I agree to a large extent. In my 20s I was all about the Michelin stars or this rating and that rating and I did my fair share of those kinds of places. Now in my 30s I find that I am tiring of the fussy pretentious places that are ridiculously expensive but lack the value proposition. I now prefer holes in the wall or simpler place which offer a nice ambiance, a reasonable if not inexpensive menu using quality ingredients in a simple way.

I still enjoy a fine dining meal from time to time but I also tailor my expectations to the quality, and price, point of the restaurant I am going to.

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Yes.... alas, its important to learn to manage expectations and keep the food critic hat at home when pertinent... this allows you to fully enjoy a wider range of eats... from street fare to the most formal 3 star establishments.

I grew up going to some very fine restaurants and when I spend time with my successful parents, I get to eat some great meals. However, I'm lucky that I am able to enjoy a very wide variety of foods. One of my favorite places to go is a local Mongolian BBQ place where you build your own stir fry.

Plus, I'm not a very good cook so what I make has to be simple, yet I love to prepare dinner at home, especially now that I live with my girlfriend. It's keeping me grounded.

I've experienced something similar though not quite the same. I call it the mediocre $80 dinner for 2. There are several places in our area where we can get an excellent meal for 2 for $100-125. There are also quite a few places where we can get excellent ethnic food - Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Thai - for about $50. But then there are a whole bunch of places that serve ordinary mediocre same-o same-o dinners for $80. I try to avoid that middle ground.

I think many people go "full circle" and end up becoming disenchanted about the lottery of eating out and learn to produce excellent food at home.

It also seems to me that the best food often seems to be the food provided to working people on the streets - as an earlier poster said - hawker food in Singapore being an example.

In my view if you are fortunate enough to buy in fine dining restaurants then spending cash on extraordinary ingredients prepeared with love and care at home is worth the learning of how to cook well.

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bravo!!!

Not me.

I enjoy a lavish meal as much as the next guy, but after a bunch of them in a condensed time (work or vacation trips, especially), I cannot wait to get home and have something basic like a sandwich. In fact, the more "nice" meals I have, the more I want something simple.

The big thing for me is quality, not price.

I love fine dining as much as the next foodie, but I also appreciate a well-done burger, or my mom's mac and cheese. Whatever you do, whatever your price point, do it well. Use quality ingredients and make it taste GOOD. I don't care if I'm at a 3 star Michelin restaurant having an elaborate tasting menu, or the neighbourhood dive bar having fries and a beer.

A perfect example: while in Edinburgh I treated myself to a fantastic tasting menu at the Number One restaurant at the Balmoral hotel. Was it fabulous? Oh god yes it was. A few days later I was in Kirkwall at a neighbourhood pub and in absolute raptures over their cheap but delicious and perfectly cooked burger made with local beef. Enjoying one shouldn't preclude you from loving the other!

It may be because I love food. I have been to many Michelin star/fancy schmancy places in my lifetime. But I still love a great bowl of japanese noodles, indian curry & rice, a good burger, or a sausage & beer. In fact, I think some of the more "comfort foods" are better than some of the foods that take hours of labor to make. I was once eating at a Michelin 2-star restaurant, and I thought that a good chicken tikka masala and aromatic basmati rice would taste better than the restaurant's food. But the Michelin star-restaurant was definitely more interesting, more refined, and a better overall dining experience. I can go from both fancy to down-home, but I can appreciate both.

My wife has just reminded me that when I "lived" in 5 star hotels and ate rather well - every day - that I learned to make snacks on the bedside tea maker (frankfurters, peas and instant mash being a speciality) because I couldn't face the restauirant anymore and dressing up. And when I came home what seemed to hit the spot was a meat pie with gravy followed by an apple pie and custard.

Rather sadly, travel now is all about finding the cheapest and best street food - anywhere.

Very true. ^ I've reached that point too, very little interest in the bells and whistles of a 'fine dining' experience but I crave great food well cooked.

My wife is an excellent cook and we eat well at home also, but as another poster mentioned, often times you have to give your due to the professionals. One of our recent favorite dishes was Qabali Seviyan from Moti Mahal. The recipe is on the internet but I don't think we could possibly duplicate it, let alone find all the ingredients in our small town.

I sure hope you mean "well-prepared." Because if you are referring to the internal temperature of the beef, then you have lost all foodie cred!

I completely empathise with that quote. When I go to e.g. New York or Paris, I have a long "hit list" of places I want to eat at and always have some outstanding experiences. This also adds to the sense of occasion when on my travels.

However, I don't see the point of trying to go out for "cheap eats" in London as it's always atrocious/way too expensive for what you get. There are some good restaurants here, but you end up paying through the nose and I've still to find the reasonably priced neighbourhood restaurant where I can get a decent meal for little money. Most of the restaurants in London I've been to end up straddling the terrible middleground of being semi-expensive and serving bad food... That's why I tend to eat out at great places around the world, but I would find it difficult to suggest good restaurants in London and instead tend to scour the markets and cook myself.

This is one of those threads which keeps me coming back to FT.

I am surprised, however, that no one has brought up the fact that one has little control over salt content and other additives when dining out. I�m very careful about my use of salt and fat, for example - but many restaurants make up for a lack of technique and/or flavor by overusing such items. This is one of several reasons I truly enjoy dining and cooking at home.

Let me first state that I like to cook - and I cook a variety of Austrian and American-style dishes (nothing overly complicated or time-consuming however except on rare occasions).

Because I travel a lot (like all of us here) I do tend to try to find more unusual local restaurants at my various destinations. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming into a steak house chain (Mortons, Ruth Chris, etc.) . Instead, I try to find out what the local specialties are and where the locals go.

Just a few weeks ago, one of the better meals I had in Prague (Allegro was the best dining experience there) was in a low-end restaurant called Lokal. Not pretentious at all, not expensive either (dinner for 2 with appetizers, main courses, dessert, and Bier was ca. $30 plus gratuity) - but the food was made with passion.

Someone mentioned "passion" earlier in this thread and I think that is what seals the deal for me. Passion can be evidenced in very simple dishes as well as in more complex ones and the price tag doesn�t necessarily even begin to mean that there is true passion behind the dish being served.

At this point, the buzzer in the kitchen is ringing so I must attend to the stove and broiler I suppose. But I will continue to follow this thread with great interest.