Guest blog by Liz Alexander, of 20something knowitall, and co-founder of xelago.com
It’s Friday night and you have a hot date, but no plans. Where do you go for dinner? Or, your best friend is in town and you need a fun place to grab a bite. Which restaurant do you go to? Many situations, from the grand to mundane, require the right restaurant for the occasion, and deciding where to go can make or break the evening. Whether it is a casual night with friends, or an anniversary with a significant other, there are many resources on the web to help you make a great decision on where to eat. Everyone has their favorite place to go, but how do you find a cool, new place that is waiting to be discovered?
Talk to foodie friends
Almost everyone has at least one foodie friend in their social circle. This foodie can be a valuable resource in recommending restaurants. My foodie friend is an ex-coworker, and I always try to book a meal during restaurant week with her. She picks the place, and I get a delicious meal!
Simply mention that you need their advice and they will spew off a number of their favorite places to go. If you prefer a subtler way of finding out the foodie’s favorite places, ask them about their weekend plans-where they are going and where they will be eating. As you probably know already, friends are a great way to get a personalized tip from someone who knows your likes and dislikes.
Look up food and restaurant blogs unique to your area
Blogs are a good resource to find updated information about local places to eat, but are subject to speculation and may shut down at any time. They are great to find out what one person believes about the restaurant scene around them. They give personal insights and its fun to follow someone whose taste you respect. Unfortunately, blogs can be a time-sink since you have to research which blogs you will agree with. Luckily, I seem to mostly agree with Tina’s restaurant reviews on Carrots ”˜n’ Cake!
Check out restaurant review sites
There are numerous sites that allow users to review restaurants and discuss hot places to eat in town. Yelp, Citysearch, and TripAdvisor are probably the most popular sites that do this and allow users to review all kinds of things beyond restaurants. These sites are popular and have lots of reviews for the most popular places to go, plus you don’t have to register or sign up to read reviews. My favorite of these sites is Chowhound, which allows for in-depth discussion on all sorts of topics related to restaurants and food, beyond basic restaurant reviews. However, like blogs, the reviews can be biased and unreliable. Who knows if you will agree more with the individual who gave the hot new place a rave review, or the user who swears she’ll never go there again.
Get personalized restaurants recommendations from xelago.com
Unlike generic review sites, xelago is a new tool that recommends places to eat based on your ratings of places that you have already been to. xelago uses an algorithm that compares your preferences to other users in the database (in a way similar to Netflix). Once you establish an account and rate a few things you’ll automatically get recommendations. xelago combines the user reviews of a site like Citysearch with the personalized tips you gain from discussions with friends. You can even use the site to make plans to go out with your friends, and it will automatically keep track of RSVPs for you (like Evite).
As a plus, xelago isn’t only for restaurants (though you can limit your searches to only places to eat), and includes listings and recommendations for health clubs, museums, parks, nightlife, sports, music, and other food and drink events. Right now xelago only has capabilities for Boston, but will expand to other cities as it grows.
How did you find your favorite place to eat? What do you look for in a great, standout restaurant?
