Eater.com credibility?

[gfron1]

Its not a loaded question. I read Eater regularly but don't have coverage in my area, so I just don't know how much of the content I can trust. I know from reading past topics about Eater, that there may be some love loss, but I'm prepping for my first NYC trip and want to know where to get the best info. For example, today they posted best taco spots, and what I like is the ability to use the map to find things that will by in proximity to me.

[pastrygirl]

IMO, poor.  I think they repeat whatever press releases and list-icles thy can find, it's not necessarily about the best of the best in that city.  Otherwise, why do they keep mentioning that guy with the crappy pop-up bakery?  Also, at least in Seattle their copy editing sucks.  Recently someone wrote of a gluten free buckwheat cookie with malted salt.  I asked the bakery, and as I suspected since malt is not gluten free, they actually use Maldon.  When they make mistakes like that, my trust in their reporting drops. 

[gfron1]

The NYC taco report today had one near where I'll be that looked amazing and then a parenthesis that said, "They've been replaced by a Brazilian buffet." THEN WHY DID YOU INCLUDE IT!

[gfweb]

Eater = listicles and factlets

 

clickbait mostly

[MattyC]

I'm iffy on Eater. I've deal with people eater a bunch of times, and while they're good people, they're stuff is really up and down. Some articles they do the research, poll industry people, check around, so sometimes stuff is accurate, whereas the other half of the time it's just crap that gets emailed to them and they have to put out, or just rehash what the bloggers got to first, or what moron sent to them on the tip line.

 

I'd trust Eater for general ideas I guess, but I wouldn't swear by it, or be surprised if things are inaccurate or not worthy of a 'Best of' list.

 

Just with my own personal experiences, sometimes they've asked for details from me, other times they've just out of the blue pulled from a website or even facebook of mine, reported it half-assed, and I've had to email them to get facts changed and accurate.

Edited October 18, 2015 by MattyC (log)

[huiray]

I read eater for general stuff and for odds and ends, often useful "in a general sense" or for alerting me to some stuff.  As others have pointed out, their accuracy and thoroughness can vary greatly, so I read accordingly.  They also sometimes make sweeping generalizations and use misleading headers or titles etc (which fall into clickbait territory), and I've sometimes posted comments that dispute this or other of their assertions. So – I read it with caution; but as I mentioned, they can be useful in a general sense.  Their Top Chef coverage is actually pretty good, at least in the past, but that is a somewhat more specialized area of their coverage. :-) 

 

Have you read the food sections of The Gothamist?

[gfron1]

Well I answered my own question. Ran all over the city looking for their recommended taco joint only to find its been closed and replaced for nearly a year.

[IndyRob]

Recently, Eater has been the best source for videos of real chefs ironically preparing celebrity recipes.

 

Other than that, it's pretty much....

 

a) What did Anthony Bourdain say today?

 

b) Who's peeing in your fast food.

 

c) Other things their Google news searches turned up.