IMO you can tell by the interaction with the server whether his/her recommendation are earnest, or merely passing off the more popular dish.

i.e., ask at quality restaurants, and dont even bother at touristed joints or a run of the mill restaurant.

what i hate is "mmm... they're both good" or "well... one's lamb and one's beef". yes, thanks for the clarification--i can read, but when i ask for suggestion, i am truly ambivalent am inviting you to make that virtually-coinflip, binary, decision for me....


...and over the years, ive really come to appreciate *fine service*. not talking the stuffy service with 8 servers coming to your table to synchronously open the serving tray for all the guests (looking at you, waterside inn)..... but smart, discreet waitstaff that balance friendliness, assertiveness, and self-dignity. (a bit of gemutlichkeit/hygge for the europeans.) this quality in a server really is an art