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Google Maps will help you discover cities by following Local Guides

Think of the guides as mentors for your food adventures.

Google has a new strategy for helping you discover new restaurants: it's getting some of its most active contributors to show you around. The search firm has unveiled a test feature that will let you follow top Local Guides to see where they're going and what they recommend. Tap "follow" and you'll see their recommendations both in the For You tab as well as in the map view. If all goes well, you could find the best place to eat in an unfamiliar city by following a local who knows all the out-of-the-way eateries.

The test launches "soon" in nine cities around the world, including Bangkok, Delhi, London, Mexico City, New York City, Osaka, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Tokyo. It could be a long time before you can simply assume there's a suitable guide wherever you want to go. Nonetheless, this might be very useful if you'd rather read a veteran foodie's advice instead of trusting your dinner plans to an abstract star rating.