Yelp is a great user generated restaurant rating service.  But the site architecture is built around looking for restaurants within a certain radius.

We will be going on a long road trip in December (crossing four states) and I would have loved to enter my start address, pick cuisines, star ratings and final destination and have yelp generate a list of food stops along the way.
-- nomadic_wonderer, Nov 17 2009

Yelp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelp,_Inc.
only possibly available in your jurisdiction [calum, Nov 17 2009]

Yelp API wrapper in Ruby http://lemurware.bl.../yelp-for-ruby.html
Looks like Yelp has an API of sorts - here is a link to blog that claims to have authored a wrapper in Ruby to allow you to program such a service.
Perhaps an enterprising young scamp could bash together an app that does a Google Map-based route find and then searches fo restaurants per zip /postcode every 200 miles or so...?
[Jinbish, Nov 17 2009]

Yelp API: Getting started http://www.yelp.com...ers/getting_started
RESTful, i.e. you make URLs, it returns data. [jutta, Nov 17 2009]

ViaMichelin http://www.viamiche...troller/Itineraires
Pretty much what you want [jtp, Nov 17 2009]

Just bake a tin of space cookies.
-- theleopard, Nov 17 2009


Good to see you nomadic, long time no see. Now about the idea. Sounds good to me if nothing like this exist. The fact that I don't get to travel much anymore makes me a non-expert. Otherwise known as an idiot. But it's still good to see you again. +
-- blissmiss, Nov 17 2009


I'm disappointed. I was thinking along the same lines as [theleopard].
-- jtp, Nov 17 2009


Since yelp is geared towards metropolitan areas, I don't think that's quite the resource you want for a road-trip type of thing - maybe the Zagat guide has broader coverage? Guide Michelin? Google local search?

What would be really cool would be a wavy/varky interface that posts your planned route and lets locals along the way recommend things after reading what you're into. Then ratings publishers would just be yet another voice that you'd plug into that.
-- jutta, Nov 17 2009


Nice to see you too blissmiss.
-- nomadic_wonderer, Nov 17 2009


//posts your planned route and lets locals along the way//...

Heh, heh, heh...
<starts digging trenches>
-- Jinbish, Nov 17 2009


[jutta] Don't think Guide Michelin or Google local do it either. I realize Yelp is geared towards metropolitan areas and am sure we'll cross a few on our way.
-- nomadic_wonderer, Nov 17 2009


I'm laughing uproaringly at [Ian]'s comment because a few weeks ago, I saw a car parked totally sideways and underneath the front wheel was a banana peel!!! (nothing to do with the idea, sorry.)
-- xandram, Nov 17 2009


The ViaMichelin website (link) does pretty much what you want, except you can't specify cuisine types or star ratings.

Enter your Departure and Destination addresses, click on the 'Display on route' option, and then select 'Restaurants'.
-- jtp, Nov 17 2009


It would be really good if it also showed unmissably good places that are away from your indicated route. There must be plenty of times when an alternative route would take in better stops and would not add much time or distance.
-- pocmloc, Nov 17 2009


[pocmloc] exactly. This is a food trip, good food over travel time!
-- nomadic_wonderer, Nov 17 2009


I thought this idea would be about hash brownies...
-- DrWorm, Nov 18 2009



random, halfbakery