Originally Posted by dannyr
I've always followed this dining rule when visiting foreign or interstate cities. I visit a supermarket, be it inner city or suburban, and simply ask a staff member "where can I get a good meal?".
Why ? Simple. You don't get the $500 a steak restaurants that are in the tourist guides, and get honest opinions and information from locals.
Think about this - is your favourite restaurant in your town in the local tourist guide ? Mine certainly isn't.
New Yorker columnist Calvin Trillin would do something similar: he said that when traveling and unsure where to eat he would hail a taxi and ask the driver to imagine that he was about to leave town tomorrow and not return for ten years. If so, what place would the cabbie visit one last time, and what would he eat? After the cab driver named a restaurant and a dish, Trillin would simply say, "take me there." According to Trillin, he was rarely taken anyplace fancy but he almost always got an exceptional meal.
And if you haven't enjoyed Trillin's hilarious "Tummy Trilogy" of food-related books --
American Fried,
Alice Let's Eat and
Third Helpings -- get thee to a bookstore (or website) and find them.