Document Actions
SAVORY CITIES HEATS UP THE RESTAURANT REVIEW BIZ
Average Rating:
(
0 votes)
(
0 votes)
By
Scott Macaulay
October 10, 2006
The new start-up food site Savory Cities uses streaming video to stand out from the crowd.
SAVORY CITIES HEATS UP THE RESTAURANT REVIEW BIZ
Not too long ago Zagat revolutionized the restaurant-reviewing world with the various editions of its reader-generated Zagat Survey. As it grew, Zagat added other targets of scrutiny – hotels, nightlife and even movies – but the restaurant rating system remained the same, a 1-30 point scale scoring Food, Quality of Service, and Ambience.
That last category always seemed a bit vague – one person’s Chantarelle might be another’s Hooters. Now, however, two web entrepreneurs have created a feisty start-up to challenge the food rating king by using streaming video to bring a restaurant’s vibe directly to its potential customers.
The husband and wife team of Jennifer Usdan McBride and Chris McBride have launched Savory Cities, which combines a wiki, a blog, and, yes, streaming video into a single culinary site. Currently online is Savory New York and Savory San Francisco, with other cities slated to soon follow. Click onto one of the above sites and you’ll find pages devoted to specific restaurants, organized by neighborhood and containing links to various online reviews. But the site’s hallmark is its original video reviews, of which about 60 are currently streaming on the New York site. The videos feature a discussion of the eatery, conversations with the chef, and, yes, clips of a restaurant's ambience so you, as Chris says, "can see what people are wearing before you decide where you'll spend your money."
Jennifer came to Savory Cities from various producer positions at VH1 and Comedy Central. Chris has worked in the internet field since 1994 for such companies as Infoseek and Walt Disney Internet Group. Over at Beet TV there’s a video interview (quoted above) with Chris in which he discusses the site’s features as well as its growth plans, which include syndicating Savory's video reviews to hotels, airlines and mobile devices.
That last category always seemed a bit vague – one person’s Chantarelle might be another’s Hooters. Now, however, two web entrepreneurs have created a feisty start-up to challenge the food rating king by using streaming video to bring a restaurant’s vibe directly to its potential customers.
The husband and wife team of Jennifer Usdan McBride and Chris McBride have launched Savory Cities, which combines a wiki, a blog, and, yes, streaming video into a single culinary site. Currently online is Savory New York and Savory San Francisco, with other cities slated to soon follow. Click onto one of the above sites and you’ll find pages devoted to specific restaurants, organized by neighborhood and containing links to various online reviews. But the site’s hallmark is its original video reviews, of which about 60 are currently streaming on the New York site. The videos feature a discussion of the eatery, conversations with the chef, and, yes, clips of a restaurant's ambience so you, as Chris says, "can see what people are wearing before you decide where you'll spend your money."
Jennifer came to Savory Cities from various producer positions at VH1 and Comedy Central. Chris has worked in the internet field since 1994 for such companies as Infoseek and Walt Disney Internet Group. Over at Beet TV there’s a video interview (quoted above) with Chris in which he discusses the site’s features as well as its growth plans, which include syndicating Savory's video reviews to hotels, airlines and mobile devices.
