So Long Yelp

Image Source.

When I'm in a new city or town and hungry I often rely on Trip Advisor for advice on where to eat.  Unfortunately their format is such that new restaurants are often not featured...yet.  So I also go to Yelp or UrbanSpoon to quickly find out what's good and close to my location.  However lately I've been hearing complaints.  From both businesses and contributors.

Friends of mine who own a business in the B/CS area have complained that all of the yelp reviews for their business are negative.  They've been told by clients that positive reviews have been filtered or just removed entirely.  That's just bizarre.  True enough, if you go to this business's Google profile it's overwhelmingly positive.  But overwhelmingly negative on Yelp.  They've tried to correct things with Yelp and have been told that they need to pay some advertising fee to do so.  Well, that's strange and leads me to question the validity of Yelp reviews. My friends don't own a restaurant, but the experiences decribed here agree with what my friends have said.

This statement is particularly telling and 100% agrees with what my friends have said: "Over the past year, I have attempted to get some clarity and assistance from Yelp. I have had no success except that its sales staff has repeatedly advised that if we would only advertise with them, they could “help us.”  We believe that is extortion."  

Yelp responded to the author of the article linked.  But the length of time this has been going on and the number of complaints cannot be ignored.

People are talking about this.  There's even a Save Us From Yelp group online to vent some steam and show the scale of what's happening.  Some are outright calling Yelp a scam.  One thing I can about them is that there have been official complaints about their products and services reported to the BBB, of which they are a member.  So, please, if you feel they are extorting your business, take it up with the BBB to at least get some attempt at resolution. 

And to make matters worse, Yelp seems to have an issue with maintaining their own community of commenters. This was detailed very well by MisoHungry.

Real reviews by real people?  Hrm.  Maybe, but it seems someone else is filtering exactly what real users see.  And taking advantage of people to write free content that will later be filtered to say something very different from reality.

So what's a foodie to do?  I've been with TripAdvisor for years and intend on sticking with them, even with their imperfections.  They've helped me tremendously with many vacation and conference trips.  For more up-to-date food information, though, I'm dropping Yelp and switching to UrbanSpoon.  It's not perfect, but at least it's not attempting to extort businesses in exchange for positive reviews.

 

[Images from a Google Image search]

B/CS Food Truck News

1. Cake Junkie just posted that they will be a B/CS Junior League Stuff the Bus drop-off location.  Drop off school supplies and get a free cupcake.  Donations accepted until August 20.  They haven't said if this is restricted to the location on 29th street or if the food truck will also participate. 

2. Pete Madden will be getting out of the food truck business. Sad for us, but there is a silver lining.  From Chef Tai's facebook feed: "Bad News First, my Food Truck Soul Mate, Peter Madden, has decided to end his Food Truck Adventure in BCS market. It is indeed a great loss for the community and I will certainly miss his support for BV Chow League and Food Truck Movement. I am glad Peter & I got to be a very good friend over the past 2 years through Food Truck Business and will continue our friendship & ...friendly rivalry to make Gourmet Food Scene in BCS area for the BETTER! Thank you Peter and wish you my best.

"Good News now. Peter has decided to sell his Food Truck to us and that means we can now serve more people in BCS area. We will inherent some of Peter's existing locations. Truck will not be ready to hit the road until August, but when it does, you will be pleasantly surprised with some of our Menu Tweaks to meet more of our guests' needs. Please feel free to make comments and suggestions on what you would like to see on our next Food Truck. I have a pretty good idea on what it needs to be but I am willing to listen to your suggestions to make necessary adjustments.

"Thank you again for your continuing support and love. You sure make our work day goes a lot better and you certainly support my son's diaper bills. :)" 

Madden's Casual Gourmet will still be there for when we want some of Pete Madden's fantastic food creations.  Save room for the toasted marshmellow ice cream for dessert. So yummy!

Upcoming beer and food pairing dinner at Christopher's World Grille

I really wish I had the budget for this.  Alas it's not meant to be.  At least not this year.  Perhaps the next time they do something this awesome I'll have a job that pays more than a grad student stipend. 

Anyways, Christopher's World Grille is one of a handful of Bryan/College Station fine dining establishments.  It has its loyal following in addition to haters.  But I have found them to be consistently awesome.  They cook a beautiful steak to order and occassionally have things like soft crabs and a mixed wild game plate. We go there only for special occasions. While the prices would be "not that bad" in a major city, they are just out of reach for us to go there regularly.

Next weekend, on Saturday, July 28th they are having a British Pub Style dining experience, paired with "proper" British ales.  Here's the menu, copied and pasted from the email they sent out to fans:

Christopher's 'Dine Around the World' Series

Saturday July 28, 2012

6:00pm Reception and 6:30pm Dinner

Experience British Dining-- Pub-Style!

