Rule 1: For good value, avoid high-rent areas. Head for your local strip mall instead. Restaurants in ritzy areas will be either expensive or chains that can afford the rent but serve mediocre food for the masses. Dupont has everything working against it. It's hip, it's easy to get to and attracts a lot of young people with disposable income. The result: High rents and food that has to be only good enough not to drive people away. In contrast, at an off-the-beaten track strip-mall joint, the food has to be good to keep people coming back...It is also a good sign to be in a strip mall without an "anchor" store such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy: That drives up rents.
Rule 2: Look for competition. The best ethnic food is found where there are teh greatest number of restaurants, which is usually a sign that there is a large immigrant population that the restaurants can draw on for labor and expertise.
Rule 3: Order strategically. In fancy restaurants, never ask, "What should I get?" The waiter might have incentives to push the dish with the highest profit margin or the most expensive items, which will jack up the tip. Instead, ask, "What's best?" That allows the waiter to highlight what's special and reveals how informed that staff is. In ethnic restaurants, in contrast, asking what's best often gets you the most watered-down dishes, designed for gringos. Instead, at a Salvadoran restaurant, for example, look at what Salvadoran diners have ordered and ask for the same.
Rule 4: Know the restaurant cycle. When it comes to fine dining, restaurants have a shelf life: First they cook for the critics, and it's wonderful. And they win awards and the word gets out. Then everyone starts to come and it becomes mainstream. The chef is less concerned about developing a reputation and more about cooking for the masses. That can happen in as little as nice months...
An Economist's Palate, Applied to Dining Around DC
by Jane Black
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/07/AR2007080700422.html
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Do you agree? I strongly support the rules 1, 2, and 4 (for Washington food scene - for instnace, Rule 1 does not apply to NYC or Tokyo, I think).
Well, as for the Rule 4, your pick for dinner this evening will prove it to be correct :)
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