Chicago Local Restaurant & Business Reviews

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I mean no offense here at all. Since you asked for suggestions, I will offer that the website reads as if it's written by someone for whom English is not his or her primary language. Since the writing sounds awkward and there's nothing remotely special about the content, I'd suggest abandoning your project before wasting too much time or money on it. I could offer suggestions for how to improve it, but really, I think that would be fruitless.

Kennyz wrote:I mean no offense here at all. Since you asked for suggestions, I will offer that the website reads as if it's written by someone for whom English is not his or her primary language. Since the writing sounds awkward and there's nothing remotely special about the content, I'd suggest abandoning your project before wasting too much time or money on it. I could offer suggestions for how to improve it, but really, I think that would be fruitless.

Hello Kennyz:

Nope, I am not offended at all. Thanks for your criticism. I am open for your suggestion.

When you say "website reads as if it's written by someone for whom english is not..." - Are you talking about the name of the website or content?

Content is not written by me, those reviews were written by online website visitors.

Thanks again for your opinion.

The content and the reviews all sound like they're written by a person or people who speak English fairly well, but not as their primary language. FWIW, that's how your LTHForum posts read to me as well. I'd guess Eastern European. The name annoys me for some reason, but I could see it being catchy.

I have to agree with Kenny. In addition to the awkward writing, there seem to be categorization issues. I clicked on "African" in the restaurant section, and the only listing that came up was The Great Street Restaurant in Renaissance Chicago Hotel. I, for one, wouldn't consider that a top choice for African food in Chicago.

nr706 wrote:In addition to the awkward writing, there seem to be categorization issues. I clicked on "African" in the restaurant section, and the only listing that came up was The Great Street Restaurant in Renaissance Chicago Hotel. I, for one, wouldn't consider that a top choice for African food in Chicago.

The first restaurant category, African, is completely worthless as nr706 points out. What's even more amusing than including The Great Street (which features a modern American menu) as the only African restaurant is the response of Erin T.

On ChicagoYap (July 10, 2010) Erin T wrote:I agree with you Leo, who wants to go home that early...LOL And yes the food was good. I always enjoy African cuisine, the food is awsome.

Isn't it odd that an "online website visitor" would make the same mistake, confusing American cuisine with African, as the person who set up the website?

I decided to take a look at the second restaurant category—Barbeque. That section is a motley collection of about a dozen listings, lacking any of the five or so top spots in the city. It seems carelessly assembled, with several duplicate listings and misspellings. No big deal; there are plenty of crappy lists of Chicago barbecue and this may not be the worst. Looking a little more closely, some curious features turn up. Every one of the 14 reviews (under 6 different reviewer names) is dated between July 11 and August 8, 2010. Apparently Yappers got a sudden hankering for barbecue for a single month last summer. Then not a single barbecue review since August. Odd. What's even odder is three of the restaurants closed well before their reviews were posted. Smoke Country House has been closed for many years, Fredine's (reviewed by Erin T) went out of business a couple years ago and 87th Street Barbecue (also reviewed by Erin T, who seems to like barbecue as much as African food) has been gone over a year. Yet all were reviewed last July. Fredine's even got three reviews that month (under three different reviewer names; here and here). Such reviewing of long-closed restaurants isn't restricted to the Barbeque category but I don't think more examples are needed.

Would you care to explain these oddities?

What I'm wondering is why would anyone want to go to what essentially amounts to Yelp without any Yelpers-- wait, I think I just answered my own question.

The Ba Le review was odd, to say the least. Other than the fact that the place is categorized as French, the reviewer singled out the "baked goods" (which, given that bread is the main item in this category, most would probably agree is fantastic), but then went on to say he only liked the food at breakfast and brunch, not lunch or dinner. Hmm.

chgoeditor wrote:The Ba Le review was odd, to say the least. Other than the fact that the place is categorized as French, the reviewer singled out the "baked goods" (which, given that bread is the main item in this category, most would probably agree is fantastic), but then went on to say he only liked the food at breakfast and brunch, not lunch or dinner. Hmm.

You are assuming the reviews are written by people who actually ate at the restaurant.

Thnks

leoloco wrote:Personally, I haven't been to this place. It is based on site visitor's comments. Site does not have control over what people write as part of review. I suggest, if you see any contradictory review or wrong review, please feel free to add your correct opinion there.

