Yelp!

Yelp, is no longer the sound a dog makes, it's the sound of twenty-somethings writing mini-reviews of their most favorite and hated, restaurants, stores, salons, and just about anything else these days. If you're not on Yelp you are probably not going to the best bars, the cheapest eateries or the tastiest restaurants. Worse yet, you could be going to dull, over-priced places with bad service.

Since Yelp I've only had fantastic meals, drinks and massages.

Here's why Yelp isn't just another Citysearch:

1. The writers are snarky, clever, irreverent and often hilarious. These aren't Zagat's reviews here or even a Lonely Planet tour book. Each person has their own style and it's usually well-written and brutally honest.

2. The map feature is pretty cool - see what top-rated eateries are around where you are. Want somewhere else? Just drag the map over and new places pop up.

3. You can 'bookmark' places to try later and put notes with it. "To Try: Masa Note: $1 tapas on Thursday."

4. Many businesses offer Yelper's discount. Say you saw it on Yelp and at Blu you get 30% off your lunch or $15 off your Thai bodywork session at Boston Thai Yoga.

5. Events and community are also key on Yelp. Waste some time trolling the message boards to see some funny drama. Check out user-posted events like Paper-Rock-Scissors Tournaments. And if you're in the Yelp Elite Squad you get invited to free events put on by local stores and eateries where they wine and dine you to get your 5 star rating.

6. The reviews are usually right on. Folks are encouraged to use their real name and photo and write truthfully. There's also a ton of folks on the site. There's a graph that shows you how many people gave it 1, 2, 3, etc. stars and the average rating. So in the end you get a pretty good picture of if the place is worth checking out.

Hop on Yelp and be sure to friend me!