New City - Do u Plan ahead where to eat or do you Wing it ?
 

When i visited NYC earlier this year, i did my research on where to eat etc but when it came down to it, i ended up eating wherever looked good when i was hungry. Was not disappointed once.

When you visit a new city for the first time, do you plan ahead and stick strictly to where you planned to eat ?

or do you play it by ear and wing it ?

unless well recommended by friends, i'd just wing it.... the time to look for a place certainly isnt worth to go for specific places all the time- however i do (try to) look for local places ie not too touristy.

I usually wing it. But, I'll have an idea of what type of place I'd like to eat beforehand, depending on the city. For example, on my first trip to Montreal, I wanted to eat at a good bistro.... which I did.

I love to do that kind of research and use www.chowhound.com alot! I also check with friends. Just got off a cruise and friends suggested Hemingways in Grand Cayman for a spectacular burger - it took a cab ride but it was definitely worth it!!!

I do both. Depends on the city, my mood and whether we have research on it. Also obviously what type place I am going to. We is my wife and I. She doesnt travel much but loves picking restaurants for me. I also pick some on my own. I was even mentioned in a book a friend of mine wrote about something else for my stellar picks, although my wife should get almost all the credit for that.

depends on the purpose of the trip and the schedule
 

Sometimes, I make a point of searching out iDine restaurants if I know I'll be in town long enough to be able to find one of them. If traveling with friends we'll often seek out a fine dining establishment to check out. I am always interested in reading what locals say about dining in their area -- I too find chowhound good for this purpose. But in the end it does often seem like when the tummy grumbles, we'll inevitably stop at the first place we pass that looks good -- and we are rarely disappointed. :)

No winging here - I do a lot of research on dining options before I go somewhere new.

Depends. In a big city I would probably wing it figuring there's tons of good stuff.

In a smaller place I may spend some time finding a decent place if it's the wife and I and we are looking for good food, if it's just me I'll probably look for grocery stores instead.

I like to research a few great restaurants and leave the rest to improvisation.

For research, I use chowhound for local favorites, Zagat's (esp. top picks in the "best food" category), and friends' recs- and mix and match these recommendations to identify a upscale luxe restaurant, a casual local joint, etc.

I never make a reservation for the first night because I inevitably feel like taking it easy when I arrive somewhere new.

Most of my travel is pretty spur-of-the-moment, so I almost always wing-it. If there's a highly recommended place, I'll try to get a reservation, but I usually don't have time.

I always check out what restaurants are part of Rewards Network, but after that I just wing it unless I going to a city that is famous for its food. Chicago for Pizza, for example.

A combination of both. Even if it's not picking a particular place, I will look into what the city is "known" for food-wise, i.e., pizza in Chicago.

I agree ... we spend so much time to find a good airfare and hotel deal that we don't think it's worth spending the time to research restaurants as well ...

Depends on where I'm at, how long I'm going to be there, and who I'm with. Spent about a week in Jupiter, FL recently w/ my wife and some close friend and did some research-it was well worth the time and effort. Found some fantastic places.

But if I'm by myself on biz in a dinky little town for 1 or 2 nights-I'll look for the cleanest, non-greasy spoon type of place.

If I'm going to a place like NYC or San Francisco, recommendations from friends and good research can really make the dining a great experience.

Chowhound and Zagats are pretty good starts. If I see a good recommendation on multiple sites, I feel that it's a good chance of being worthwhile.

I always enjoy finding at least one new place to eat out when I'm traveling to some place new. It makes the trip that much more interesting if the rest of my meals are at fast food joints or restaurants I've been to before (chains or local).

On my trip to Argentina next week, I'm doing a little of both - planning a few nice meals (Sunday brunch, NY Eve dinner). I'm doing a lot of meails though on the spur of the moment.