One of my favorite local restaurants never has any daily specials. I wish they would. Although they have great food, they have a relatively small menu, and I find myself going somewhere else occasionally because I get a little bored with their menu.

I used to think that daily specials were primarily so that chefs could take advantage of some unusual or less often available fresh items or could use their creativity to come up with something other than what is on the standard menu.
As a result, I have often been drawn to look at the daily specials when I go to a new restaurant or one I go to infrequently.

Then I read an article that says many restaurants use daily specials just to get rid of leftovers or use up food that would expire. Uh-oh. So are daily specials really special or just a gimmick? Probably some of both and I guess you have to know the restaurant to distinguish.