Never go hungry in a new city or your city again
Last fall I made a trip out to San Francisco to visit a friend for a few days. They lived just outside the city but I got a hotel in downtown center city San Francisco. Because they didn’t live right in center city where I was staying, they didn’t know about all the places to eat. Let’s face it, in a city as big as San Francisco, who can really ever know all the great places to get grub?
Being the geek I am, I whipped out the laptop and started to get my Google on. Pretty quickly I found Yelp.com. Wow. This site is a lifesaver.
Yelp is a socially driven directory of restaurants, entertainment and shopping. They offer reviews by members, from my experience, these reviews tend to be very honest and spot on with the good and bad of each establishment. Locations, contact information and Google Maps to each place of business are also right there for you, in addition to average costs per meal, required attire and hours of operation.
What makes Yelp great for someone like me are categories. Ever been with a group of friends and you all want to go eat but can’t decide what restaurant, much less what type of food you want? Or in my case, new to a city and wanted to try local flavors out but kind of ignorant to what a city offers, this is great
For ignorant people like me, they break down food into dozens of categories, thank you! Who knew that within a 6-block radius of the hotel I was staying at there were just as many creperies? This really takes the guesswork out of finding someplace to eat.
I’ve since been using the site here in my hometown to find new places to eat, in addition to checking out cities that I head to for daytrips. While Yelp is geared more towards larger cities, because it is socially driven by users, there is a good deal of information for the most hole-in-the wall towns.
I’ve never used it for shopping or entertainment, nor have I joined to contribute my own two cents, I’m more of a lurker. But if you plan on visiting someplace like the bay area or NYC where there are millions of places to eat and want to real user feedback, Yelp will help you out. It could also end debates among friends trying to decide on a place to go Friday night. Go try someplace new for a change!
Similar articles that might also interest you:
- Attention all big city hikers!
- Wegmans can be the suxxor
- Another forum trying to do it all
- A List of Free Coin Counting Services in Every State
- Design inspiration
Comments
Sofia Sabotage
Ever since you showed me this site, I’ve never stopped using it!!! I love YELP and because I’m in Seattle now, it’s helped me out so much.
Justin
I’ve been using/contributing to Yelp since early 2006. (http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=_B4_n1vFz3mUF0NEJ0t3Ew) It seems to have really sprung to life in the last 4-6 months with numerous users coming on board. It is very helpful for any store in your general area. While I do live in a somewhat “big city” I have found just as many helpful recommendations in smaller towns I’ve visited as well.
The other great thing about the site is the mobile version. I traveled to New York in May of this year and found the site invaluable. Just type in the bar/type of restaurant you want and it tells you the address and what streets it is between. It is also scaled down from the normal site which makes load times a breeze on my Q mobile phone.
I’ve become a little put off by the social networking side of the site as of late. At least in my area there seems to be a lot of new users who purposely add a restaurant under a different name that is already included just to be the “first to review”. I’m not sure what the big deal is with this but it is happening a lot in Orange County. There are also a lot of silly reviews people are doing just to try and get “funny” comments.
Lastly, the biggest problem I have with the current 2007 site is the introduction of ads/paid reviews. I do a search for a restaurant called “Sandpiper” and a sponsored hair salon comes up as the first result. Granted, it does clearly state it is a paid sponsor it doesn’t stop it from being the dominant part of the page. I’ve also seen several bar owners talking up their establishment without fully disclosing their involvement with the place. They also give “positive” reviews to competing bars in the area but always mention, “but you can head over to XYZ Bar (their bar) for better drink specials.”