quote:

Originally posted by dkp

Don’t know if this has ever been discussed before, but here goes. I find that over 90 per cent of the time when you go to a restaurant that you read about in a newspaper review, it turns out to be: 1-extremely expensive, 2-lousy service or 3-not very good food. Don’t know where these reviewers eat, but it couldn’t be in the place I try. Plus, even though I like Asian food, when we lived in Sacramento and now in Albuquerque, most of the reviews are on oriental restaurants. Any comments?

I think that hugely depends on where you read about it. At least it certainly does in San Francisco. The mainline reviewers in the Chronicle and Examiner tend to review more expensive places serving "California cuisine" and expense account dining, though not exclusively, and I’ve eaten at some places they liked and liked them too. But here, anyway, there’s an active alternative press. The Bay Guardian, especially, has long run a column called "Cheap Eats" that reviews very roadfood sort of places and I frequently discover something new that way: http://www.sfbg.com/39/34/x_cheap_eats.html