Zagat Zingers....

Everyone needs a laugh now and then -- especially in these grim, gloomy times. If you sign up, Zagat sends a weekly email out with restaurant openings and other news. If you scroll to the bottom of the email, they post a quote called "Outtake of the Week" gleaned, I'm sure from the Zagat surveys.

Some are downright hilarious, including the one I read this week: "Only the flies on our table enjoyed the meal." It helps to understand how Zagat guides are put together. Some people think the ratings are done by professional restaurant critics.

It's really foodies who rate the restaurants. Some are professionals but most are not -- they are just food lovers or what I think of as restaurant groupies. For each restaurant listed for rating, the person rating gives a number for food, decor and service, along with a cost of one dinner with one drink plus a tip.

There is also space for comments, and I'm guessing the tickling tidbits published as "Outtakes" come from those comments. Sometimes they are zingers -- like this one: "Take a look at the staff on the way in -- that's the last you'll see of them."

Here's a link to the "Outtakes" page of the Zagat website. Go to the home page if you want to sign up for the weekly newsletter yourself.