Tourist traps…

[Panhandler80]

So, I’ve lived in a town my entire 41 years of life. And my two-year-old will now be fifth generation from this county.

As such I never bothered to go to very many restaurants, I also catch and kill Lotta good stuff. But there is one particular restaurant here in town has been in business for 80 years and is raved about nation wide, so last night we decide to try it.

Fair.

Service was amazing!

Perhaps I should’ve gone red meat. My boat is not done yet and I’ve been craving some seafood. We all ordered the food and I’m sorry it was a little bit disappointing.

Has anybody else out there waited 40 years to try a local favorite and then get disappointed and your own town?

The good news is our two-year-old had a blast. It was very expensive and not that good.

 

[Panhandler80]

Here are my two seafood meals in my kitchen, Probably ate dinner is worth and combined cost less than 1/3 of last night.

And yes we have to eat tomatoes with everything. So many damn tomatoess

 

[Panhandler80]

I’m not trying to brag because I have no reason to. But in any community you can play your cards right and become friends with people who have boats like I have done. You can have your own garden. You can buy select things the grocery store. And not spend 250 ******* dollars on some nasty fish with tourist everywhere. I’m just a little bit disappointed

 

[Panhandler80]

Again, the service was wonderful. Wonderful wonderful wonderful and they were very efficient. I was just a little bit disappointed and haven’t heard about it my whole life that’s all. And there it’s run by a bunch of great great people. The foods just wasn’t all that great.

 

[Panhandler80]

I lied. The salad and the martini and the desserts were fantastic.

 

[Panhandler80]

Anyway, I figured I’d come here to bitch seeing as though nobody here will trace it back to where I ate. I

 

[Billy Goat]

I generally think I can cook stuff better than most restaurants, however I go there so I don't need to cook.

It's the experience, rarely just for the food.
Except good bbq.

 

[5MilesBack]

I did see where the plant based meat crowd is now working on plant based seafood. Maybe you got some of that. Kind of like Subway's tuna, which recently was shown to not have any tuna DNA in it at all.

 

[def90]

Sounds like you went to Casa Bonita. How were the cliff divers?

 

[slvrslngr]

41 years in the same town? I can’t even comprehend that. One thing I love about moving around is finding the hidden gems wherever we are. That’s said, moving sucks.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Hey neighbor,
I'm just to your west over here in Baldwin co.
I have found that my favorite places with the best food
are little holes in the wall that the tourists dont know about.
Every time I go to one thats supposed to be awesome, it
turns out ho-hum and not a place I have to go back.
We have 3 places we go regular, one for chicken, one for fish and one for steak. Every time I try a new place, I regret it.
And my wife can make a meal better than any restaurant.
Stuff out of the garden is good too!!!

And the tourists.......another reason I do not like Summer.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I have found in my travels if there is advertising for a restaurant don't go. The really good ones don't need to advertise and they are usually hard to find, think in an alley, not great side of town, on the marsh side of the island...YMMV

 

[Mike Islander]

NYT raved about a country BBQ place 1.5 hours from us here in SC. We went and tried it. Ambiance was pure run down country. Food was C+. Locals know what good food is, not city folks from 1000 miles away.

 

[BroodBuster]

I’ve been to most major cities in the US and always eat out when traveling and finding great restaurants is easy. Pick a neighborhood and wander aimlessly about. While checking out menus poke your head inside and check it out. Is it filled with locals or tourists? Mom and pop or a corporate vibe? Is the Italian restaurant being run by Italians? Is some lady in back barking orders in Korean at the Korean restaurant?

To me it’s a form of scouting a new city and has led to some of my most memorable travel experiences. We once found a Ukrainian restaurant in the UN district. Damn those folks know how to eat and drink! I still don’t know what was being celebrated but an hour meal turned into a three hour party!

Seafood is always tricky and I tend to avoid. I’ve got all the salmon, cod, oysters etc in my backyard and it’s very rare that a restaurant can match my ingredients and skill when it comes to seafood. If there’s no local seafood or direct daily flights from Ak or Seattle don’t even go down the seafood road.

A few red flags that are a hard no. Any place that has been on the food network or has a NY Times review posted next to the menu. Keep walking. The food may be fine but it will be crowded and overpriced. Before heading out I like to ask the concierge if they have any vouchers or recommendations. This is the easiest way to know what places to avoid.

 

[Hhardrockminer]

We have triedm the DDD places, not all that good find your own places, GUY sends you to not so good of a place but says GREAT FOOD, NOT FOUND ANY YET

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

On road trips, I look for sheriffs and state trooper cars in restaurant parking lots. They tend to know where to find the good local grub.

 

[Panhandler80]

Last nights brown butter grouper piccata In my kitchen. Seafood in a restaurant is definitely a gamble you’re gonna lose more times than not. I caught grouper’s and the tomatoes and basil came out of the backyard. Indescribably better than what we had at the restaurant