At this point we should just let Yelp decide what we eat. Or at least that’s how I feel with Yelp’s new “Explore the Menu” link recently added to their monolith of a site. I understand the appeal of Yelp, and sure, I’ve decided to either go or not go to an eatery because of a Yelp review. But I say, it’s enough.

Here’s what I mean: Yelp’s new menu link allows you to peruse through a restaurant’s menu generated through user reviews and submitted photos, while including the item’s price. So, according to their official announcement, if you really can’t decide on what to eat, you can just base your decision off the top-rated items.

As much as I commend Yelp’s attempt to continue evolving, I have to wonder: At what point do we start making decisions on our own?

Doesn’t anyone else enjoy those moments where you take in your environment and see what food from the menu speaks to you?

How boring is it to go to a restaurant that random strangers chose for you, only to already know what you are going to order because those same strangers told you to order it?

Rather than letting this turn into a rant, I’ll say this: Let’s use Yelp to help inform our decisions, find new date spots, avoid the plague, promote our friends’ new venture, but let’s also allow for some surprise and whimsy in life. #YOLO

photos courtesy of Time and Buzzfeed

Joey NargizianTwitterFacebook

Joey is the 2017 Chopped champion. He also runs for President in 2020. But right now he is just eating, writing and playing soccer (not all at once). Pretty amazing trajectory if you ask him.