a food critic. and, well honestly, people think that everyone wants to know what their opinions are....so much that they spend copious amounts of time on yelp writing reviews, ala Ruth Reichl in the NY Times. honestly, we've got AMAZING reviews for...+READ
yelp is a gift and a curse to me as a restaurant owner.....the problem is that anyone that shoves food in their mouth and pays for it thinks they're a food critic. and, well honestly, people think that everyone wants to know what their opinions are....so much that they spend copious amounts of time on yelp writing reviews, ala Ruth Reichl in the NY Times. honestly, we've got AMAZING reviews for our joint on yelp, but I let our food speak for itself. I welcome yelpers, but am aware of their fickle nature. they're looking for the next "hidden gem". problem with being a hidden gem on yelp is that the more people 'discover" you're place, the less of a "gem" they may consider you. so, yelp is helpful, but it's mostly hype....and you know what they say about hype......-COLLAPSE
bergersworth; let me guess; La Bamba on Middlefield?
So what's wrong with Yelp? Is there a problem with the design of the site? Or is it dominated by relatively young techno-savvy people who are not so experienced with food? Or are restaurant owners getting all there friends to write great reviews in exchange for free food or something?
I have found Yelp to be misleading and unreliable.
Yelp is quickly becoming irrelevant. I went to a four-star taqueria in Mountain View with well-over 500 reviews thinking I would have a good experience. The food was decent at best but the place had the feel of a recently-liquidated, lightly-traveled interstate gas station restaurant just before demolition. There was virtually no seating in the relatively large and empty space and the cheap...+READ
Yelp is quickly becoming irrelevant. I went to a four-star taqueria in Mountain View with well-over 500 reviews thinking I would have a good experience. The food was decent at best but the place had the feel of a recently-liquidated, lightly-traveled interstate gas station restaurant just before demolition. There was virtually no seating in the relatively large and empty space and the cheap fluorescent lighting made the place feel dingy and horribly unwelcoming.-COLLAPSE
People who post on Yelp are retards.
I don't come to chow because I think the people know better. I come here because I literally know every single reviewer by screenname and whether or not they know their stuff. This makes the shills obvious and immediately called out. Yelp is exactly the opposite.
Aside from non-food reviews, the reason I go to yelp is when chowhound has 0 reviews and yelp had 50. Seriously, it happens.
I use Yelp all the time and even write occasional reviews (non-food related), but you gotta take most reviews with a grain of salt. The average yelp reviewer's opinion is no better than a coin toss.
It's actually gotten worse now that the site admin's implemented an auto-filter which censors out the vast majority of reviews out of an abundance of caution. I can't believe it.
The one thing I find vastly entertaining about both Yelp and Chow is that the regular users of both sites take themselves far more seriously than they should.
Before the sell out of the internet, when chowhound.com was more like a simple forums site consisting of true food lovers, the users were all true and souldful appreciaters of great food, dining experiences of all sorts (especially interesting dives with delish food) and ambiance and many of those people still are chow users. Then there are those that think their palate is worthy but have yet to...+READ
Before the sell out of the internet, when chowhound.com was more like a simple forums site consisting of true food lovers, the users were all true and souldful appreciaters of great food, dining experiences of all sorts (especially interesting dives with delish food) and ambiance and many of those people still are chow users. Then there are those that think their palate is worthy but have yet to prove it with consistently good recs.
In contrast, Yelp tends to attract much more different types of people, and also alot of people that are in love with their own opinions be they qualifed to speak or not. so my regular thought is yes, some Yelpers are definately Foodouches! In defense, however, I have found some pretty worthy recs on there as well, not as many as chow but enough to keep it on the "goto" list.-COLLAPSE
Oh, and thanks a lot for the 'foodie' slam.
Yelp consists of many reviewers who are easily impressed by the mediocre and/or have limited knowledge about food and cooking.
Chow consists of many reviewers who are easily impressed by the expensive and/or think they're of a higher class than most people who enjoy a good meal.
I wish there was a middle ground!
you jealous snakes!
Italia84 nails it. Much of the time, when you hear people complaining about food on Yelp, the problem is not something the restaurant did wrong, but something the restaurant did *right*.
Just tonight I was reading through the Yelp reviews of the most authentic Thai restaurant in town when I came across one that mentioned that their green papaya salad was "gross" because they ordered it with...+READ
Italia84 nails it. Much of the time, when you hear people complaining about food on Yelp, the problem is not something the restaurant did wrong, but something the restaurant did *right*.
