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December 12, 2006

Comments

Lenn

If you ask me, an admitted food snob, anyone who gives the Olive Garden a good review shouldn't be reviewing restaurants.

Sure, they serve their purpose, but people don't want to hear about chains when they read the paper, do they?

That's embarrassing.

Stefanie Noble

I saw that Olive Garden review that week and rolled my eyes. I almost wrote a big post about it, but you've said things more eloquently than I would have.

The thing is, I'm not really totally anti-chain. I think there is something to be said for the comfort of knowing what you are going to get (say, you're traveling and starving and grumpy and just need some decent food). However, I agree that there is absolutely no need to "review" places like Olive Garden and other national chains. WE KNOW WHAT IS THERE. That's the point.

And this is why food blogs are so important to this area, to add more voices into the mix and to talk about the places that don't get mentioned enough.

Jill Hurst-Wahl

Review the Olive Garden? Isn't every one of them the same? To me, that was a wasted effort. (BTW Olive Garden holds a special place in my heart because of an event that was held there, but I know that it is a chain. It is not haute cuisine or even food prepared by masterful local chef.)

As for China Road, I do occasionally eat at other Chinese restaurants in the area, but it is the best one. Its reputation as a great place for Chinese food is known well beyond Syracuse. Personally, I have never had a bad (or mediocre) meal at China Road.

I think these two reviews have given us reason to doubt and question how and what the P-S reviews.

Maybe the P-S should allow food bloggers and/or other local foodies to help it do restaurant reviews?!

Dave S

Yolanda is a straight-down-the-middle unadventurous diner. Her reviews are predictable, and valid in their context.
If she said service was bad, or the place was dirty, I'd take it seriously. She does a good job summarizing menus and prices.
Maybe China Road had a bad day, maybe she did.

There were negative comments about this review in the P-S forum.

artsweet

Yolanda Wright? Yolanda Totally Wrong. The fact that she a) reviewed Olive Garden in the first place and b) gave it a better review than China Road speaks to the hopeless mediocrity that is Syracuse, I'm sorry to say.

david

I agree with your contention that a restaurant should be "sampled" more than once.

To counter her reviews, I'd have to add mine: China Road is by far the best local place for Chinese food and Olive Garden is...well... McTalian.

Jennifer

Phew, there really is some strong feeling about all of this. Those of us in the Syracuse area know how really great China Road is and that's certainly a part of the frustration. I think I will be in touch with the Post Standard more formally and ask about the policy regarding reviewing chain restaurants. Perhaps they'd be willing to consider a policy change. Thanks everyone for weighing in.

Katie

I'd also like to point out that most reviewers don't order bottles of wine with dinner -- no wonder she liked it so much. How annoying.

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