Munchysaurus uses a unique ranking system. Curious as to why this was created? Visit the
About page!
Green Star
If you had 24 hours in the city, this would be the place to visit.
"Trust me, you'll love it!"
Green
I would actively recommend this place to others.
"This is great."
Yellow star
I personally do not like this category of food, therefore cannot give it a green. But I can see that it could be a green to certain people.
"Not for me, but I see it."
Yellow
I would personally not visit again, but if a friend suggested the place I would go without objection.
"It's ok."
"It's good, but ..."
Red
If a friend suggested going, I would object and offer an alternative place to go.
"Can we go somewhere else?"
The lighter colors indicate meal ratings.
The darker colors indicate dessert and other food category ratings.
Judging criteria
The most common criterias used in other food rating systems are: 1) Flavor 2) Atmosphere 3) Service 4) Price.
My criteria for judging food is 99.9% based on the food's flavors. I discuss price in my posts because that is something I would like to know as a consumer before visiting an establishment. However, I aim to not let price affect my judgement of the taste. Certainly, it is impossible to completely eliminate the factor of price in my judgement of the food. If anything, I think price can only bring a rating down: if a dish is good but very, very expensive I would have to consider whether the price is worth the flavor. However, I would not elevate a dish's rating because of a cheap price.
Regarding atmosphere and service, I tend to predominantly focus on the flavors during a dining experience. Whether the view is gorgeous or if the service is top notch, these are simply garnishes to the food. However, exceptions do exist if these two factors actively detract from the food experience. Conclusively, like price, atmosphere and service can only bring the rating down but cannot on their own bring the rating up.
On rating bias ...
Is this system biased? Absolutely. At the end of the day, food is a very personal experience shaped by one's own likes and dislikes.
That is why after much consideration in balancing utility with simplicity, the yellow star category was created. I plan to use this category very sparingly. But the goal of the yellow star is to address personal bias. The yellow star represents flavors that I cannot personally give a green, but I admit that my inability stems from my personal bias against the food category itself, not the establishment. I also intend to award the yellow star to a ranking that is repeatedly challenged (many messages stating that certain places should be ranked higher), to bridge the gap between my personal preferences and the general population.
Important disclaimer!
This is a personal website, documenting personal views of food experiences. Any views or opinions represented in this website belong solely to the Munchysaurus.com owner, and do not represent those of people, institutions, or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, food establishments, or individual.
