You know what's a good gift for the holidays (NOT FOR ME)? A Zagat Survey guide, that's what. Everyone wants a Zagat guide (I ALREADY HAVE ONE), but almost no one ever wants to buy one. They're very useful, but they cost like 30 bucks, which seems like a lot of money to spend on something so small, but it sure beats clicking around forever on CitySearch.On CitySearch it can be hard to know if a place has a high rating because only the owner has reviewed it, or if it's actually good. Even more frustrating are the user comments, where you'll see one like this:
NEVER COME HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE!!!
We went here for dinner and it was awful! Service was slow and barely seemed interested in helping us at all. The waiter didn't know what the specials were and after we ordered he brought us the wrong food, and no one even seemed that interested in fixing the problem. When we finally got our food I couldn't believe it. The chicken was dry and had no flavor and the "Lobster Souffle" - I couldn't find a SPECK of lobster. After that they made us fight an angry crocodile with our bare hands and then they burned me with a branding iron, all while they soaked us head to toe in honey and had ants crawl all over every part of our skin while we were forced to play Russian Roulette.
Pros: Absolutely nothing
Cons: Bad service, Bad food, Risk of death
...immediately followed by one like this:
DON'T LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE BELOW THIS PLACE IS HEAVEN!!!!
I don't know what the previous person is complaining about - we came here for dinner on Friday night and it was INCREDIBLE! The service was fantastic, the food was absolutely to die for (I ordered the lobster souffle, and there were huge chunks of lobster) and the ambiance was superior to anything I've experienced in my whole life. During the meal, Brazilian models came out and massaged us and we were given the best wine in the house for free! After our meal the head chef and owner were nice enough to come chat with us, and they decided that our whole meal was free and that the head chef would come over to our apartment and cook our next 30 meals.
Pros: Perfect food, Perfect service, Perfect decor, Perfect crowd, Perfect bathroom, Perfect coat check
Cons: Apparently some people don't appreciate greatness
CitySearch is really frustrating. If you don't know someone well, and can't think of a suitable gift idea, try a 2007 Zagat restaurant guide. Not a lot of people buy them for themselves, but everyone could use one.
3 comments:
Actually, none of the Zagat restaurant guides are over $15. Shop here: http://www.zagat.com/shop/shop_products.asp?preload=60002
I guess I meant the packs - after all, if it's restaurants only, then CitySearch would have a considerable advantage given its breadth of places.
Anyways, anonymous Zagat employee, thank you for commenting - maybe this will spur sales even further. I am on your team.
I had some "points" from a website that I used toward a free Zagat's online yearly subscription. It's pretty nice to have that in my backpocket.
Also, if you take part in their surveys (how Zagat's make their next year's book) you qualify for a free book. Like if you review some crap for NY Restaurants, they would give you a restaurant guide for next year. I think it's a good deal and a nice alternative for the ones that don't want a book.
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