I argue with friends all the time about how Foursquare is a better tool for finding and rating establishments than Yelp. The simple like it/dislike it makes it a much easier way to rate, not to mention they don't allow for long winded rants much like you see on Yelp. I too also use the Lists feature a lot, especially when I know I'm going to be traveling to a new area.
Perhaps the bloggers constant referral to Foursquare as a check-in service is what has kept it from "growing", though they didn't help themselves either by trying to not highlight the other features more.