Houston loves a good “soft opening” of a new restaurant. “Locally owned” and “around town” also rate highly, as do “trailer” and “food truck.” In short, Austin values the idea (or even the illusion) of authenticity. (Although, to Dallas’s credit, it is the only city whose word cloud mentioned “biryani.”)Īustin cares just as much about the setting as the food.Īustin’s most frequently used terms include “backyard,” “back patio,” “outdoor area,” “picnic table,” “fence,” and even “old house” and “branches,” suggesting its citizens are as interested in a laid-back, open-air atmosphere as anything they might actually eat in between shooing flies. Bao, bánh mì, the “best pho,” and bo hue abound, alongside sushi like “spicy salmon”-even specific ingredients like “spicy mayo” and “condensed milk.” What is surprising is that, for cities that pride themselves on being similarly cosmopolitan, Austin and Dallas both have pretty basic tastes, only mentioning Chinese staples like egg rolls, sesame chicken, and egg drop soup. Given that Houston has one of the largest Asian populations in the country, it’s not surprising that the city’s taste in Asian cuisine is so diverse. Houston has the largest breadth of Asian cuisine searches. Naturally, “ranch dressing” also ranks pretty high. It’s no wonder the State Fair goes to such great lengths each year to impress a city that’s seen and fried it all. “Chicken fried, “fried steak,” “fried okra,” “fried pickle,” “fried catfish,” “chicken strip,” “crispy chicken,” “cheese stick”-just a quick glance through Dallas’s list is enough to give you secondhand angina. Dallas is even the only one that’s specifically looking for “burnt ends.” But Austin not only regularly talks ribs and brisket, it also tosses in the “potato salad” and “white bread.” It’s also always on the hunt for the experience of a “BBQ joint” where it’s cooked on a “pit.” “Crawfish” ranks among Houston’s top three phrases, followed closely by gumbo, red snapper, seafood platters, po’ boys, fried catfish, fried oysters, and-of course-“fried shrimp” and “shrimp fried” and “fish shrimp.” That last one is probably just some convenient search term conflation and not some sort of monstrous hybrid that, nevertheless, Houstonians would gladly smother in garlic butter.Īustin is just slightly more obsessed with barbecue.ĭon’t misunderstand us: “meat plate,” “beef rib,” etc., are staple searches in every city. We also like to talk about our “kiddo.”Īnd here are some of our delightful little differences:Īgain, duh, but the Bayou City’s affection for eating our friends from the sea is truly unparalleled, to the point where “garlic butter” merits mention by itself. Let’s start with what we all have in common:Įvery Texas city on the list casually drops “y’all” into its reviews, never mind the extra hassle of inserting the apostrophe. But we can still use them to triangulate an idea of what Texans are Yelping about, as well as to identify the slight yet significant regional differences that make them unique.

In this case, Texas is represented by Austin, Dallas, and Houston-which, of course, presents its own problems. To commemorate fifteen years of providing restaurant tips and unfiltered glimpses inside the American psyche, Yelp recently assembled a set of word clouds comparing the language used in reviews across thirty cities to determine which phrases define them. (Nope.) Every city’s Yelp reviews are really judgments of the city itself. Amid the anecdotes about better-than-average omelettes and tales of prolonged wait times, you can begin to discern what a community values, how it reacts in the face of even the most minor of adversities, and whether there’s a local branch of the post office that isn’t the devil’s own Skinner Box. Yelp is where every town airs it out-the cheers and jeers, the prides and petty grievances, the desperate longings and most deeply held grudges. If you want to measure the soul of a city, browse its Yelp reviews.

Define yelp