Join us for another edition of Adventures in Shilling, wherein we celebrate and expose the grossest shills from around the internets. As always, you too can help fight shills.
Kicking off this episode, we have the tumultuous Candybar, which has already gone through a few chefs in its short lifespan, most recently the excellent Boris Portnoy. Already there are some suspect reviews on Yelp, most glaringly the following one from a first-time, only-time "reviewer":
candybar's awesome. i went there with some friends and had a great night. the decor was sleek, the service was attentive, and the food was awesome. they just hired two new executive chefs that even came out and said hi to my table, none of the pretension of a lot of other places in this city; just a really chill place to hang out with friends. prices were definitely fair, too. the menu changes every month to include seasonal flavors; i'll definitely be back next month to check it out!
Shill Probability: 68%
From the boards of Chowhound, another first-time, only-time poster stands up for Joe's Cable Car, which had been getting bashed by posters, mostly due to high prices, as is the pattern on Chowhound (they are very frugal):
I Loved Joe's Cable Car
With mixed reviews about this place on the 'net 'not being local serving,' I did not know what to expect, but, as a foody I do not know how I overlooked this place! The food was GREAT, wait staff was excellent, the place is CLEAN, parking easy (in their own lot right beside the restaurant). I thought the PRICES REASONABLE for what you get. First: THE FOOD, as shown on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives he grinds his own every day with high quality beef. This costs money. Neighbors--get over it. This is NOT a local serving fast-cheap-food-restaurant, it is a destination for the best hamburger ... Second: PRICES, reasonable for what you get. If you want cheap there at lots of places to go. Third, LOCATION, a bit hard to find. I live an hour away and will happily go again--enough said. If you are going to San Francisco and love hamburgers you should not miss this place. The cable car theme IS San Francisco. Fourth, CLEAN--I think this is the cleanest restaurant I have ever been in. The place was spotless. Staff quickly cleared tables, I saw someone carefully scrub a table with soap and water! Kitchen was spotless and so were bathrooms (I asked my wife). Most restaurants are pig-stys (sp?) compared to this place. I cannot wait to get back.
Shill Probability: 88%
Next up, from the comments field, we have someone with a great deal of knowledge about Pisco and wants to tell everyone how different it is from the rest of the pisco pack:
Pisco Latin Lounge has a really great look(by the same designer who did Bin 38) and the staff is spot on in friendliness and speed. Also- it's Pan Latin ( not strictly Peruvian) with drinks and tapas showing influences from all over- Spain, Cuba, Argentina etc.
The big difference when comparing pisco bars if you check out their website is that Pisco Latin Lounge is the ONLY place where you can find "Original Recipe" Pisco Punch- a pineapple based pisco drink with a subtle kick created in San Francisco in the late 1800s . One of the Lounge's owners wrote a whole book about it and apparently left out a key ingredient on purpose so that La Mar or anyone else who tries to recreate it can't get it exactly right. I love pisco sours but after going to PLL a few times now I'm becoming a fan of the punch as well- really refreshing without being too sweet.
Shill Probability: 96%
And finally, your requisite shill from the swirly frontier of froyo shops. Today, your participant is the brand new Chill, posting without any qualms on Chowhound, since banned:
There's a new gourmet frozen yogurt place opening up in the Financial District. They are having a grand opening special GRAND OPENING SPECIALS Wednesday- Friday November 5- 7 $1- Organic Coffee $2 All Natural Frozen Yogurt or Custard with 1 exotic topping $3 Crispy Crepe Cone with sweet filling and choice of topping Plus: Blended Chiller™ Smoothies Snow Bliss™ Shave Ice Crispy Crepe Cones™ Gourmet Cupcakes Organic Espressos All Natural House Made Sodas Hours will be Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 12pm-5pm, closed Sun. 125 Kearny St. at Post, 415-433-1233.
Shill Probability: 98%
· Adventures in Shilling: The Complete Collection [~ESF~]
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