Olive Garden sells out Pasta For Life coupons

Exactly.

Yelp's even helpful in rural areas where there aren't many choices. You can catalog them all on a single page.

It's also handy for identifying the sort of regional chain you're talking about. Places like Culver's or Freddie's.

 

I did a story a few years ago about local restaurants and the importance of placement on those apps. They all seemed to have a lot more respect for TripAdvisor than Yelp, where you could pay to get rid of bad ratings and reviews, pay to move up, etc.

 

All true.

But Yelp in New York City has so many reviews posted it tends to dilute any of those statistical pay-for-play hijinks.

 

Probably should have. We were quite a ways from the North Shore so we had to get going.

 

To tentatively return the thread to franchises, the professionally quaint Cape Cod town where I'm typing this allows only one national franchise to pollute its purity. Only one guess needed as to which one it is.

 

I go to Olive Garden once a year, during the Never Ending Pasta Bowl
Same with Red Lobster and Endless Shrimp
Olive Garden is the only place I order salad instead of soup
Their salad is pretty good and their soup is watery

 

We don't eat out that often in the motorhome, but I've pretty much followed the same three rules that applied when I traveled for Turner. If I can eat at it within 15 miles of the house, I have no reason to go there when I'm in another part of the country -- unless I'm desperate. When you're on the road, you know you can get the exact same meal at any Apple Beef Friday O'Charleys. And I'll take a chance nine times out of 10 on a strip mall Chinese place than a Panda Express or P.F. Changs.

1. We usually do a Google/Yelp search for the best restaurants at our price point, and that's allowed us to find amazing NewMex food in Albuquerque, Mo's in Newport, Oregon, a great local steakhouse in Lubbock and similar joints. Some times it's "eh" but we're only going to come through once.

2. Keep an eye out for regional chains. That includes Friendly's, 99 and Weathervane in the northeast; Black Angus and Claim Jumper out west; Fatz, Mayflower Seafood, J. Peter's and Copper River Grill on our way through South and North Carolina. Usually it's just different enough from the national chains for us.

3. If you see a ton of cars at a place, particularly law enforcement, there's a very good chance the food's going to be plentiful and cheap. It may not be the Ritz, but if the locals think it's good, it's worth a try. If everybody turns around to see who you are, that's even better. Truck stops, on the other hand, avoid like the plague.

 

What you are describing is me on trips with about half my coworkers.

Me: Let's eat somewhere local. I know, I know, it's a bit of a drive or there might be a wait.
People: God dammit, we should just find a place to eat.

(This might also happen after I pull the trick like 2-3 times)

 

Your third item sounds like my rule for determining if a BBQ joint is any good. Drive by at lunch. Are work trucks there? If tradesmen are eating lunch there, it’s a safe bet.

 

I use Open Table to make reservations. I’ve made about 120 reservations on the ap from Boston to Key West. I trust their reviews and I like making reservations. The restaurant pays the ap for each seat so the reservations have been honored. I’ve made them 29 minutes in advance. You can get to the menus from the so much quicker than Yelp.

 

The consumers will die from it.