I used to read Chowhound all the time but for some reason I stopped. I started again recently as I was looking for restaurant recommendations for an upcoming weekend in Palm Springs. 

One thing that bugs me about a lot of review sites, like yelp, is that it seems there are 3 kinds of people who write reviews. The first is a person who thinks they are great writer and waxes poetic and tells you every tiny detail about some random place for 19 pages. The second is a person who has been spurned by a place and writes out of anger and revenge and a desire for people to know the TRUTH about how long it takes for appetizers to come out or how rude the manager is or whatever. (I used to do this but realized it was not a well-placed way to give feedback to a restaurant. A letter to the restaurant manager is both more effective for them, and for you because they usually try to woo you back with some offer of free food. And hey, if you owned a restaurant, wouldn't you prefer direct feedback from a customer interaction rather than a public tarring and feathering?) 

The third type of poster, and this is a rare breed, is a person who just reviews all of the places they go to, normally and helpfully and efficiently. But those sites are overwhelmed by the first 2 types, which for me, ultimately limits the usefulness of the review system.

Chowhound is different because it's populated by people who love food, so while you occasionally get the Negative Nellie types and the blowhardy prose types, it's largely populated by that third type of poster- honest, food-loving people who want to chime in on EVERYWHERE they eat, whether good, bad, great, OK, or whatever.

I find it most useful for 2 things. First, it's great for helping you figure out where to eat when you travel- because if you search any city or town there are a bunch of threads that come up where people are discussing where to eat and why and what they're like and how much they cost and what to order. For example, I'm now armed with a list of where to get the best breakfast in Palm Springs, the name of the hole-in-the-wall organic restaurant in 29 Palms to go to after a day of hiking in Joshua Tree, directions to the spot the owners of the most famous Mexican restaurant in Palm Springs go on THEIR day off, and much more. If you don't see a place listed just search for it and a bunch of message boards will come up. Second, it's helpful if you're looking for a restaurant with a certain criteria, like a place that's open 24 hours or has a big sake list or things like that.

Some of the topic threads are quite funny as well, such as the very serious one I spotted today, titled "Married to a non-foodie, how to cope?!?!?!?!" I also like the design of the site and the clean, concise way information is presented. There are other features besides the boards which I don't really use, including recipes, but I'm sure they offer useful information as well.