Are Food Critics Worthless?

As far as restaurants go, it seems everybody's a critic. It's not hard to find a plethora of opinions on any given restaurant, whether they come from a friend, a website (like Yelp, DavisWiki or Davis Patch) or a professional critic.

But with so many options, who do you trust? Let us know below. 

The Sacramento Bee recently reported that while more and more people rely on online reviews, some customers will threaten chefs with a negative review if they aren't given special treatment.

"Other owners have a name for it: 'Yelp extortion' – when customers threaten to write a bad review if the restaurant does not offer some sort of benefit, such as a gift card, free meal or preferred seating," the Bee wrote.

A recent Gawker article had this to say about professional food critics: "[They] exist on a never-ending gravy train that, at its core, offers NOTHING to the reader at large ... Half the time, you get the sense that food critics are writing simply for OTHER food critics, people who have been to the same high-end places MANY times, and have a palate so thoroughly evolved that earthly donuts are as sour as poison." 

Whose opinion do you value most when choosing a place to eat in town? Do you believe the professional opinons of critics like the Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson? Crowds of reviewers on websites like the Wiki? No one? Let us know in the comments below. 

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