Celebrating the Summer Olympics 2012

London, England

MENU

(Menu Paired with 'Proper' British Ales)

Reception Cocktail

Pimm's No. 1 Cup Cocktail

with Cucumber & Butter Sandwiches

Stilton Cheese, Poached Pear & Watercress Salad

with Bacon-Mustard Vinaigrette

Shepherd's Pie

with Peas, Carrots & Gravy

Fish & Chips

Beer Battered Fried Fish & King Edward's Chips,

Served with Mushy Peas, Pickled Eggs & Pickled Onions,

Malt Vinegar, Tartar Sauce & Tomato Sauce (ketchup)

Sunday Roast

Beef Joint with Yorkshire Pudding

with Roast Potatoes, Gravy & Steamed Cabbage

Summer Pudding

Layers of Buttered White Bread,

Berries & Sugar, topped with Creme Fraiche

$75 per Person

Price Includes Reception Cocktail and Dinner Menu

Paired with Selected Beverages

(Price does not Include Tax and Gratuity)

Doesn't that sound absolutely divine?  If you're interested in attending, make reservations ASAP by calling Christopher's World Grille directly, email them (address at the link), or visit them in person. Contact info.  Website reservations are not accepted for special events.  I imagine they'll sell out.

If you're like me and unable to afford this but would still like some awesome beer New Republic Brewery will be hosting a brewery tour the same night. $6 gets you a really cool pint glass and two tastings. There's usually a band.

Please bring a designated driver if you attend either event.

Cilantro = Ick!

One thing that drives me nuts is how some people can't understand how it is that someone can absolutely hate their favorite food or flavoring.  Take for example, cilantro.  It's found everywhere and in almost all types of food.  But for up to 20% of us it tastes absolutely vile.

This isn't an allergy or an intolerance (except for people actually allergic to it). We won't die from eating it. But the flavor is something that gives us an automatic "this is not food, it's poison" response. Some describe it as tasting soapy.  For me it has a chemical, do-not-eat-this flavor. And I can taste it in very small quantities. It causes immediate gagging and nausea. 

And like the person featured in this WSJ article I can't stand when it's hidden within a food that I normally enjoy. Like salads. If it's used I like it to be left large so that I can pick it out. And I will.  Even if it's chopped up into teeny, tiny little pieces.  Much to the annoyance of The Lovely Spouse, who enjoys the flavor and features it in his salsa recipe. 

But it continues to boggle me that, given 1 in 5 people absolutely hate this ingredient, it's found almost everywhere.  Evidently, I have some good company.  Therefore I'm infinitely appreciative of those who warn customers in advance so that we can request its ommission.  Like Chef Tai, who has a big sign warning customers to request its removal when ordering.

I know there are some among you who believe I'm making much to do about nothing.  But tell me this, would you eat any food that tasted like the contents of a chemical storage locker?  Or a bar of Irish Spring?  If you were served food that tasted like that, without a warning of some sort that it would, would you send it back?

Note: the images from this post came from a google image search and are not my own. 

Freebirds!

Why have I not blogged about Freebirds yet?  Danged if I know.  It's one of those things that's ubiquitous to those of us living in Bryan and College Station that you really don't think about until you move somewhere else. 

For those not from Texas Freebirds is short for Freebirds World Burrito.  It's like a lot of other burrito speciality chains in that they make burritos to order with your choice of sizes and fillings.  They also have tacos, quesadillas, salads and such.

Contrary to local mythology the original Freebirds location is not at Northgate in College Station.  It's in Isla Vista California.  The company was founded by Mark Orfalea and Pierre Dube.  Pierre then brought the restaurant to the Northgate location across the street from Texas A&M University in 1990. In 2007 Pierre sold the company to Tavistock Restaurant, who now owns and manages the brand. There are now 80 locations of Freebirds in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and California. The location pictured here is in College Station, but is not the original one at Northgate.



This was close to closing time.  The restaurant is usually very busy.

Every Freebirds has a few things in common: funky decor, the same menu, and rock music.  Motorcycles and electric guitars are often used, as is the cloud motif. Statues of Liberty in each restaurant are named Libby. You'll also find aluminum foil artwork along the walls and years and years worth of signatures and graffiti.  The Northgate location also has a collection of  military insignia donated by the esteemed members of the military from around the world.

The menu has changed slightly since being purchased by a corporation.  Purists still order based upon the previous system. For example, the hybird used to be called a Halfbird.  That's what I usually order. It's half a Freebird.  Anyone will know what you're talking about.  If you're really, really, really hungry and able to eat massive amounts of food in one sitting the Super Monster might be for you.  It's about the size of those starter fire logs you find in the super market.

If you've never been to a Freebirds just walk right up to the bar and tell them.  Then they'll lead you through building your perfect burrito, taco, quesadilla, salad, etc.  Fillings are what you'd expect, including a choice of rice, cheeses, meats (chicken, beef, pork), beans, veggies, and sauces.  Once everything you've requested is on the tortillas, it's all wrapped up in aluminum foil and sent on its merry way with you to then "unwrap your monster".  [If you see tee shirts that say "Unwrap My Monster" they came from Freebirds prior to Pierre selling the chain.]

A Halfbird with a standard shot of rum (not available at Freebirds - we got ours to-go) for reference. What else would you use to judge the size of a burrito?