Just tonight I was reading through the Yelp reviews of the most authentic Thai restaurant in town when I came across one that mentioned that their green papaya salad was "gross" because they ordered it with crab and it "tasted like the crab hadn't even been cooked." Apparently they were unaware that that is EXACTLY the traditional way of making this dish in Thailand - using whole, uncooked, pounded, and fermented small paddy crabs rather than cracking a big piece of steamed Dungeness or king crab and scooping out the meat.
This to me is the main reason "foochebags" are annoying. It's not the pretension or the crazed zeal about food, it's that they often have no idea what they're talking about.-COLLAPSE
I'm fairly new to chow, and I like what I see so far, but I freaking HATE yelp! I'm sick of the people, the layout, and just the crap that is overflowing there!
I agree with chezwhitey: The fouchebags on chow are slightly more knowledgeable than the ones on yelp. Slightly.
I've run into equally as many irate weirdoes on chow as I have on yelp. except on chow they are snootier.
italia84: what is the Mexican restaurant you refer to? The fact that they dont cater to the Mexican = Taco Bell crowd sounds like a good recommendation to me.
The fouchebags on chow are slightly more knowledgeable than the ones on yelp. Slightly.
i use yelp and chowhound...
when i use yelp..i comment on my particular experience with a business
i know good food when i have it..and say so..
i also yelp about things other than restaurants
yelp is just one site i use not the only one..
I use yelp often, I must say, but often take reviews with a grain of salt--particularly bad reviews. There's been several places that I love that have 2.5 stars on yelp. Some people just don't know food. One place is a super authentic mexican restaurant--VERY authentic. Anyway, people complained about stuff like lack of chips and salsa, no nachos, no sour cream on the tacos, etc.
Yelp is an invaluable resource when you want to know a restaurant's address, hours, and phone number when the place lacks a website. Other than that, I read it for humor purposes only (especially for teasing craft bartenders when they get complements on their superb Cosmo!).
Yelp users, unknowing or not, are simply the willing tools of the Yelp corporate extortion scam and nothing more. The fact that they have poorly formed opinions about food is merely an aside.
This is pretty funny. I use Chow as my source when I want serious input about the food. I see Yelpers as being a much younger demographic, based on what I perceive as significant price sensitivity (as we all were in our 20s), and commonly used descriptors such as "to die for," "yummy," and the omnipresent "delish."
IMO, Yelper users aren't as much of a problem as Yelp itself. See: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/05/san_francisco_dentist_latest_t.php
"They seem to only review trendy spots"?
Not sure where you live, but the boards I frequent are hugely diverse. And actually, in the early days, the complaints leveled against Chowhounds were often of the opposite stripe: that they were reverse snobs with nothing but contempt for trendy eateries.
I use Yelp to get factual information, but my experience has been that the majority of reviews...+READ
"They seem to only review trendy spots"?
Not sure where you live, but the boards I frequent are hugely diverse. And actually, in the early days, the complaints leveled against Chowhounds were often of the opposite stripe: that they were reverse snobs with nothing but contempt for trendy eateries.
I use Yelp to get factual information, but my experience has been that the majority of reviews are shallow if not ignorant, and that the majority of CH reviews are thoughtful. There are of course exceptions, and I wonder whether the format is partly to blame—Yelp is a largely unmonitored monologue, not a carefully (YMMV) monitored dialogue, so there's no room for clarification, debate, etc., no need to stay on topic or think twice about slander.
I just bored myself.-COLLAPSE
Chowhound is good for how good a restaurant or store is, but they seem to only review trendy spots and thus your options are limited. YELP, on the other hand, has a lot more listings, quite a few waiting for reviews, but I seriously question their taste. I've been to quite a few four and five star places which absolutely sucked.
I'll let others debate this but I love the term "Foochebag" and will have to steal it.
there are good and bad reviewers on yelp. there are good and bad reviewers on chowhound.
I find more foochebags on Chowhound to be 100% honest.
