Where to go? Yelp!

I spent this passed weekend at a conference in Washington DC. While I have lived in our nation’s capital previously, I was staying in a part of town more unfamiliar to me. I was also travelling by myself, so there were a couple of occasions where I was on my own to decide what I wanted to eat. Since I didn’t really know where to look, I turned to Yelp.

Yelp is a consumer review service where customers can share experiences with other customers and get feedback. I was able to search by the neighborhood I was in and get suggestions for places nearby.

The reviews include both quantifiable rankings and experiential consumer narratives. They are very useful because they include contact information, location and basic direction, expected price range, suggested attire, and other FAQ type answers. I was able to get a good idea of the restaurants based on the reviews.

But ultimately, nothing replaces the here and now. I wrote down the wrong metro stop for the West Wing Café and must have looked confused. A man standing on the street corner next to me asked if I was lost, and I asked him for directions. He responded, “Oh, that’s not all that close” and gave me suggestions of places to eat more nearby. I took him up on one, and it turned out to be a delicious suggestion. Upon looking back at my initial search, it was also one of the “People Who Viewed This Also Viewed” suggestions from the Yelp page. Coincidence? Maybe not.