Scoring · disclosure · corrections
How this works
A score is only worth something if you can see how it was built and who paid for the meal. So here's the whole apparatus: the six dimensions, their weights, what gets disclosed, and how a restaurant gets something fixed.
The scoring formula
Six dimensions, fixed weights, published on every report right next to the written reasoning. The number is my taste on a specific visit. A restaurant can make an excellent burrito that simply isn't to my taste, and that's a real outcome, not a failure on their part.
| Dimension | Weight | What I'm actually judging |
|---|---|---|
| Flavor | 30% | Seasoning, balance, ingredient quality, distinctiveness |
| Tortilla | 15% | Freshness, flavor, pliability, toast or steam, size match |
| Construction | 15% | Distribution, ratio, bite consistency, structural integrity |
| Salsa | 15% | Flavor, heat, freshness, fit with the order |
| Value | 15% | Price against portion, quality, and local context |
| Travelability | 10% | Takeout integrity, temperature, reheating, mess |
Every score ships with the visit date and written rationale. It is never marked up as an aggregate rating, because it isn't one — it's one guy, one visit, one opinion.
The verdict tiers
- Full send
- Exceptional. Worth planning a day around.
- Worth the detour
- Strong recommendation if you're reasonably nearby.
- Solid local move
- Good and useful, but not a destination by itself.
- Situational
- Right for a particular preference or circumstance.
- Skip this order
- The restaurant may still be worth visiting. I'd order something else.
Policies
I pay for the food
Every meal, every time. If something is ever comped, invited, or sponsored, a badge sits next to the visit date and the verdict — not buried in a footnote at the bottom.
Names and words
Restaurant names, owner names, dish names, spelling, and accents follow what the restaurant uses for itself. I record preferred name, title, and pronunciation before publishing anything.
Quotes and portraits
Nothing identifiable gets published without permission. Consent is recorded per quote and per photo, and it can be withdrawn later — no argument, no negotiation.
Context, not claims
Regional or historical context gets attributed and linked. I don't rule on authenticity, and I write “the restaurant describes this as…” when the restaurant is the source.
Hours, prices, links
Every operational detail carries a checked-on date and links to the restaurant's own page. Directions, menu, and ordering always sit above my share and follow buttons.
Nothing invented, ever
If I haven't been, the page says so and the fields stay blank. No plausible-sounding prices, no reconstructed conversations, no visit dates I can't back up. A blank field is honest. A convincing guess isn't.
Restaurant owners: request a correction
If I got your name, spelling, prices, hours, ownership, a dish name, or a quote wrong, tell me. I'll fix it and date the change, and material corrections stay visible in the report's history so nothing quietly disappears.
I don't negotiate scores — that would make them worthless to readers and to you. But I correct facts fast and without argument, and if I've mischaracterized how you describe your own food, that's a fact, and I'll fix it.
Send a correction