Even if you don't really know how to pronounce it, you've most likely heard of the Zagat Guide. And you've likely seen the "Zagat rated" phrase on menus or reviews you've considered. After all, they've been providing reliable, comprehensive, user-generated restaurant information for over 30 years now. Zagat Survey has an online presence with a paid subscription base, but is more widely known for publishing its maroon-covered, pocket guidebooks that include a rating scale, consumer reviews and opinions of restaurants and bars worldwide.
Milwaukee has been the home to Zagat-rated restaurants for years. In fact, the top three Zagat-rated eateries in Milwaukee, according to the 2012 edition of America's Top Restaurants include Roots, Sanford and Eddie Martini's – all rated 22 or higher in the areas of food, décor and service.
Beginning in 2012, Madison-area restaurants will also have the chance to make the cut when the Zagat Survey comes to the city for the first time since its creation in 1979. Prior to this year, Zagat focused its efforts on the top 50 restaurant markets in the United States. But, beginning this year, they'll be providing ratings for more locations, including smaller cities and college towns.
"Essentially, we'll be going more and more broadly across the country and Wisconsin," says Tim Zagat, co-founder, co-chair and CEO of Zagat Survey. "Madison is going to be something of a model for how we do other cities of this size."
The editors, including some people in Wisconsin, came up with over 300 restaurants which will make the list, along with dining spots suggested by individuals who participate in the survey.
"Given the size of Madison, I thought that was a really astonishing number of restaurants," Tom remarks. "The importance of the city as far as being the state capitol, and being a leading intellectual city in the state, can't be understated. The sheer number of people with connections to the university will give enormous reach to the results."
And, for a limited time, area consumers will have the opportunity to be rewarded for giving their two cents on Madison restaurants. Interested diners can answer a short survey about places they have visited in the past year and rate them based on the categories of food, décor, service and estimated cost. Even better, those who finalize the survey before Feb. 27 will be entered into Zagat's Witty Surveyor Contest, where the most insightful, descriptive and clever comments will win a $100 MasterCard gift card. For your chance to win, visit zagat.com/vote.
Awesome, right? But, before you rush off to start rating restaurants, it might be helpful to have a bit of information about how the Zagat system works.
Zagat predates Yelp. It was around before OnMilwaukee.com. And yes, even before Google. As one of the largest user-generated content sites on the web and in print, Zagat now covers a range of leisure activities including dining, travel, nightlife, shopping, golf, theater, movies and music. And, even after 30 years, Zagat still matters. But, there are numerous misconceptions about how the Zagat ratings are derived. In an effort to clear the air, I did a little bit of research and talked to the folks over at Zagat Survey myself.
Probably the first thing that's helpful to note is that, despite its renown as a restaurant review book, the reviews are not written by Zagat critics. Instead, they are user-generated. But, there are some big differences between the Zagat Survey and other internet review sites like Yelp and Open Table.
"The main things we do are aimed at quality, accuracy and fairness," says Tim Zagat. "We eliminate, at great cost, paid advertisements and we protect the system against restaurants rating themselves."
The main distinction between Zagat and similar sites is that Zagat offers curated results. You won't have to wade through hundreds of user comments to find the information you need. Instead, a team of editors around the world pull together the thoughts and opinions of thousands of diners into concise, reliable ratings and reviews. The ratings and reviews reflect the collective opinions of customers who eat at each restaurant throughout the year.
Tim explains that having a summary review by experts is really very useful for a variety of reasons.
"We have 350,000 to 400,000 people sending us information," he explains. "Let's say 20 people say, 'Beautiful, lovely, gorgeous restaurant,' but no one describes that the décor is peach postmodern. It makes all the difference in the world. So the professional critic is not allowed to change the opinion and is not allowed to touch the numbers, but can add key facts that help draw the picture of what it is we're looking at."
Another misconception is that the Zagat Survey only rates fine dining establishments. But, that's simply not true. Despite the "fancy feeling" you might get when you hear the word Zagat, the guides also include restaurants that offer great prices, notable décor, great people-watching and comprehensive beer lists. Recent Zagat lists have even included top-rated food trucks. For frugal consumers, the survey also includes a "Best Bang for Your Buck" list, which includes restaurants with the best food for the lowest prices.
Finally, there's a rhyme to the reasoning of the Zagat methodology. The survey begins with the collection of an array of opinions and survey data, and then quantifies the feedback into numerical ratings and written reviews. Ratings are based on a 30-point scale, where scores are awarded for menus and menu covers, interior design, quality of service, popularity and perceived value. Scores of 0-9 are equivalent to poor to fair, 10-15 is fair to good, 16-19 is good to very good, 20-25 is very good to excellent and 26-30 is extraordinary to perfection. In addition to survey data, the guide offers discussion boards that allow customers to share their individual experiences and their personal opinions.
Zagat Survey prides itself with trustworthy and dependable information, so they are quite careful in dealing with their surveyors and editors. They make sure that only truthful and objective ratings are posted in their reviews, and any dishonest evaluation leads to the establishment's immediate removal from the Zagat list.
Zagat results for Madison will be available beginning later this year, when the Zagat Survey also plans to return to Milwaukee. So stay tuned for more chances to participate in their Milwaukee survey.
Oh – and just in case you were still wondering how to pronounce their name, the correct phonetic pronunciation of Zagat is actually za-GAT. In other words, Zagat rhymes with "the cat."
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
