We answer every email. There is no ticket queue, no chatbot, and no on-hold music — only a small editorial team at a quiet inbox.
Reply within one business day, weekdays. Members on Priority receive same-day attention.
Each dish is weighed across four sub-scores — craft, value, room, and return — by a small panel of tastemakers who eat in the region constantly. Scores are revisited on a quiet weekly cadence. The full methodology lives in the Daily archive.
A single number, 0 to 10, blending four sub-scores — craft, room, value, and return — under editorial review. Shorthand for worth your night.
The same way long-running rating registries weight repeat raters over first-time entries, and the same way community Q&A platforms weight high-reputation answers above brand-new accounts. Every vote on theBEAT counts. Members who've shown sustained commitment count for more — Free 1×, Plus 2×, Priority & Lifetime 3×, verified Tastemakers 5×. It's the structural defense against spam, brigading, and one-night-stand voting that would otherwise warp the rankings. The editorial baseline sits underneath everything; community votes shape it over time. Socially powered. Editor-led.
Priority is an optional membership that unlocks Tonight — our daily verdict at 4:30 PM — along with all five Hunt modes, 3× vote weight, Spotlight Votes, and deeper rankings. The app is free to use. Priority is for readers who'd like the room a little quieter. The Annual Edit book — Vol. I lands Spring 2027, tailored to your year — ships only to annual Priority members and Lifetime. The yearly plan brings the physical edition with it; monthly subscribers can upgrade any time.
Write to support@thebeatedit.com with the dish or restaurant name and what you observed. We re-verify within forty-eight hours.
Washington, the Maryland suburbs, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Northern Virginia — what we call the DMV. NYC, Chicago, Miami, and Austin are next — we're seeding the rolls now and auditing in weeks. New cities open one at a time, with a full editorial bench in place before the launch. If you're somewhere else, download anyway: the Atlas moves where the demand is, and your reservation is the vote.
Yes. The Request a Dish form lives inside the app. We read every submission, though we cover what the editorial team finds worth covering — quietly, on our own clock.
No. Rankings are not for sale and never will be. Partnership inquiries go to partners@thebeatedit.com — we are open to thoughtful collaborations that sit outside the rankings.
Memberships are managed through your Apple ID under Settings › Subscriptions. Refunds for the current period are handled directly by Apple. If something is amiss, write us — we will help where we can.
