# You can always tell a great (kind of) restaurant by how they make (common food1) and (common food2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420 "2013-04-22T18:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/21 "2013-04-23T15:30:08Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not so sure about that. The restaurant that got me to start this thread didn’t have any Chinese diners. It was more the \*\*Early Bird Special \*\*crowd. And the food was amazing. If your chinese restaurant is serving balut, then I’d question their geography skills… ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/22 "2013-04-23T15:40:01Z")
For a greek place I’d say their baklava. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/23 "2013-04-23T16:59:02Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not so sure about that. The restaurant that got me to start this thread didn’t have any Chinese diners. It was more the Early Bird Special crowd. And the food was amazing. Definitely don’t mean to suggest that if Chinese people aren’t there in large numbers that it won’t be a good restaurant. Just that if there are then it is a good sign (though not a perfect one, I’ve had bad Chinese food in restaurants full of Chinese people). > [@](#): > > A lot of Italian restaurantsdon’t have antipasto. The ones that do usually just have a wedge of iceburg lettuce, a few slices of salami, and a few slices of provolone. Waste of good food. But a really good place will have a variety of cured meats, cheeses (in blocks, not sandwich slices), and marinated vegetables. It’s a playground for the senses. Yeah, I’ve had antipasto, but in Italy, not the states. I don’t eat mammals or raw tomatoes so your typical antipasto spread isn’t of much use to me. But when in Rome, I had a few group dinners with set menus and to simplify things I’d said I was vegetarian and the restaurants’ method of accommodating that was point me to the antipasto. Eggplant was in season. I ate a lot of grilled eggplant. In another category, with my meat limitations I have had more than my fair share of turkey burgers at burger joints. I can’t say for certain since I’ve never had the hamburger, but I contend that if you’re in a place that cares enough to produce a quality turkey burger (not dry, not over seasoned, not just the Sysco froken turkey patties put on the menu as a bone for non-beef people) then they almost certainly make a very good hamburger. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/24 "2013-04-23T17:23:11Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > I gauge “Mexican” restaurants on their Chile Rellenos, and country or “Southern” restaurants on their chicken fried steak and biscuits. I gauge good southern restaurants by their collards and by whatever BBQ they have. You can tell a bad southern restaurant by their biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/25 "2013-04-23T17:31:12Z")
At Italian restaurants I’m looking for something that doesn’t have their red sauce. How good is their pesto? Al Fredo? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/26 "2013-04-23T17:34:14Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not so sure about that. The restaurant that got me to start this thread didn’t have any Chinese diners. It was more the Early Bird Special crowd. And the food was amazing. And where was this? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/27 "2013-04-23T17:42:45Z")
If you’ve gone to a genuinely “great” Chinese restaurant and are ordering kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup, you’ve missed the point entirely. You might as well just go to Panda Express. Go with a Chinese person or find a table with a bunch of Chinese people talking Chinese and ask your waiter for whatever it is they’re having. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/28 "2013-04-23T17:46:27Z")
Steakhouse on their ribeye and house salad. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/29 "2013-04-23T17:51:06Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Is it compulsory that we do these threads every month? Yes. You can always tell a great kind of Cafe Society thread by how they do “You can always tell a great (kind of) restaurant by how they make (common food1) and (common food2)” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/30 "2013-04-23T18:00:57Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > And where was this? Golden Temple in Washington Square. Mind you, it’s not a very hip place, with a lot of innovation. It’s more like the kind of “old fashioned” place that you don’t find often anymore. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/31 "2013-04-23T18:02:43Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > If you’ve gone to a genuinely “great” Chinese restaurant and are ordering kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup, you’ve missed the point entirely. You might as well just go to Panda Express. I’ve gone to some great and authentic Chinese places before, and with Chinese people. There’s nothing like it. But sometimes I’m in the mood for Panda Express, only good. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/32 "2013-04-23T18:12:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Mind you, it’s not a very hip place, with a lot of innovation. It’s more like the kind of “old fashioned” place that you don’t find often anymore. Well, I’m not a very hip guy. You up for dinner one of these days? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/33 "2013-04-23T18:19:19Z")
My experience is that if a Mexican restaurant doesn’t have tamales on the menu, then the food is mediocre, typically at a franchise/fast food level. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/34 "2013-04-23T18:26:50Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Well, I’m not a very hip guy. You up for dinner one of these days? Sure! Maybe on the weekend? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/35 "2013-04-23T18:31:36Z")
At any American-style cafe/eatery, if they do an omelet well (fresh ingredients, distinct separation of flavors) then the same care often applies to the rest of the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/36 "2013-04-23T18:36:00Z")
Peruvian: Ceviche/Tiradito Seco con frejoles I didn’t say “Ají de Gallina” because it ain’t that hard or technical. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/37 "2013-04-23T18:42:49Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Go with a Chinese person or find a table with a bunch of Chinese people talking Chinese and ask your waiter for whatever it is they’re having. Trust me. I’ve been to a number of lousy Chinese restaurants that were full of Chinese people (presumably because they were cheap and fast). Similarly, a busy McDonalds doesn’t mean that McDonalds’ food is great. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/38 "2013-04-23T18:45:59Z")
An old standby method of mine for identifying great ethnic food is to look for the table full of homework in the rear of the dining area. That means family-owned, with Mama in the kitchen, brother bussing tables, sisters waitressing and acting as hostess and Papa being the figurehead and general gofer. You could count on the best food you could imagine in a place like that, especially if the menu is a chalkboard. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/39 "2013-04-23T18:59:42Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve been to a number of lousy Chinese restaurants that were full of Chinese people (presumably because they were cheap and fast). Similarly, a busy McDonalds doesn’t mean that McDonalds’ food is great. I agree. That is not what I was suggesting. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420/40 "2013-04-23T20:22:38Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve been to a number of lousy Chinese restaurants that were full of Chinese people (presumably because they were cheap and fast). Similarly, a busy McDonalds doesn’t mean that McDonalds’ food is great. True, and just because there’s alot of Asian people there is no guarantee they’re eating the same food as the white customers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-always-tell-a-great-kind-of-restaurant-by-how-they-make-common-food1-and-common-food2/656420.md?page=3)