Purists will tell you that you have to unwrap your burrito from one end then eat your way to the other while continuing to unwrap.  I use a fork to eat the filling because it's less messy that way. Maybe I'm just not as coordinated as everyone else?  :-)

Unwrapping my Halfbird wrapped with a cayenne tortilla. Nom!

Will we be back to Freebirds?  Of course!  We go there regularly, especially with me working late with grad school stuff.  The prices are pretty good and service is super fast. They also have stuff that is consistently good and works well with people who have food intolerances.

Would we recommend Freebirds?  Sure!  It's not fine dining.  It's great for a quick, inexpensive meal that isn't fast food.  I greatly prefer them to Chipotle. Chipotle uses cilantro in their rice, and we AAAaaaall know that stuff's nasty. 

This is actually on the board in my office.

Atami Steak and Sushi

Atami Steak and Sushi opened a few years back as the only alternative to Haiku, a busy sushi restaurant that featured 2 hibatchi tables and moderate to low quality sushi.  I liked Haiku because it was also the only restaurant featuring Korean food at the time.  However times have changed. Haiku is no longer in business and has either changed hands or transformed into Kobe, which I haven't yet tried, and there are now 3 other Korean specialty restaurants in town. And another competitor that opened soon after Atami, Teriyaki Park, opened and closed in the time Atami has remained opened.

If you're in College Station, you can't miss the giant hole in the ground along University Drive. If you haven't been here for awhile you might be surprised to find fish and water plants in the fountain.

Atami started a bit rough. We visited them the first month they were open and I gave them a luke warm review on Trip Advisor.  However they've improved significantly over the years. They've even expanded to the South College Station restaurant Azure Fusion Bistro and Sake (next door to Luigi's at Highway 6 North and Rock Prairie Drive). [I've been informed that's not entirely true.]

I have always enjoyed the decor at Atami and I remember my earlier review stated it was the best thing about the restaurant.  We went back last night and there was nobody there, which is unusual.  I'm told that many people are taking the entire week off for Fourth of July.  I don't know about that, but did notice few people out on a gorgeously cool evening.  Atami is one of the few places that also offers outdoor dining.

They offer both hibachi/teppanyaki and sushi. If you request hibachi they seat you in another room along one of the grills. I don't like this style of dining so we sat in the regular dining or sushi area, pictured above. Again, normally they'd be packed but this an unusually quiet week here in B/CS.

Bento boxes and sushi meals are available but my group elected to eat completely ala carte. We started with soup and salad.  These are pretty typical for sushi restaurants. I'm a big fan of the ginger dressing.

Each of us also ordered sushi rolls.  The Lovely Spouse also ordered the beef tataki, which I forgot to photograph.  It was lightly seared beef, heavily seasoned with sesame seeds served over a daikon salad. I thought it was quite tasty. Usually they serve it with lightly grilled onions. 

I ordered the Tiger Eye Roll.  There's a jalapeno in there but it only adds a bit of heat. The outer roll is wrapped in rice paper instead of nori. The inner roll is wrapped with nori.

The Lovely Spouse ordered the chef's special Triple Tuna Roll.  This actually was quite nice with a hot chili oil and wasabi tamago.  In my opinion this should be added to the regular menu.  It was nicely balanced and delicious.

A friend who joined us always gets the Fahrenheit Roll.  It's slightly too hot for me, and he always gets it extra spicy with extra jalapenos added.  It also has spicy tuna and a wasabi mayonaise. 

In my experience Atami is consistently good, with some of the best quality fish in town.  The service can be slow at times, but that usually is a function of the number of people dining at any given time. The food is quite good and it's also been my experience that they are very good at taking people's food allergies and intolerances into consideration.

Prices are pretty good. Rolls range in price between about $5 - $20.  Handrolls and nigiri are also available.  Soup and salad are about $2 - $3.  Other appetizers range between about $3 - $20. Japanese beers are available for around $4 - $8. The drink menu features some creative variations on the martini. Hibachi is more expensive, at $13 - $33. Other Japanese entrees are available including teriyaki, don bowls, udon and tempura fried items. I recommend their fried squid because they use the tempura batter and it comes out much lighter than at other places.  A kids menu is available. And they have lunch specials.

Will we be back?  Of course!  We eat here about once a month.

Do I recommend Atami?  Of course. I obviously prefer the regular seating but the hibachi is well rated by yelp and urban spoon users as well.

Controversy over a fictional cookie

So there's been some controversy over this image.


Image source.

Evidently Kraft foods posted it to the Oreo facebook page on Monday.  In other news, oreos have a facebook page. 

Some groups are predictably calling for a boycott of oreos and Kraft foods.  The Washington Post calls this "a harbinger of more gay advertising".  Harbinger, y'all.  Harbinger.  Honestly I don't know where they've been the last few years because rainbow flags in advertising are nothing new.  Targeting advertising to individuals who are gay is also nothing new.

All I know is that this makes me want a cookie. With 6 times the creme filling.

Well played, Oreo.  Well played.