for an update, just got back from Lyon. 8 days of oysters and fois gras and haut cuisine. did not gain a pound. great place. no tourists. very few english speakers.

it is pretty obvious in the usa, that there are at least 10 chain restaurants to every non chain(don't know what else to call them) and about 100 chain restaurants to every tablecloth restaurant that america votes chain is the way to go.

i live abroad so when i visit home on the top of my list are visiting popeyes chicken, taco bell, wingstop, in n out burger, etc

The "finer" places tend to be just a bit too rich to the point I can feel my cholesterol level rising. That said, in places with a strong foodie culture like MSY mentioned by an earlier poster, why would anyone eat at Ruth's Chris or Emeril's when you can goto Bayona?

Whataburger does it for me after long excursions away... Really hits the spot sometimes while too frequently feels meh. Like In-N-Out or Popeyes after extended absences. Or even Costco polish dogs.

The touristy places also rankle me. Case in point is Arthur Bryant's in MCI. Jack's Stack and Oklahoma Joe's aren't far behind either. Either skating by on reputation, too damn crowded to justify the wait, or poor value like Willie Mae's Scotch House.

Taco Hell is simply bad IMO - Taco Bueno is much better with their salsa bar!

POTD :-:

There is something to be said for cheap fast food.

Make friends with Anthony Bourdain.

Get some Pho in Ho Chi Min City, fresh barnacles in the Azores, and some Franklin barbecue in Austin. Desire reborn!

I feel the OP. I've got one more fancy dinner when back in London to close off the year which will make a somewhat ridiculous 27 Michelin stars this year.

London's one of the world's culinary capitals, yet when I'm asked for a restaurant which I really love I tend to draw a bit of a blank (St John's, the Ledbury..). Maybe it's the body's self-defence mechanism telling us to chill the hell out and stop going out so much. We become accustomed to quality in general, which is an expensive acclimitisation to have.

You know, I've been wondering about this myself, though I'm not sure it just applied to fine dining for me.

I used to get a buzz out of eating at 'fancy' places and drinking expensive wines and spirits, all up to the point where I even splashed out on a meal at Al Mahara at the Burj Al-Arab.

The thing is though now I'm not sure whether I've just become a snob or the places I've been eating just haven't been up to scratch. I always manage to nitpick and find something that I dislike and overall I feel lesser for the experience and far lighter in the wallet. I've found the same thing has also occurred with some of the premium travel I've been doing - I'm just not blown away by anything anymore.

However, I've always been able to appreciate good cheap food - especially street food - and I've come to the conclusion that you're able to appreciate things more when you've paid so much less for them and they've far exceeded your expectations...

I don't know, just my two cents but this topic definitely caught my eye because I thought it was just me becoming a snob

i think im going to have to add cooking as second hobby after luxury travel.

because im tired of restaurants in general.
quality control just isnt there. ive read about problems at the most expensive places.

jozdemir, there are hotels you cant get via points that should blow you away if youll pay for them.

It's funny how it can also work the other way. I was told I knew more about where to eat in Atlanta than the people that lived there. They'd ask me to choose.

Really? Come hang out in SF. You will never get tired of fine dining. Even the burgers are delicious.