So, are you saying you don't do even minimal fact checking? And you want us to do it for you?

leoloco wrote:

Darren72 wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:The Ba Le review was odd, to say the least. Other than the fact that the place is categorized as French, the reviewer singled out the "baked goods" (which, given that bread is the main item in this category, most would probably agree is fantastic), but then went on to say he only liked the food at breakfast and brunch, not lunch or dinner. Hmm.

You are assuming the reviews are written by people who actually ate at the restaurant.

Personally, I haven't been to this place. It is based on site visitor's comments. Site does not have control over what people write as part of review. I suggest, if you see any contradictory review or wrong review, please feel free to add your correct opinion there.

(Darren72, No I wasn't actually making that assumption! Quite the contrary...)

Leo, I'm going to be blunt here because you don't seem to be reading between the lines. I think most people who have posted on this thread are under the impression that many of the reviews on your site are bogus, written by people who have never eaten at the restaurants in question (and perhaps never having even set foot in Chicago).

Ba Le, for example, is not a French restaurant. Nor does it serve breakfast/brunch. While it does minimally serve some things that could be construed as breakfast foods, anyone who says they don't like Ba Le for lunch or dinner would probably never even bother to eat "breakfast" or "brunch" there. It's a sandwich shop. A Vietnamese sandwich shop. That's like saying, "Subway serves great desserts, but I'd only go there to eat after having lunch or dinner elsewhere." It's very highly unlikely that anyone would make a trip to Subway to buy a cookie for dessert. And it's highly likely anyone would make a trip to Ba Le for breakfast or lunch.

Similarly, Erin T, who appears to be one of your most prolific reviewers, reviews several restaurants that have been out of business for years and mistakenly categorizes an American restaurant as an African restaurant. I don't know a single person who would mistake American cuisine for African cuisine.

So, I'll ask you point blank: Have you in any way encouraged people to review restaurants that they may not have eaten at? Have you paid people for reviews? Because right now your site is lacking in credibility in my mind.

leoloco, when you say that you don't write any of the content, I assume that means you are not the "Leo" pictured on the website who has reviewed a number of restaurants?

A couple of additional observations:

1) Billie seems to be confused - He/She reviewed Tournesol on July 12, 2010, but Tournesol closed in August 2005.

2) I find amazing the number of reviews on the site, and yet almost every restaurant has but one review . . . quite the coincidence.

Anyway, I think I'm off to Heaven on Seven right now for a big bowl of Jumbo!!!

I read reviews on sites like LTH or ChicagoYap and imagine the life that people must have that takes them to so many different restaurants. For example, I'm a big fan of Melvin M.'s reviews of sandwich shops on CY.com (as I call it). I wonder what brings this sandwich fanatic to Lakeview one day, Calumet City the next, then to Buffalo Grove, then to Franklin Park. Maybe he's a traveling salesman who just wants an honest sandwich when 12-noon rolls around. How else to explain his eagerness to review every Quizno, Subway, Potbelly and Costellos that he visits?

BR wrote:1) Billie seems to be confused - He/She reviewed Tournesol on July 12, 2010, but Tournesol closed in August 2005.

I think Billie lives in an alternative universe. He went to Papagus on July 12, 2010, for the first time and thought the food was only typical. His biggest complaint was that a waiter kept staring at him. Goodness, I'd probably stare, too, if I saw someone eating at Papagus.

Rene G wrote:Would you care to explain these oddities?

Oh, and while you're at it, would you also explain why so many reviews on ChicagoYap are so similar to earlier reviews of the same restaurant on Yelp?

Let's start with a review of Fredine's, a barbecue house that has been out of business for a couple years. Compare the Yap review with an earlier review from Yelp.

On Yap (17 July 2010) Aaron wrote:My sister mentioned that we should try a new place for Barbecue so we decided to go to Fredine's last night.
I was extremely disappointed. I ordered the tips and it was horrible. The meat was charred and they had a ton of sauce on them. The fries were undercooked and I didn't enjoy that the place wasn't really that clean

On Yelp (1 Dec 2008) Cee T. wrote:I've been desperately seeking a new neighborhood que place for a while and a relative mentioned Fredine's.
Well, I went to Fredine's last week and was HIGHLY disappointed. I ordered a tip/link combo and for the most part, it was horrible. The charred meat (tips) were DRENCHED in TOO MUCH SAUCE and like most bar-b-que places the FRIES WERE UNDERCOOKED and hard to find at the bottom. … Visibily, the inside of the place needs a facelift and doesn't elude cleanliness. And to top it off, the person chopping my meat was on a cell phone.

