I travel all over and Yelp is very solid and probably has the most reviews of more places than anyone. Some of the newer apps like Foodspotting are great concepts but don't yet have a a critical mass of user data. Others, like Zagat, are limited by editorial filtering.

For example, Flushing Queens is the arguably the epicenter of Chinese food in greater New York City but Zagat has just 12 listings. Yelp has 260 places reviewed. And what's remarkable to me is that Yelp (at least in larger cities) seems to defy the traditional city polls of "best whatever" which often results in Olive Garden being a city's Best Italian or Subway as best sandwich. Somehow the crowds using Yelp tend to focus more on unique, local places.

I love Chowhound and have been active on here for 12+ years (names have changed as I've moved across 5 states since then).

CH has and is a great place for discussion. And a great place for knowledge sharing, especially on city-wide subjects. It's perfefct for asking such questions as: I'm visiting Santa Fe in 3 weeks and want to experience green and red chile... where to go? Or, "what's the best Pizza in Phoenix."

Yelp is great for instant access to a broad variety of reviews on very specific corners of a city.
Example: I'm in Santa Fe tonight and want to see the best rated New Mexican themed eateries within 3 blocks of where I'm standing at this moment. Or, "what the best Punjabi takeaway in this 6-block section of Queens on my train stop?" Right now.

Both brands have some really great, expert people who contribute. And idiots. Here's the thing.. you learn to trust people who you learn to trust.

It ain't perfect, but we have 10-20 thousand restaurants and there no way any media outlets can follow them. Power to the people but keep a pinch of Salt.

I actually like the show for this very reason. Also like Chopped, but often times the ingredients are far too remote that I lose interest... Vermouth, Aardvark Legs, Fingernail clippings and cat hairballs - now "go make a dessert!"

Likewise Top Chef is often more about testing their contestants ability to create fast fare under different pressures.

I agree Rocco is a smarmy ass and has snarky guests, but the show usually gives the competing chefs a pretty wide berth and enough time to create what they want.

Of all the competition shows out there, this one is actually pretty close to the challenge that home cooks face when throwing a party... fixed budget, adhere to a theme, try to create a number of memorable courses, yet deal with the odd guest who doesn't or can't eat XYZ.
I've gone through the same challenges when throwing Saturday backyard pool BBQs, let alone NY loft parties with semi-celebs! :)

I try to avoid chains if there are other nearby choices, but have grabbed meals at PAM when convenience/speed was needed.

And my opinion of them is completely neutral.

I don't recall them being overtly friendly, nor indifferent. Likewise, their food offerings are somewhat varied/different than most chains, but I can't recall being wowed by anything. In other words, I trust that their tuna sandwich is probably fresh and like that its on a decent roll, but wouldn't go out of my way to eat it. But sometimes you don't have the time or energy to go out of your way, so they're probably filling a niche by being in more places.

My guess is that certain segments of the industry, particularly places like Taco Bell - where a major percentage of people order food to go or via drive thru - are interested in keeping people around longer. Does anyone currently spend more than 20 minutes inside a Taco Bell if they go there? If they have space, use it.

From a business perspective, it's often better/more profitable to get current customers to spend more money than to get new ones in the doors. If that $7, 20-minute lunch customer decides to watch a game for 3 hours and eats another $7 in food/drink, then you've doubled profits. It doesn't sound impressive, but multiply that by daily visitors and it's really significant money.

One chain that's current a Wall Street favorite is Buffalo Wild Wings, who just reported a 26% growth in earnings. In the current economy, getting double digit growth from a consumer-driven business is amazing. To me, they were always a place to eat hot wings. But they've seemingly turned their business into a destination/sports bar experience.

I've reviewed a lot of places on Yelp and have never had anything removed - even reviews where managers/owners didn't quite like my observations. As someone who has worked for years in restaurant/hotel/casino and other public serving jobs - and being fully appreciative of bad nights/bad apples, etc, - I aim to be honest and rarely give perfect or imperfect scores.

But just like any other kind of reviews, from posters on Amazon and IMDB to reporter reviews of TV shows or movies/music, you learn to take things with a grain of salt and graduate towards people with whom you find common tastes. In other words, you spot trends and learn to ignore noise.

There can be wisdom found in crowds and I appreciate Yelp's ability to provide some insight into so many places. In NY, there are something like 20,000 restaurants and there's no way traditional media could hope to cover them. If I find myself in a corner of Queens, having Yelp suggestions nearby is better than randomly trying a place.

It's not perfect, but I find it usually contains a lot of good info. from passionate food followers.

I'm a fan of all meats, but am cognizant of my total consumption.

As such, I've not so much reduced the number of times I eat meat, but do try to enjoy it in simpler forms and simpler portions. In other words, it need not be the focus.

For example, instead of buying a giant steak to grill and eat at one sitting, I'll buy a certain cut that can be sliced thin and used for multiple dishes over the next few days. Or instead of a meal with 3 pieces of chicken, I'm happy with some chicken mixed in with a burrito that's also packed with other stuff.

Upon reflection, this isn't so much driven by meat-related decisions, but a desire to enjoy food in smaller, variety-filled portions.

She didn't make moules frites. She made moules. That's it. Steam them for 2 minutes with butter, shallots and wine (+ whatever) and that's a fine dish. I agree its often a wonderful meal, but I don't get how the win celebrated her uniqueness. What was her signature spin? Did she do anything that made them her own brand? Are you rushing out to find her unique twist?

That's my point. She won with a dish that's likely been done a 1,000 times before by a 1,000 chefs. They rewarded sameness. That was the strange theme of this show. Usually one is rewarded for creativity and ambition, but this episode seemed to reward one for being safe and meeting expectations. Meanwhile the folks who tried to make fresh food from scratch were chided for not buying dried, pre-made basics. Blah.

It celebrated karaoke. Even more, it suggested taking short cuts and being content with mass produced products.

I'd hate to say it but maybe "Top Chef" has jumped the shark,

This is one of those episodes that leaves me scratching my head.

For the winning dish, Antonia gets the nod for mussels in a broth. Huh? I'm not a chef but like to cook and yet I avoided mussels for years, thinking they'd be complicated. It turns out they are simple to make. The mussels part it easy (if you can source them fresh)... and the sauces/broth part is limitless. Fabio (and the rest) were rightfully irritated. He, for example, cooked a much more involved 2-part course. Simplicity is nice, but you shouldn't win a chef's competition by hitting a bunt.

Likewise, I don't get the judge's hate for Mike's dish. Yes, he's an annoying personality. But he actually attempted fresh pasta. Maybe he failed. Maybe it didn't work. But there were several comments that implied he'd be smarter if he cooked the boxed stuff. What?

To me, this episode seemed to reward non-creative food and penalized attempts at creativity/authenticity. Strange.

I don't think Triple D is pay-to-play. It makes no economic sense.

Most of the places visited are pretty small, one-location joints, often in non-hip places. They aren't going to blow what modest marketing budget they have on a national show when they are a $7 a meal, suburban strip mall place in Omaha, Phoenix or San Bernardino.

It makes no sense for the restaurant or for the show.

For a small restaurant in Memphis or Montana, are you really gonna hope to have people travel cross country when you've not yet tapped the local eaters? Your key market are locals.

Likewise, if you were going to produce a P4P show, you'd likely target well funded restaurants in major destination cities. For example, there are plenty of well heeled places in Vegas with celeb chefs and casino money backing, but Guy hits "The Keg" - a dive strip mall bar for beers and stromboli.