Restaurant hunting: Navigating review sites

I'm a big food nerd. I love food. Eating it, making it, talking, reading, and writing about it. So when it's date night, or even that not-so-random Tuesday evening when I'm just not feeling the kitchen, I choose my dining experience carefully. I've been known to plan a date night around a restaurant I've been researching for weeks. I take it very seriously.

Usually I hear of a place in a magazine. I read the New York Times style section, Gourmet, and Bon Apetit on the reg and try and look in to the places mentioned from time to time. Often I'll just be walking past a place and check out their menu. Then comes the real question: How do I know if it's going to be good?

I usually have two approaches: the New York Times reviews or review websites like Yelp! Both have their upsides and downsides. Here are some useful tips from my trials of restaurant research:

1. When reading the New York Times reviews take it with a grain of salt. The food critics are often pretentious, trite, and eat better than most of us could possibly dream. Use it as a starting point. Just because Mr. Fancypants did not like the newest steakhouse in town, does not mean you will dislike it.
2. Check out more than one review website. Three is a good amount. My personal favorites include Yelp!, Citysearch, and New York Magazine for all restaurants New York. The more you research the truer review you will find.
3. On each website read more than two reviews. Some times people write reviews out of spite and trash a restaurant just because the one time they went it was bad. (There is a such thing as a second chance). Or sometimes it is a fake a review and there' is someone out there who wants a restaurant to go down. Sad, but it happens.
4. Note the helpful things people have to say. Restaurants do not always have websites so you can find out in advance through someone's review that the restaurant is cash only, or that it is a good place to have a birthday party, or they are not family friendly. While food and service is important, eating out is a whole package. Showing up with 2-yr old triplets to a NO STROLLERS sign could put a damper on your evening.

Everyone has their own method of finding that next great dinner out on the town, hopefully these tips will help you pick your next one. And do not forget to pay it forward. Next time you have a top notch meal take a minute to write about why it was so great and hopefully you will make someone elses meal.

Do it yourself: Meal

If you were to think of you top ten favorite memories, in all of your lifetime, how many of them invovle a meal shared with friends and family? I can think of at least three, all of which involve some delicious fair, free flowing wine (or not) and lots of laughter.

In fast-food, fast-pace modern day America it is no surprise that most Americans do not take the time to cook a meal for themselves. It should also come as no surprise then that "only one state, Colorado had a prevelance of obesity less than 20%," according to the CDC. That means at least a quarter of Americans are considered obese. And as we are learning more and more, obesity is a precursor to Western diseases like Type 2 diabetes, and increases one's chances of having a stroke. I could continue to throw statistics at you and preach about the ills of fast food, but I do not really feel like doing that.

Instead I want to write about the positives of cooking your own meal. First and foremost, it is rewarding to know you created someting that can sustain you. It can be a challenge, no doubt (I have cringed at having to toss out $25 of burnt salmon) but setting reasonable goals in the beginning will result in edible benefits.

Cooking your own meal, and I mean from scratch here not Kraft Macaroni and cheese, usually means you know what you are eating. Even if you make your own burger you know where you bought the ground beef; whether it is grass-fed or not, whether the buns are from your grocery store or your tomatoes are from a local farm. Just making that simple decision means you know what you are putting in your body. You may be thinking, "I know I bought a Big Mac," but you might not know that, that a Big Mac is primarily made up of derivatives of processed corn that has had almost every single nutrient stripped out of it.

Of course, making a meal from scratch does not have to be a loner process. In fact, it is much better for you and your social life to involve others. Cooking and eating with others is an ancient act that has gone one, well, since we have. It is only natural. It is part of our culture as humans to learn cuisines from one another and rather tasty, I might add.

I am quite aware that we all have busy lives, but when you take a step back and look at the overall picture shouldn't we pay more attention to what we put in our mouths? Yes it takes time and effort to make a meal from scratch, but the reward is so much better than fast-food guilt. Cooking can and should be fun, especially with others. No, you will not get it right every time you try to make filet mignon or even a grilled cheese, but at the very least you will make a memory.