Friday, October 21, 2005
ZAGATOSAURUS WRECKED? Let’s give credit where it’s due: When Tim and Nina Zagat's dining survey appeared on the scene, it was “ahead of its time,” a very welcome addition of popular opinion to the vast library of New York City guides. But has the Zagat dining guide kept up with the times? Charles Suisman argues that it has not. In a recent editorial at his Manhattan User’s Guide, he cites a number of dining websites (including a blog) as being superior. He doesn’t even bolster his case by invoking dubious Zagat spinoffs such as its movie guide. IMDB and Amazon.com, anyone?
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Another way, this influential guide has not kept with the times is to reflect modern diets. For instance, it does not provide a marker to those establishments which provide a gluten-free menu. Zagats is quite influential and one can argue that some restaurants have changed their evil ways in response to Zagat reviews. But the Zagat is run by real people and responsive to reader input (obviously). Perhaps in this instance, Celiacs could rate their favorite places highly and enter relevant comments as to why they did so. Then I'd predict that Zagat would consider adding such diet designations.
I totally agree. When I filled out Zagat surveys, I made remarks related to how good (or bad) restaurants were about responding to special diets and also encouraged Zagat to add categories like "Gluten-Free" to the section that categorizes according to cuisine. Yet Zagat didn't respond.
Celiacs could try to lobby Zagat, which could respond constructively. But the point about the Web still stands--Zagat is now just one of many guides (many of them online) that diners could use in selecting (and locating) restaurants that suit their interests as well as their needs (which can get rather complicated). While Zagat persisted with its simple, mass-oriented formula, sites and programs such as http://www.glutenfreerestaurants.org/ began to address the needs of "niche" diners. Perhaps that's for the best.
While I'm at it, here's another online celiac restaurant guide--this one for Australia and New Zealand: http://member.melbpc.org.au/~kiesskal/restaurants/gfrestaurants.htm
If the last part of the URL doesn't come out (there's a problem in the Preview function), note that it's gfrestaurants.htm
(For those unfamiliar with celiac sprue: people with this medical condition seek food that is free of wheat, rye, barley, and oats.)
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