This latest complaint is just the tip of the iceberg. Offhand: The reports in major newspapers, such as free yelper parties from restaurants later praised on Yelp by attendees not acknowledging the comp. In Yelp's home (SF) region: Published reports of "extortion," adjusting reviews in exchange for ad buying; two local small restaurateurs I patronize called Yelp to complain of _factual errors_ in...+READ
This latest complaint is just the tip of the iceberg. Offhand: The reports in major newspapers, such as free yelper parties from restaurants later praised on Yelp by attendees not acknowledging the comp. In Yelp's home (SF) region: Published reports of "extortion," adjusting reviews in exchange for ad buying; two local small restaurateurs I patronize called Yelp to complain of _factual errors_ in Yelp postings, Yelp refused to remove the postings, but solicited advertising; another good local restaurant vilified (by, naturally, an anonymous Yelper unavailable for reply or accountability) over a dish it never actually served; widely useless and superficial "reviews" that rate whole restaurants from a casual impression, a drink at the bar, problems the diner apparently caused, or even, in one report I saved, without ever trying anything (by a yelper subsequently promoted to "Yelp Elite Squad" of "active evangelists and role models"). That's what we're dealing with here.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119162341176250617.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus11-2009feb11,0,6849007.column
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/yelp-and-the-business-of-extortion-20/Content?oid=1176635-COLLAPSE
Yelp just makes me laugh. So many "wow, I've never had Thai food before, but I had this noodle thing called pud tie or something, and it was really good!" reviews, which are entirely unhelpful. Chowhounders are better at establishing their bona fides, which helps you as a reader decide whether your tastes are the same as theirs. Yelp is great for hardware stores, etc, but not for restaurants.
I like Yelp and Chowhound and I'm not sure why one has to "hate on" the other. Honestly, in my market (Calgary) I find there are more reviews on Yelp than Chowhound. We have quite a few people who attack others for their opinions on Chowhound so I have stopped participating as much. You don't have that on Yelp. I use both to decide where to go for dinner, etc and I find that I have to take...+READ
I like Yelp and Chowhound and I'm not sure why one has to "hate on" the other. Honestly, in my market (Calgary) I find there are more reviews on Yelp than Chowhound. We have quite a few people who attack others for their opinions on Chowhound so I have stopped participating as much. You don't have that on Yelp. I use both to decide where to go for dinner, etc and I find that I have to take reviews on both with a grain of salt. Though Chow is more moderated, it doesn't cut out people with "OMG it was amazing" reviews of places that are mediocre at best.-COLLAPSE
I'm with lapresle, I turn to yelp as a last resort for food related matters. Too many terrible experiences at places 300 yelpers thought were fantastic.
I take Yelp lightly; it's either negative or the best ever with nothing in between. It would have more credibility if there were rating guidelines but as someone else said, it's been taken over by the Facebook crowd. I use it as a locator to quickly find something to eat when I'm in an unfamiliar area and that's about all it's good for.
Give people a platform to let their opinions be known and you're going to end up with a certain number that hav ean overinflated value of their own thoughts and opinions (as in- "he's a legend in his own mind"). It's the nature of the beast. Some, like Chow, are better moderated, and some aren't.
Also, you're limiting your writing pool by narrowing the geographical areas, Yelp is more of a local...+READ
Give people a platform to let their opinions be known and you're going to end up with a certain number that hav ean overinflated value of their own thoughts and opinions (as in- "he's a legend in his own mind"). It's the nature of the beast. Some, like Chow, are better moderated, and some aren't.
Also, you're limiting your writing pool by narrowing the geographical areas, Yelp is more of a local where-to-go-for-dinner, or a massage, or grocery shopping, than Chow is.
I think Yelp has its place as long as you don't take the reviews as gospel.
Hey- it's a-COLLAPSE
Hi rworange. Sorry for the confusion, we updated the post soon after it was first published, to correct the spelling of foochebag. There is now a link on that word to an article explaining the meaning, which is "Portmanteau of 'foodie' and 'douchebag,' typically referring to foodies who are categorized by 'attention-seeking, elitism, and superficiality.' Basically, arrogant food bloggers and...+READ
Hi rworange. Sorry for the confusion, we updated the post soon after it was first published, to correct the spelling of foochebag. There is now a link on that word to an article explaining the meaning, which is "Portmanteau of 'foodie' and 'douchebag,' typically referring to foodies who are categorized by 'attention-seeking, elitism, and superficiality.' Basically, arrogant food bloggers and Twitter users." (quoted from The Feast)
Deborah from CHOW-COLLAPSE
How does Chow define "fouchebag"?
According to Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fouchebag
1. "Female version of a male douchebag. Works overtime on her look, makeup, hair, wardrobe, demeanor and virtually every characteristic which would entice males in public. She does this with no intention of hooking up, but rather to feed her insatiable appetite to build...+READ
How does Chow define "fouchebag"?
According to Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fouchebag
1. "Female version of a male douchebag. Works overtime on her look, makeup, hair, wardrobe, demeanor and virtually every characteristic which would entice males in public. She does this with no intention of hooking up, but rather to feed her insatiable appetite to build self-esteem"
2."Midwest derivation of the term Douchebag. Someone who sucks in all aspects of life."
Is this the Chow equivalent of substituting a less objectional word in the title like using "sugar" instead of ... well, you know.-COLLAPSE
yelp.com has been taken over by the facebook "check-in" crowd. I'm over it.