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I don’t travel all that often, but when I do I have a rule – I’m going to eat at one truly local restaurant.  If I’m going to be in a different city for a day or more, I want to try some local food.  Part of it probably has to do with the fact that food at its best is art.  I’m not talking about presentation art (although sometimes it is), but the art of blending subtle flavors and producing something that’s truly exceptional.  The other part has to do with the basic reality that I have to eat.  As long as I have to eat anyway, and I’m not going to be cooking myself, I might as well turn at least one of my meals into a (hopefully) memorable experience.

The real trick is finding a good restaurant.  Sometimes this means asking the people I’m visiting where the good food is.  Sometimes this means asking a gas station attendant or two.  Sometimes I’m just driving down the road and I see a place that looks interesting.

My basic criteria when making my selection are:

  • Local – Like I said, I’m really looking for something that’s a non-chain (or an extremely localized chain that I don’t have where I live) restaurant.
  • Not A Burger Joint – If all a place has is burgers and fries, they’re off my list unless they’ve got something really special.  Everybody has burgers and fries; I want something different.
  • The More “Mom & Pop” The Better – Small family restaurants are more likely to have real “house specials”, and frequently have better service.
  • A Reasonable Price Range – Sometimes this is hard to guess without seeing a menu, but as a general rule I’m not looking for a high-society experience.  I’d like to get out of this experience with my wallet mostly intact.

Once I pick a restaurant, I walk in and take a look around.  If it looks like what I was expecting I get seated, get a menu, and give the menu a quick scan.  Here’s the short list of what I’m looking for:

  • House Specials – Most restaurants have some clue about what they do well, and promote it accordingly.  These are usually labeled as “house specialties”, “signature dishes”, or something of that nature.
  • Traditional Ethnic Foods – I like to try traditional foods.  I figure that it broadens my horizons, and exposes me to new cultures and culinary techniques.  For example, I was at a Mexican restaurant a few months back that had “platanos fritos” (fried bananas).  I had no idea if I’d like it, but I got it because it’s a very traditional ethnic dish. It was amazing.  Even having the same dish at different restaurants can be enlightening, because everybody prepares it slightly differently (sometimes entirely differently!)
  • Things I Haven’t Tried – If I’ve always wanted to try a particular dish, and they have it, that makes the short list.  The number of food items I haven’t tried is getting smaller all the time, so restaurants that serve them are getting harder to come by.
  • Things That I Expect To Be Good – This is location-specific, and I can’t overstate this enough.  You want to consider the cuisine of the region you’re in, and the cuisine that the restaurant specializes in.  Order accordingly.  Expecting a good stir fry at a mom & pop restaurant in the Wisconsin northwoods will only result in tears, I promise you.  Ordering the beer cheese soup on the other hand, that’s probably a winner.
  • Things I Don’t Make At Home – The best example of this that I have is tamales.  I love the things, but they’re so much of a pain to make at home that I never do – largely because you have to make dozens or hundreds of them at once.  This is perfect restaurant food.  An anti-example is toast.  I can’t bring myself to order toast at a restaurant.  I can have it at home any time I want, with zero real work involved, so I don’t pay premium prices for it at restaurants.  If it comes with a meal, I try to swap it for a pancake or any other side dish.  I also prefer side dishes that require some preparation (cole slaw, hash browns, etc.) because they’re harder for me to make myself and are therefore more of a treat.
  • Portion Size – This doesn’t have to be huge, but some restaurants have certain items where you get a good portion size, and some where you get next to nothing.  I’d prefer to get a good portion size – I can always take leftovers home if its too much.

That usually whittles the options down to a couple of choices.  If I’m having any trouble deciding, I go to my last selection criteria:

  • Waiter/Waitress Recommendations – If I’m having trouble deciding, I ask the waiter if either of the options I’m looking at is particularly good.  They usually give you good advice, or admit that they don’t know.  After all, they have an interest in making sure I like the food I get, as they tend to get better tips when customers are happy.  No waiter wants a customer to be unhappy with the food they recommended.

I then order my food, usually with water to drink, and enjoy my meal.

At best, you have a fantastic meal and a great story to tell your friends & family – possibly even the starting point of a new recipe to try yourself.  At worst, you have a poor meal and learn that you don’t like that restaurant or type of food. I find that usually these experiences tend toward “best” more than they do “worst”, but sometimes the worst ones still give you a fun story you can tell your friends.

Any way you look at it, I pretty much guarantee it’ll be more memorable that grabbing your standard order at the drive-thru.  Just keep your send of humor, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and enjoy the adventure!

Do you have a fun story about dining out, on the road or in your hometown?  Maybe just a restaurant (and the city it’s in!) to suggest?  Sound off in the comments!