On How to Have a Good Meal at a Bad Restaurant

Can You Eat Decently in an Indecent Restaurant?
by Tyler Cowen
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/02/magazine/29mag-food-issue.html#/restaurants

The Ethic Dining Scene in Washington, DC

Ethnic Goes Exurban
by Tyler Cowen
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101416.html

How Often Does the Average American Eat Out

I since one statistic that says the average American eats 80 restaurant meals a year.  [I do not know what counts as a "restaurant."]

Zagat's says that the average American eats out 3.1 times per week.

Any others?

Blind Dining

"Opaque's Dining in the Dark is precisely what the name implies.  A three-course meal served in a pitch-black room with an added twist - the entire wait staff is blind or vision-impaired.  There are no candles or runway lights, not even an illuminated emergency exit - just 25 or 30 fearless foodies engaged in an experiment of the palate and psyche...Blame it on Jorge Spielmann, a blind minister who in 1999 opened his 60-seat Blindekuh (Blind Cow) restaurant in an abondoned Zurich church.  The idea caught on, with spinoffs appearing in Berling, Brussels, paris and London."

Dining Here Brings a Whole New Meaning to the Blind Date
by Arnie Cooper
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113641656074537960.html

On Prix Fixe Dining

"Contrary to what some diners might think, going for the prix fixe isn't always a bargain.  Indeed, these menus can cost 20% or more than ordering a la carte."

The Prix Fixe Is In
by Mike Spector
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116017187522585348-search.html

Gastronauts

"[They] are members of a billowing fraternity in the Americna tourism industry: vacationers who plan their travels primarily - often solely - around food and wine.  They are, to coin a term, 'gastronauts.'"

Gastronauts, Shooting for the )Michelin) Stars
by Bryan Miller
http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/travel/02gastro.html

Sushi Restaurant Tips

*Just a few suppliers stock most of the sushi restaurants in any given city.
*Spicy tuna rolls are often a way to disguise less-than-top quality.
*Most restaurants do not receive fresh fish on the weekend, so it is certain to be less fresh than on other days.  In some places, Monday is even worse.
*Unpopular restaurants may not have enough turnover to have fresh fish.

The Raw Truth
by G. Bruce Knecht
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114324388013407970.html

Restaurants Cherry-Pick Parties by Size

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/bc-rcp050911.php

Kliman on Visiting a Restaurant When Slammed

Todd Kliman: Going at an off-time is, generally, a good piece of advice for all restaurant-going.There are exceptions: I know of a couple of restaurants that tend to slack when it's not slammed, and things suffer. These are places that hum along when it's crazy-busy and everything tends to fall into place; it's as though they need the frenetic pace to function the way they should.Most places, however— and the vast majority of the nicer restaurants in this or any city, I should point out— are better when they're not as busy. If you hit a well-regarded place at the start of service on a Monday or Tuesday night, you are sometimes the only couple in the dining room— or one of only a few for the first hour of service. It's a little like having a personal chef— a personal chef, who also comes with a personal staff. A total focus on you and your dinner.Great cooking is about precision, and it's a lot easier for the cooks to zone in on your dishes and get all the details right when they're not slammed with other orders.And great service is about devotion and pampering. Again, a lot easier to deliver when there are fewer tables to keep watch over.

http://www.washingtonian.com/chats/restaurants/16873.html

Pay-What-You-Want Restaurants

http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/06/17/pay_what_you_can_restaurants/index.html

Conflict Kitchen

http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/2010/05/restaurants-in-everything-conflict.html

Top 50 Restaurants

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/27/fifty.best.restaurants/index.html