Originally Posted by
Seated in First
If you ask your hotel concierge/front desk person/someone at your client site/a flight attendant on your inbound flight/someone on the street/WWW for a decent, local casual place far more often than not you'll find somewhere that'll surprise you. It has been a long time since someone said, 'well to be honest the best place here is Chilis!'. Sure the local joints aren't always winners but that's probably 1/20 where I feel I wouldn't go back.
When I ask a hotel clerk etc. for a restaurant recommendation, I always phrase the question as "What's a good restaurant, not a chain, that you like to go to with your friends" or something similar. If I want a slightly more formal place, I might ask a young clerk "how about a place where you'd take your parents out for a special dinner"? More often than not, they'll have a place in mind, or will ask their fellow employees - the consensus often results in a good recommendation.
