quote:
Today's impulse based system of criticism is flawed. Used to be you had to invest some time & effort into waging your opinion, and then it was a private conversation between you and the proprietor. Now it's as if people tend to think their opinion has some sort of value because it can be published. Your opinion should matter; to your circle of friends & acquaintances & to whom it's directed at, not the world.

I completely disagree with this. People's opinions do have value. Maybe not to the restaurant, but to other diners. More information is always better. I can look at reviews and judge the value of the review myself. As a diner it is easy for me to determine which reviews are bullshite and which are pertinent to my dining choices.

I also do not think it is happenstance that the restaurant industry has boomed to new heights with the birth of the "foodie" combined with social media and review sites. Restaurants have benefited greatly from people sharing meals on social media and using food to show off, as well as people being able to share their experiences with strangers in discussion about their interest in food.

Diners are more engaged in the restaurant experience. You say 10 years ago you would get an email every other week, but you also had less restaurants, less interest, and less diners spending money.

Food boards, review sites, and the like have provided so much more information for diners. It used to be you had to look at some shitty Zagat guide to try and get recommendations for different cities or find friends with the same tastes as yourself. People did not know chefs names outside of a handful. Diners are more interested and you get more business. You cannot now divorce the internet and exchange of information from the dining scene. With the good (increased exposure and interest), you have to deal with the bad (shitty reviewers).

This post was edited on 3/21/15 at 12:53 pm

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Posted by LSUzealot

Napoleon and Magazine

Member since Sep 2003

57656 posts

Posted on 3/21/15 at 12:43 pm to NOFOX

Good post. Agreed on most everything you said. It's a double edge sword for a lot of restaurants. Although for places like Chef Jared's, I feel your points are a net negative overall.

Before the rise of social media, if you were already known as the best in town and your tables are full, then you don't benefit near as much as the mom & pop start-up, the food trucks, the increase in competition. So I get their side too. It seems to be harder work than ever to manage a restaurant or any business these days.

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Posted by BocaJared

Member since Mar 2015

213 posts

Posted on 3/21/15 at 1:24 pm to NOFOX

i totally understand your position on this & i agree with much of it as well.

quote:
You say 10 years ago you would get an email every other week, but you also had less restaurants, less interest, and less diners spending money.

it was a different restaurant that i was the GM at, we would do roughly the same amount of covers as i do now at La Boca, so it's compareable

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Posted by Tigertown in ATL

Georgia foothills

Member since Sep 2009

29224 posts

Posted on 3/21/15 at 3:08 pm to NOFOX

quote:
Food boards, review sites, and the like have provided so much more information for diners.

They have definitely raised the bar for both establishments and patrons. I've learned so much from this board about all things food and drink that I never would have had.