What's with Zagat?

[Rebel Rose]

I have just learned from a friend and business associate that there is NO coverage of any of California's central coast communities. The following cities and towns do not have one single Zagat-rated restaurant:

Arroyo Grande

Los Osos

Pismo Beach

Cambria

Cayucos

Paso Robles

Atascadero

San Luis Obispo

Grover Beach

Baywood

Morro Bay

Oceano

Santa Maria

Nipomo

Templeton

Avila Beach

This means that incredible restaurants like McPhee's, Ian's, Bistro Laurent, Gardens of Avila, Inn at Morro Bay, Windows on the Water, Rosa's, Buona Tavola, Hoppe's 901, Rodney's, and hosts of others are not included in any Zagat survey.

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Restaurants can be suggested to Zagat:

To have an establishment considered for review, please send the restaurant's relevant information (name, address, press kit) to:

Survey Research

Zagat Survey

4 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10019

presskits@zagat.com

or by writing to the SLO County Visitor's Bureau:

Jonni Biaggini, Executive Director

jonnib@SanLuisObispoCounty.com

and asking to have your favorite restaurant(s) submitted to Zagat.

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I have never relied on Zagat publications, so perhaps I am naive about how this works. Apparently restaurant information must be submitted to the company. I assumed that Zagat made an effort to cover major dining areas. Visitors to California often travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco on our scenic coastal Highway 1 and Highway 101. The beach towns have great restaurants and hotels.

The larger question for me, then, is how reliable is a Zagat book that doesn't cover, at all, a very large chunk of tourism-intensive California?

[scottie]

Dude, New Orleans didn't get its own Zagat's until like three years ago. So be patient, it will come, and the more inquiries the company gets about your area, the more likely they will be to cover it- eventually.

[melkor]

Seriously, who cares is zagat covers the central coast? They offer nothing more than an easy way to find the address and phone number for restaurants listed in the guide.

[Rebel Rose]

Whew. I thought maybe a chunk of coastline had fallen off and it hadn't been covered by the news. So Zagat is only good for reading the Zagat outtakes?

[moosnsqrl]

Whew.  I thought maybe a chunk of coastline had fallen off and it hadn't been covered by the news.  So Zagat is only good for reading the Zagat outtakes?   

←

"Yes!" We find that they are "are entertaining to read aloud while waiting for your table." You may "enjoy an entry or two," but the quotation marks will soon "cause you to dessert."

[rjwong]

I have just learned from a friend and business associate that there is NO coverage of any of California's central coast communities.

←

At the risk of being severely punished, I have the Zagat books for Southern California since 1993.

The larger question for me, then, is how reliable is a Zagat book that doesn't cover, at all, a very large chunk of tourism-intensive California?

←

Zagat did cover the Central Coast up until 2002. Then, the 2003 edition didn't cover the area at all, not even Santa Barbara or Palm Springs. Mind you, coverage for the Santa Barbara & Palm Springs areas just came back in the 2005 edition. Perhaps, the reason for the recent lack of coverage was 9/11.

I appreciate the Zagat books. Before there was eGullet, I used Zagat. It's convenient. It gives possibilities to those not familiar with the area. Mind you, Zagat definitely focuses on the "popular" places, from chains to independents, all based on the "there's safety in numbers" type of survey. Thus, Zagat tries to be all things to all people. Of course, one should take their ratings with a grain of salt. It's not a full-length review like the LAT or the NYT.

[MaxH]

Mind you, Zagat definitely focuses on the "popular" places, from chains to independents

Exactly: Any rating based on polling customers will automatically have more information about places "everybody" knows about. (This is different from sorting out, for instance, which kitchens do the best current work, or which new places merit your attention.)

Of course, one should take their ratings with a grain of salt.  It's not a full-length review like the LAT or the NYT.

Good point. There are other differences too. Professional restaurant reviews are signed, accountable, often well informed, and from perspectives you can get to know (and compare their tastes with your own). They are free to report on a restaurant whether or not everyone has heard of it. If they know their trade, they do fact-checking, and sometimes other research, to support the article.

One high-end restaurant I know had loyal local following throughout the 1990s and showed up in professional reviews in places like Gourmet. Eventually it became fairly busy, and then I saw it surface in Zagat, with one of those glib anonymous comments they select to print . The comment was such a mis-take on what the restaurant was about as to sound like an atypical experience to anyone who knew the place.

[Chris Amirault]

Here in Providence, we "feel your pain," since Zagat has "completely ignored us for years," except as a "toss-off mention" in suburban Boston. After that, we "wouldn't use it for toilet paper!"