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Comment by bane | Hacker News Reader

I've noticed two interesting anomalies in yelp ratings that might account for this: Sushi places usually get high ratings, Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants also.

I think this is for different reasons, but most Americans don't fundamentally seem to know what good fresh fish tastes like, Sushi is no exception.

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I can't taste a damn thing. I think I am an undertaster. So, all the sushis are all good to me.

People whine and bitch about terrible food. I just eat it up like a happy camper.

In supermarkets it's not even the fish - there's little to no nigiri in the case, and the rolls mostly contain little or even no fish. They're mostly rice, slathered-on sauce, vegetables, and then maybe some fish (like breaded shrimp). You could theoretically order "fresh" (for whatever value of fresh the fish behind the counter is), but I'm not sure I've ever seen someone order instead of grabbing from the case.

Perhaps "Americans don't know what good sushi tastes like" though.

Vegan restaurants get high ratings because Americans don't know what fresh fish tastes like?

As a vegan, sometimes it's nice to eat at a restaurant and not have to go through the whole 20 questions with the server about whether food has animal products. So I may weigh other factors (like service or presentation or how "nice" a place is) as less important than when going to a restaurant with only one or two vegan options.

Though taste is the most important thing to me!

ha! I accidentally a sentence.

I've noticed Vegan and Vegetarian restaurants get high ratings, I think it's because the potential audience is so happy with the fact the place even exists (and gives them an alternative to cooking yet another meal or fighting with yet another menu) that the default is a high rating. Even very mediocre places around where I live have 4+ stars.

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