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Panayiota Soutis's avatar

Didn’t even manage to touch on gatekeeping, tickboxing or expiry dates on lists — so much to say always

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Sophia Wronsky's avatar

I loved this read! Thank you for sharing. A few months ago, I made a silly 2x2 to try to map out my experiences with restaurant recommendations while traveling (https://sophiaisvoracious.substack.com/p/what-you-eat-on-vacation-and-why) — I found that the places I loved the most were ones I stumbled upon or were from a specific source. In a world full of "curators" and "maximizers" it's easy to fall into a trap of blindly trusting or, the more common trap I find myself in, refusing to try anywhere that hasn't been recommended. That said, I will probably continue to use Beli, Amigo, and whatever the app of the day is 🤪

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Panayiota Soutis's avatar

I think more and more we'll get to a place of "minimised" recommendations – a super tight mini list of do-not-miss spots, with the rest left up to happenstance

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Panayiota Soutis's avatar

100% – so difficult to trust your instincts and go with it, especially if outside of your comfort zone. We all default to someone else's opinion as being more informed than our own... when often it's not

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CultureTOLD's avatar

This is such an interesting, thought-provoking piece. Thank you for writing it.

I often ask myself why we are so obsessed with “what’s our favourite” … why can’t we discover things without needed to mirror anyone else or compare. Spent a month in a small imperial town in Morocco, where I didn’t know anyone and I had no reference of what can be anyone’s favourite, but I’ve learnt to trust my curiosity and try everything. Best time of my life.

Opinions are all fine, but wouldn’t it be great if we let ourselves discover our own “favourite moments and places”. I wonder.

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Panayiota Soutis's avatar

Thank you! And yes!!! Exactly

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Lily Hough's avatar

This is so brilliant

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Dhruv's avatar

Loved this post. I totally agree that information is dead and opinions are what matters. I’d love to know what you enjoyed at the restaurants you ate at and would read it as a source of not just utility but entertainment too. I see people getting back into Substack food blogging for this a bit… maybe that’s where it will go?

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Panayiota Soutis's avatar

Totally! Thank you for the kind words, and more "reviews" from me soon

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Harrison's avatar

I think it's much worse when recommendations are not followed through on

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