Chuck Eats KC - February 2023

Welcome to the February 2023 issue for all subscribers. If you upgrade your subscription, you can read the complete weekly newsletter and more.

If you missed it, I was a guest food critic on the January installment of the “Food Critics” on KCUR-FM’s “Up To Date”. Food Critics: The best plant-based food in Kansas City in 2023

Have You Experienced This Restaurant Ordering Scam?

Science fiction writer, technologist, and cultural commentator, Cory Doctorow, writes today about a restaurant ordering scam that he and his friends fell prey to when they tried to order from a local Thai restaurant. Doctorow writes about technology daily and in his science fiction books, so getting scammed like this indicates how pervasive this problem may become.

This scam was set up by assholes who created an ordering website to look like the Thai restaurant, but this was aided and abetted by Google’s descent into what Doctorow broadly calls “enshittification.” You’ve probably experienced this a lot recently on Amazon, where you search for a product and get screens and screens of knock-off crap and scams. Back in 2021, I ordered Pokemon cards for the kids and got a carabiner.

In Docotorow’s example, he clicked on the first search result which was an ad link to a Wix site. The site was a clone of the actual Thai restaurant website with prices marked up 15%. The restaurant knew about the scam, canceled the order, but Doctorow still had to dispute the charges with American Express. The scammer even double-billed Doctorow and his friends.

You should read Doctorow’s longer piece, because he gets into why Google and delivery services like Grubhub and local versions are part of the problem. One reason why you have to deal with higher restaurant prices is because these companies add to operating expenses and overhead for small restaurants. Many of these delivery companies, especially the fly-by-night local ones, create fake ordering and delivery storefronts without the permission of restaurants. Google does this too, but I’ll save my rant about that for a future newsletter.

If you’ve experienced this kind of scam, please contact me. If you are wondering how to determine if an online restaurant site is reputable enough to order from, let me share a few hints:

1. When in doubt, call the restaurant.
2. Don’t click on any sponsored ads in search results. The restaurant’s website should often be somewhere further down, in the first page of search results.
3. If it’s a Wix site or a website that ends in .site, be skeptical
4. Even the box of information that you find on a Google search can be suspect. Google scrapes website for information, so it may have scraped an imposter. Even info like hours can often be wrong.
5. If the ordering website has no photos, no text other than menu text, and no design, contact the restaurant.
6. Start using another search engine like DuckDuckGo, which is what I use as a web developer.

One of the motivations that prompted me to start Chuck Eats KC in 2019 was to provide an independent news, reviews and information source on dining out for Kansas Citians. It seemed to me that the number of blogs, newsletters, and independent website media had declined. Too many reviews were being locked up and hidden in corporate walled platforms like Facebook, Yelp and Amazon. Yes, you like to share reviews with friends, but these wealthy companies aren’t compensating you.

A component of this was also the enshittification of reviews and normal restaurant information, thanks to Google, Facebook, Yelp, and all the imitators. I wasn’t familiar with that word and Cory Doctorow probably hadn’t invented it himself, but this word describes many of the problems with online information and opinion. We need independent media, independent voices, and mom-and-pop restaurants.

The good news is that change is on the way. There are non-profit alternative apps to Grubhub and Ubereats in development right now. These projects will also be wonderful for restaurants as the fees will be minimal and will be great for drivers as they will be able to pocket more money for their services. I will be reporting on this tech and services as it progresses and is rolled out in various cities.

New on the Chuck Eats KC Website

Vivilore Review - If I were taking visiting friends, relatives, or a date to a fancy restaurant in Kansas City with excellent food, service and an eclectic atmosphere, I’d take them to Vivilore in Independence.

Bygone Restaurants: Yellow Sub - You know Yellow Sub’s menu from the Planet Sub chain. I remember the original location in Lawrence, Kansas, which kept me fed throughout college.

Pizza Tascio: Authentic New York Style Pizza By The Slice - I’ve long been a fan of New York-style pizza for years, often making an effort to seek it out locally. I was very excited to hear about the opening of Pizza Tascio in North Kansas City.

Bygone Restaurants: Victoria Station - Do you remember the restaurant where you dined inside actual train cars and the signature dish was prime rib? There were two Kansas City locations of this international chain, which had 97 restaurants during its heyday of the 1970s and 1980s.

Do any of you remember Piropos, Starker’s Reserve, Macaluso’s, Jardine’s, or the Caspian Bistro?

Share your memories here.

Openings, Closings, Good Byes and Coming Soon

• La Nueva Taqueria has opened at the corner of 39th Street and Summit, in the former KC Kitchen & Pizzeria space (around the corner from Missie B’s).
• Privēe Restaurant + Lounge is opening this spring at 700 Southwest Blvd. The concept will feature fine dining and a lounge.
• District. Pour House + Kitchen is closing February 19th.
• Whole Foods is moving their store at 119th and Glenwood several blocks west to a new store at 119th and Metcalf
• The historic Muehlebach Hotel Bar is re-opening after 40 years.
• The Sunfresh grocery store has closed at the Red Bridge Shopping Center

Picture of the Issue

Chuck Eats KC Podcast

The third episode of the Chuck Eats KC is available to paid subscribers. The latest episode looks at restaurants in the Waldo neighborhood, reviews Kin Lin, and looks back at Annie’s Santa Fe. Listen to the latest episode.

Support Us Via Ko-Fi

You can support this project on Ko-Fi. We just launched a podcast, so any help is appreciated. This is an independent review project. We take nothing in exchange from local restaurants, so everything comes out of our own pockets.

Please support this project with a donation via Ko-Fi.

TikTok? TikTok!

Chuck Eats KC is now on TikTok at @chuckeatskc. I plan to post from local restaurants, visit locations of bygone restaurants, and talk about Kansas City history.

Mastodon and Tumblr

You can find regular posts from Chuck and Chuck Eats KC on Mastodon at @chuckmunson@kibitz.cloud and Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/chuckeatskc.

Chuck Eats KC Blog and Website

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