Two young women walked into a St. Louis bar on a recent Saturday night.
One recalled asking for a beer “like Budweiser.” The bartender informed her that his tavern didn’t carry any.
The woman’s friend pecked away at her cell phone, firing off a two-word review on the Web about 33 Wine Shop and Tasting Bar: “Pretentious bartenders.”
Almost instantly, the barkeep, 33 owner Jeff Stettner, received a text message about the critique from a plugged-in regular customer, who had seen it posted on Yelp and repeated in the woman’s Twitter stream.
Welcome to the new-media world of restaurant criticism, where anybody with an opinion and a Web connection has a soapbox from which to praise, promote, gripe or grumble. And where restaurants can react just as quickly – or not.