Holes in the iPhone's Killer Restaurant-Recommendation App
Quelle horror! NYT restaurant critic Frank Bruni has a friend with an iPhone 3G—with its Urbanspoon application—and he's all ready to eat! Problem is, the restaurant-recommending app is proving to be spotty at best—like a bored, difficult concierge. What did it advise for our office's block—Elizabeth Street below Houston?
Shake-activating the phone's search, Bruni finds that
"The Tasting Room, which was on this block, closed more than a month ago. Shortly before that, the restaurant Elizabeth opened across the street. With a few shakes, Urbanspoon nonetheless guided me to the Tasting Room. Even after many shakes, it never suggested Elizabeth, instead recommending Rialto, which was the restaurant that Elizabeth replaced. Rialto hasn’t been open for half a year."
UrbanSpoon: missing every restaurant that is actually important.
