How to Choose a Restaurant

Restaurants liberate you from the task of preparing your own food, but it is better to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at home than bad food at a restaurant. Nothing makes you sicker than paying good money for bad food.
These are the most important criteria:

If the restaurant does not look clean, the kitchen is probably worse. Skip it. If you cannot smell the food cooking, they are going to serve you leftovers or something that is not fresh. Skip it. If there are no people sitting at the tables, the food is probably bad, the service is terrible, the restaurant is expensive, or there is some reason why the local residents avoid it. You should too.

Other factors in choosing a restaurant:

• Price range - Good food should not break the bank. You should enjoy the food without having to regret the expense.
  
  
• Variety - If you go with other people, the menu should offer a variety of dishes to satisfy the taste of all the guests.
  
  
• Value - Some restaurants have servings that are so small that they do not satisfy your hunger. You probably will not go back to those places. Other restaurants give you so much food that you cannot possibly eat all your serving. Don't hesitate to ask for a carry out container for your leftovers if the food was good.
  
  
• Parking - Before you can eat, you have to get there. Make sure that there is parking space for your car close by. If necessary, call the restaurant and ask where you can park and whether they validate parking. You may also want to know if they have valet parking.
  
  
• Reservations - Don't forget to make reservations if they are required. Call ahead to find out, specially if you are planning to dine out during a holiday or a weekend when the restaurants are more crowded.
  
  
• Special requests - Is the restaurant staff responsive to special requests? Find out if you can order low-salt dishes, no MSG, vegetarian, etc. This is important if you or one of your party has allergies or special dietary needs.

Sometimes, you can find a good restaurant if you just follow your nose. When I was attending a conference in Santa Cruz, California, some members of our group were walking by a downtown street when we got a whiff of a delicious aroma. It was close to supper time, and we decided to follow the scent to see where it would lead us. After a couple of blocks, we ended up in an alley where an exhaust fan was the source of the smell. We went around the corner to the front of the building, and found a bar that was having a "happy hour" featuring Mexican tacos with chopped grilled meat piled on freshly made corn tortillas complemented by a zesty salsa. It was a delicious and memorable serendipitous experience.