This post is not specific to a restaurant or food, but I think it’s important enough to write about. When I first moved to NYC and started really ‘eating’, I was horrible at picking dishes when dining out. I was going to the most fabulous restaurants and friends were ooh-ing and aah-ing over their dishes while I was left underwhelmed. I realized I wasn’t ordering the right dishes.
I haven’t mastered the art of ordering by any means, but I have gotten much better and now have about a 90% success rate. A few pointers on what I’ve learned:
– Unless it’s a restaurant you go to often, don’t order the ‘unique’ dishes that have little to do with the rest of the menu
– Along the same lines (and I think Anthony Bourdain emphasizes this heavily in one of his books), steer clear of the specials menu. There is a reason the dish isn’t on the regular menu.
– Do your research. I’ll usually do a quick search on my iPhone (yelp and foursquare are my preferred resources because they will tell you what dishes are most talked about) and see what’s good. I don’t always trust what other’s say but it can push me to order a dish that I was already thinking about.
– Ask your server’s opinion. You can always tell by the *way* they respond if they’re knowledgeable or not about the menu. If they sound knowledgeable, then I will probably take their recommendation. This is particularly useful when deciding between two dishes.
– Be open minded. If the it’s the restaurant’s signature dish and everybody and their mom is raving about it, you should probably give it a go.
Not to say there aren’t exceptions to these rules – I ordered a special from Gradisca last night that turned out to be a home run (Waygu filet mignon with truffle sauce), but as a general rule, stick with what the establishment is known for.
Any other tips on how to choose from the menu?
