Which NYC prison is nicest? Check Yelp

New Yorkers have long prided themselves on their discerning taste. And now a few of them are taking to the internet to share their opinions on the city's prison system.

The online reviews site Yelp--more commonly a place to find out what users think of local bars and restaurants--has become an outlet for critical evaluations of certain city prisons, police precincts, and central booking sites.

Diane B. gave Rikers Island prison a five-star rating, calling it a "luxurious island retreat."

"It took me just a few weeks to realize I would never drink and drive again," she wrote.

It's hard to tell which reviews are fake, but the New York Post tracked down one reviewer who confirmed she really did spend a night in jail after a bar brawl arrest before writing her review. "It was spontaneous, and it gave me a laugh at the time," Davisha Badone told the Post.

"Junkies in withdrawal do not make great conversation," Badone wrote of Manhattan's Central Booking (also referred to as the "Tombs.")

Another Tombs reviewer cautioned future arrestees to "be sure and write as many phone numbers as you can beforehand on your arms and legs," since the cops will take your cell phone away. Another reviewer gave the place two stars "because I've been to clubs worse than this with a longer line."

New York isn't the only city with jail reviews: Sixteen reviewers gave L.A. County Jail less than a two-star rating, claiming the food is terrible.

Yelp does have a tradition of prank reviews. More than 200 Yelpers have reviewed the fictional "Abortionplex" made up by humor writers at The Onion. Bloggers discovered that people on Facebook were sharing the Onion story about the Abortionplex, apparently mistaking it for a real news story and expressing their outrage. Yelp reviewers with pretty dark senses of humor have taken the prank a step further, reviewing the place as if it were a restaurant or a club.

Merchants who want more control over their reputations occasionally clash with Yelp, and some of that frustration is seen in this expletive-laden Tumblr that features some of the more inane reviews posted to the site. "wtf, try to go to Langers on the day after Thanksgiving, and it is CLOSED!" writes one outraged Yelper.