Outsourcing our palate and how food reviews can mislead us

Taste in food is a very personal matter that is shaped by affiliation and belonging to contries or in the case of smaller groups to families or communities
Relying on other people's opinions and palate to make food  decisions can indeed lead you astray in lot of ways.
Taste is a personal matter and is fashioned by biology, cultural background, and past experiences. 

A perfectly seasoned dish might taste bland to some people. Someone accostumed to spicy food will have a different  preference than someone from a milder, mediterranean culinary tradition for example. 

A person who loves heavy dishes might dismiss a delicate cuisine as lacking the essential elements of a proper dish.

Their "Aweful" could be your "Perfect."
A negative review might come from a disgruntled person who was looking for a scapegoat to shoulder the blame of his sour disposition. It could be also coming from a person with unrealistic expectations.

Conversely, a stellar review might be from someone in a celebrating mood and their joyous state might color their perception.

The vocal minority writes reviews when the dining experience is either extremely positive or extremely negative. 

The majority of diners who had pleasant experiences don't feel compelled to share their thoughts. 

You are often reading from the most ardent, passionate and biased voices rather than balanced ones.
The loss of personal discovery is perhaps the greatest disadvantages that comes from outsourcing your food decisions to others. 

We rely heavily on opinions to make purchasing decisions. It is the easier road that fits perfectly into our busy, hectic life. 

The decision-taking process flusters us and causes anxiety given the sheer amount of choices available to us.

We take convenient shortcuts, we regard price as an indication of quality, or we base our decision on what our neighbors buy for example.