On Sep 14, 7:02*am, "jmcquown" > wrote:
> Sheldon's query about Chinese restaurants in Seattle got me thinking about
> this. *Do you read restaurant reviews prior to eating in one? *Even if it's
> in your own town? *[snip]

Our town is the greater Los Angeles area, so reviews are mecessary to
cope with the huge number and the huge turnover in restaurants. We
have two or three good print sources and several on-line sites. We
find that the longer, more informative reviews can be useful while the
brief 'I liked it' of 'I hated it' are meaningless. Rants like your
example are best left ignored as completely unreliable.

What we find useful in reviews:

what's their aim--elegance, comfort, culinary adventure, star-
gazing (this is L.A.)
how well do they achieve their aim -- quality and consistency of
food
what's on the menu, ethnic specialty, wine list
price range
service (including, do they honor reservations or always make you
wait)
noise level

Some reviewers regularly hit all these points. Those that don't are
less likely to entice us to try a place out. -aem