I almost never go to a restaurant to eat food I can easily prepare at home. So, even if I go to a diner, I refuse to get a tuna melt. I’ll get a gyro or something.
Price is a major concern, I am on a very strict budget. However as far as things I will pay good money for should the proper occaision arise, food is probably my #1 splurge item. I never go to Applebee’s type places unless there is literally no other option. (almost everything there falls under the “could make it easily at home” category). Most of the restaurants where I live are very overpriced for the quality.
My wife and I are big on spicy food. If we want to try a new restaurant (we live in the DC area), we’ll generally troll the Washingtonian’s Cheap Eats section, which tends heavily toward Mexican, Thai, Indian, etc. restaurants.
For me, its a question of who I’m going out with and what we are in the mood for.
If I’m going out with the boy, we decide what type of food we’re in the mood for, and choose accordingly.
If it’s friends, we choose the place with the widest variety of stuff.
If it’s people from work, we choose by what place is still open, has a bar with decent drinks, and that accepts credit cards (at least one person has to use a check card or credit card). Usually, we go to the little place across the street–they have good drinks, good atmosphere, and we get a discount for where we work.