Kind of similar, no? Now compare the Yap review of Staropolska with an excerpt from an earlier Yelp review.

On Yap (4 Aug 2010) tj wrote:Come hungry leave happy! Staropolska is the great! The food is inexpensive, quality is great, the service is fantastic, and the atmosphere/decor is wonderful! Where else can you get a full plate of: 3 pierogis, 1 stuffed cabbage roll, 1 4" Polish sausage, 1 dollop of mashed potatoes and 1 pile of sauerkraut for only $7.99?!!!

On Yelp (22 July 2009) Richie D wrote:For all the first timers, I recommend the Polish Plate. For only $7.99 you receive a full plate of: 3 pierogis, 1 stuffed cabbage roll, 1 4" Polish sausage, 1 dollop of mashed potatoes and 1 pile of sauerkraut (plus fresh dill).

Again, not word-for-word but awfully similar. Let's look at a Yap review of Piezano's and a couple excerpts from earlier Yelp reviews.

On Yap (21 July 2010) Aaron wrote:I have been going here since I was little. I love the fact that this is a nice place to go and that their isn't that much grease on the pizza. We get the thin crust and it is wonderful.

On Yelp (8 March 2010) Christine P. wrote:I remember ordering from here back when I was a wee pup.

On Yelp (27 June 2006) Al R. wrote:Very good thin crust without the grease that SOMETIMES you might not want.

How about one last set? Here are reviews of Chubby's Pizza.

On Yap (1 August 2010) Sydney22 wrote:The food is alright as far as a pizza joint goes. The spaghetti is a bit light on the sauce and watery. They always have deals and coupons so the price is right. If you take a coupon and stick to pizza you will be happy.

On Yelp (7 July 2007) Sam T. wrote:I had received a coupon from a flyer and decided to try it out. … Not a bad deal.



Pizza - Thin Crust was a little thicker than a usual thin crust I am use to but I like it thicker so I am happy. It was a crispy crust so each slice holds together quite nicely. Recommended



Spaghetti - Lighty sauced and a little watery. It tasted alright but not exactly recommendable. …

I could go on but maybe you understand what I'm getting at. Odd coincidences, aren't they? What's even odder is the style of almost all the restaurant reviews on ChicagoYap is strikingly similar and almost all were posted in a one month interval last summer. Yeah, yeah, I know, "site does not have control over what people write as part of review" but I think you're going to have to explain things a little better than that.

Edited to correct punctuation and a link.

Isn't falsifying online reviews now a crime under FCC rules, or did that not go through? Or does that only pertain to the disclosure of perks and freebies and such?

Dmnkly wrote:Isn't falsifying online reviews now a crime under FCC rules, or did that not go through? Or does that only pertain to the disclosure of perks and freebies and such?

I actually wondered about that.

Also, if someone posts a negative review of a restaurant they claim to have visited, but never actually have, is it libel?

I know it's not really funny but you guys gave me a good chuckle! You also probably gave yap a nice spike in traffic.

Thou shall not try to pull the wool over the collective eye of LTH.

He's not just copying reviews from Yelp, but the whole look and feel of the site, not to mention the name YAP, is similar to Yelp.

Interesting to note that the site has disappeared, only to be replaced by a GoDaddy.com placeholder page.

chgoeditor wrote:Interesting to note that the site has disappeared, only to be replaced by a GoDaddy.com placeholder page.

Kennyz wrote:I'd suggest abandoning your project before wasting too much time or money on it. I could offer suggestions for how to improve it, but really, I think that would be fruitless.

I need to start charging for my advice.

Kennyz wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:Interesting to note that the site has disappeared, only to be replaced by a GoDaddy.com placeholder page.

Kennyz wrote:I'd suggest abandoning your project before wasting too much time or money on it. I could offer suggestions for how to improve it, but really, I think that would be fruitless.

I need to start charging for my advice.

Such a drastic reaction from Leo...apparently he really disliked our advice.

Or he got a call from Yelp.

Next project is something he's calling Burger Queen....

mhill95149 wrote:Next project is something he's calling Burger Queen....

...or Zugat's.

chgoeditor wrote:

mhill95149 wrote:Next project is something he's calling Burger Queen....

...or Zugat's.

Much better!