What is the “djour score”?

After too much research and understanding of rankings, I dislike the numerical scale done by Portnoy, Beli & Yelp. See the bold snippets (non-title) to see my logic…

1. Overcomplication & Arbitrary

  • What’s the difference between a 8.6 & 8.7? Unnecessarily complicated and confusing the closer the scores get.

  • Lack of context: what’s considered "good" or "excellent," a score of 7.5 on a 10-point scale could mean different things to different people. Reviews on Yelp & Beli, people bitch about service quality, which I don’t care, I just want good food.

2. Overemphasis on Precision:

  • The point scale suggests a higher level of precision than is often needed for subjective experiences like food quality, where small differences in score might not be meaningful to the average person.

    ☆- Local Favorites: Great for a casual outing when in the area, but not something to make a trip for.

    ☆☆- Hidden Gems or Standouts: Highly recommended in the greater area, but not quite worth a long journey.

    ☆☆☆- Best of the Best: A staple experience that’s worth traveling from anywhere to try.

3. Psychological Bias Toward Extremes:

  • Why would you care about my 2.0s - 8.0s, when you can just follow the very best and very worst, so everything on my map is worth eating.

4. Potential for Score Inflation:

  • Portnoy’s issue, formerly he rarely gave +9s. Now he rarely gives +8.5s. All the former +8.5s have a much larger bump to the casual user.

  • Nuances of scoring bias and changes will hinder previous ratings over time, my map is a simple GBB (Good, Better, Best)

5. Negativity:

  • Restaurants I know and have worked at partook in a “yelp war” rating each other’s restaurants worse to make theirs look better.

  • I’m here to share the best food in Philly, not to shit on small business.

  • Who & What is djour?

    im the djour.philly Creator, Editor & Philly Reddit’s Map Guy. Everything is a one man operation.

    Born in South Jersey. Ive been enamored by food my whole life:

    Ive created hundreds of fictitious restaurants in elementary school. Spent a lot of time growing up travelling by car so Cooking Mama on my DS, Chowder & Adam Richman’s Man V Food I was glued to.

    Worked as a line cook & dishie at Honeygrow then went to college for Business Statisitcs.

    Worked as a prep cook & server at Harper’s Garden & other FCM hospitality spots in Philly and got way into shift drinks. So working at Comcast now, but building this food map based on quality opinion.

    Why Bother?



    I hate food map ratings as they are harmful for business and the user. People give poor ratings for service which I dont give a shit. I just want good food. Businesses also bullshit their star ratings and there are literal Rating Wars between neighboring businesses. Dont believe me, I participated in them when I worked the service industry and know a few happening in Philly right now.

    Second, barely trust an influencer. They are bought and post when they are paid off or given free shit. Same with publications. Some are good though.

    So this map is my expertise, quality food and other’s expert opinion on quality food.