Why is dining out in Germany generally cheaper than in the US?

Culture, Media, General Culture, Chains, General Discussions
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I should have mentioned above that I meant reviews from Google maps. I gave up on Yelp altogether a few years ago. There was something very wrong with their algorithm. Reviews that were posted as legit were often very suspicious, and if I clicked to open the reviews that didn’t pass the algo, indicated as “not reliable” (I don’t know if the system still works like that now), these reviews often read as legit, with lots of details about good/bad aspects.

The google reviews will generally post all comers, and it’s usually not hard to spot angry ex-employees or friends/family of the owners or what not masquerading as real reviewers. But the google reviews do still get colored by the small town effect that you’ve already mentioned. And also I tend to see a “tourist bump” in heavy tourist areas; I think people who are having a good time on vacation may be more likely to rate their experiences higher, except if they feel like they’re getting ripped off.

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203

Agree again. This skews ratings in Asheville for sure.

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204

Oh no you didn’t.

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But you don’t know what you don’t know. Right? I grew up with shitty pizza. But I didn’t know it was so bad when I was eating it. None of us did. Then I came to NYC for school and discovered NYC style pizza. Then I spent some time in New Haven and discovered CT apizza. Then off to Italy and another style. So the more I know, the less happy I am with most pizza. So maybe ignorance is bliss.

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206

Ah, good ole Casey’s. Popular as hell in IA. Last time I was in Ogden, IA, we had good chicken from Chicken Corral (I think that was the name). Not too shabby. YELP! anywhere is ho hum.

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LOL, I know, sorry. But we got some freshly made for the kids last trip to Iowa and it was truly horrible. Even just the plain cheese! My DH and BIL said they remembered it being much better.

I would rather eat a DiGiorno, which is not good.

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208

I’ll have to try these awful pizzas so I have an idea of how bad your bad pizza is. :joy:

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I hate to be that guy, but “bad” pizza is usually not that bad.
Bad pickled herring? Now that is bad.
LOL!

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Bad sushi can be really, really bad. :joy:

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211

I remember that place too. It was in a strip mall next to Koons on Route 7 IIRC. This would have been about 25 years ago and I was working in Tysons Corner at the time. We frequently went there for lunch.

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212

Amazing example of thread drift, this subthread.

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That’s why I go Papa Murphy’s and just get a boring Sausage Fave for $6 and dress it up. casey’s tries to be fresh about it, unlike most gas stations, but it isn’t always decent. I’ve had some from the one by me a few times, and it passed muster, but I’ve stopped in others where I just let it be. I could tell by looking. No.

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