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Did you know Yelp has a function that allows customers to upload short videos as part of their reviews for a particular place? It’s true — and one man has been using the little-discussed feature to make some pretty hilarious videos on Instagram about all the restaurants he's going to. Perfectly enough, the feed is called Toothpix, and it packs a surprising amount of story in those short few seconds.
All you’ve got to do is scroll through the Instagram to catch any one of nearly two dozen vignettes about some of Los Angeles' most iconic restaurants, including Tacos Leo and Jon & Vinny's. As an ice breaker, try this rather meta take from Polla a la Brasa in Koreatown:
And in case you’re wondering, yes the folks behind Toothpix do actually put these reviews up on each restaurant's Yelp page. If anything, they stand out all the more against the other blurry photos of roasting chicken or full booths of diners.
Some, like the above, have a pretty clear arc and tie-in to the restaurant. Others are much more absurd — and more than a few involve puppets, like this one that is ostensibly about Sakura Japanese restaurant, but in fact is anything but.
Perhaps most impressive is the overall production quality. There’s actual time and money being spent on these, from drones over the Kogi BBQ truck to on-site shoots that actually happen at the restaurant and involve people who work there. Kudos to Toothpix for taking the time to do these well. Eater reached out to congratulate the man behind the 'gram himself, but so far hasn't heard back.
And now, to leave you with what might be the funniest one of them all, done at Long Xing Ji in the San Gabriel Valley.
