Restaurant Guides: Has Zagat.com Met Its Match?

Some people live to eat. Others travel to do so -- and online restaurants guides are there to help them do it wisely. To that end, we pitted veteran restaurant listers Zagat Survey (http://www.zagat.com) against the experts at Travel & Leisure and Food + Wine magazines, who recently debuted their Restaurant Guide (http://Travelandleisure.com/restaurants or http://Foodandwine.com/restaurants) to see which is handier for Web-savvy travelers. Here's how they stack up.

SCOPE: Zagat.com (pronounced za-GAT) has more than 20,000 domestic and international restaurant listings, thanks to the appetites of regular folks who rate locations based on the categories of food, decor, service and cost.

The Restaurant Guide offers a "select guide from the pages of Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine," currently showing about 2,900 listings worldwide. While the authors of and sources for the original listing are well-traveled foodies (a bonus for those who don't like hoi polloi guiding their dining choices), there's no obvious formula to help you compare the listings. Restaurants include those that warranted the feature treatment in the magazines' pages as well as those garnering a throwaway mention.

Advantage: Zagat.com.

DESIGN: Zagat.com's reviews are similar in format to the print version, with no enticing food photos or location shots. You'll never confuse an ad on the site for one of the listings.

The Restaurant Guide listings link to the restaurant's original magazine appearance. Click on the link for Pennsylvania restaurant Alison at Blue Bell, for example, and tempting pictures of Pots de Cr?me with Chocolate, Chile and Espresso pop up (the recipe's there, too). The myriad ads sprinkled throughout the site create a somewhat cluttered look.

Advantage: Zagat.com, for being easier to read, if somewhat boring.

PRICE AND ACCESS: Zagat.com distinguishes between unregistered users, registered users and subscribers. The first two options are free. Unregistered users can do a simple search only, and information provided is limited to the restaurant name, address, cross street and phone number; it's pretty much for those who already have a specific restaurant in mind. Registered users get the same information but can also become a Zagateer, adding their vote on locations. Subscribers to Zagat.com access full listings, with options for advanced search and Top Lists (top-rated restaurants in categories such as Outdoor, Hamburgers or Power Lunch). Plus there are mapping tools, lists of attractions and destinations near your chosen restaurant, a saved and recent locations index, favorites, and -- perhaps the coolest bonus feature -- a diary option for would-be Ruth Reichls to record their experiences. A year-long subscription for full access to restaurant listings runs $19.95 ($3.95 for 30 days).

All access to the Restaurant Guide is free. The first click on a restaurant name will jump to the location information as well as provide a link to the original mention in the magazine. Browsing is by geographic location or restaurant name.

Advantage: The Restaurant Guide, for being completely gratis, though some of the listings are rather sparse.

BARGAIN HUNTING: Zagat.com subscribers see the cost of an average meal included with restaurant listings and can use cost as one of the advanced search features. Out of 1,874 Manhattan listings, for example, 41 popped up with meals under $10.

Material for the Restaurant Guide comes from two magazines owned by American Express Publishing, a company that bills itself as "the leader in luxury lifestyle magazines." By definition they're not really on the lookout for the cheap eats.